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VIETNAM | Hanoi, Vietnam Travel Guide
Thursday, November 21, 2024
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Central Hanoi
One Pillar Pagoda in central Hanoi, Vietnam
Central Hanoi
Central Hanoi is the most visitor-friendly part of the city, for it has the majority of the sights and attractions, shopping venues, accommodations, restaurants, and, generally, resources of value to travelers.
Central Hanoi is in fact a part of the city that is well worth exploring at a leisurely pace: take the time to immerse yourself in the piquant street scenes and life here – women hauling mini-malls on bicycles, men playing cards on street corners, laborers toting huge loads in two baskets at the ends of a bamboo rod across their shoulders. It's another world.
Ho An Kiem Lake
Central Hanoi is largely built around Hoan (Ho An) Kiem Lake. The lake itself is peaceful, with the three-tiered pagoda in the middle and the small footbridge at the north end near the Water Puppet Theater. Walking around the lake is great for exercise, and you can watch the local people doing their T’ai Chi exercises in the morning. There are numerous ice cream parlors and over-priced restaurants on the west side of the lake.
Hanoi's West Side
The west side of Hoan Lake is equally interesting. Immediately to the west of the lake is a pair of shopping streets that parallel the lake from one end to the other, running north-south. Here one can find an assortment of interesting knickknacks, including Vietnamese drawings and paintings, fabric, silk, clothing, lacquerware, gold and silver ornaments and jewelry, and so forth.
West still are the city's most important monuments and historical sites, all well worth exploring. Notable among these is the Temple of Literature, located on Quoc Tu Giam Street in the Dong Da District. It was founded in the 11th century as Vietnam’s first university and includes an open-air temple complex. It is a fascinating place to walk through, with its arched open rooms, steles carved with historical information, and a peaceful garden-like atmosphere.
Among other sites in the area worth a visit (we suggest you hire a cyclo driver for $10 for the day to see them all) are: the One Pillar Pagoda, Presidential Palace, Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, Cot Co Flag Tower, and the Museum of Military History. All of these places are close together and can easily be visited in a single day.
Yet another popular tourist attraction you should try to see is the National Fine Arts Museum, located south of the Temple of Literature at 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc. The eclectic mix of styles, periods, and themes here is fascinating. The museum is open during business hours, Tuesday-Sunday.
Outside the Central Hanoi Area
Also worth a visit, just outside the Central Hanoi area, is the smaller West Lake. It is primarily a fashionable residential area, but there are a handful of sights, among them the Museum of Ethnology and the Yen Phu Temple, that really ought to be seen.
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