Hanoi, Vietnam and Ninh Binh, Vietnam: Top 5 Things to Do and More
My feelings about Hanoi are complicated. It surpassed my expectations in terms of the friendliness of the people (we heard stories). However, Hanoi was very polluted (we invested in some stylish face masks) and much colder than we would have liked.
The latter part is our own fault – we should have visited the north of Vietnam at a different time of the year (we were there in January). Keep in mind that the country of Vietnam is very long and spans different climates at one time. While at one point during the year the north is cold and wet, the south is dry and hot. It’s best to visit the north in the months of September to November and the south from December to April. Don’t worry though-if you need a puffer, Hanoi is the place to find a great North Face knock-off.
Hanoi is a massive city, housing roughly 8 million people and some multiplier of scooters on top of that. It can be a bit overwhelming at times, but there is beauty in the chaos.
I was prepared for a different vibe in Hanoi because we had heard from tourists, fellow travel bloggers, and southern Vietnamese alike, that the northern Vietnamese are not friendly. If you’re familiar with Vietnam’s history, then you’re aware that the north of Vietnam was divided from the south of Vietnam until the late 1970s when the communist government of the north took over the entire country and unseated the democratic republic, “puppet” government of the south that was supported by the French at one time and then the United States. We had a positive experience. Everyone we encountered was nice and didn’t seem to want to take advantage of us being foreigners with each transaction we made. Every exchange was fair, and in many cases friendly. I could maybe attribute the difference in experiences to luck or our own awareness and preparedness.
Hanoi has much to offer in the way of good food, coffee (their pride and joy), and tourist attractions within the city and surrounding attractions like Ninh Binh (pictured below), Soppong, and Halong Bay. We visited Ninh Binh and Halong Bay and decided to skip Soppong because of its distance from Hanoi and we heard that it has become overcrowded with tourists, diminishing the authenticity of the experience. Soppong is where you can observe hill tribes taking part in their own traditions and culture.
Getting There
We got to Hanoi from Dalat by plane. We took VietJet Air for $122. It’s an easy plane ride that takes about 2 hours and is the best way to go from one end of the country to the othFer.
Accommodations in Hanoi
We stayed at two different hotels in Hanoi. One was called the Hanoi Street View Hotel. It was conveniently situated in the Old Quarter and was very much a budget hotel option. For the most part, it was clean, aside from some odor, and the free breakfast was decent. If you’re bothered by city noise, then don’t pick this hotel. Otherwise, it was a great option for $15. The second place we stayed in was called Central Amazing for $18. It was more conveniently located near the tourist attractions like the Hanoi Hilton and Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend this place because I thought it was too expensive for what we got – breakfast was not included, the host was absent (you had to contact her by phone in case you needed anything like toilet paper), and you could feel every spring in the bed.
Top 5 Things to Do in Hanoi
1. Visit the Hoa Lo Prison (also known as the Hanoi Hilton) – here you can see where the Vietnamese kept Prisoner’s of War (POW), like John McCain, during the Vietnam War.
Prior to the war, it was used to house political dissidents during Vietnam’s struggle for independence from the French. In one of the rooms ominously stands a massive guillotine – it was a pretty chilling sight. The exhibits that documented the treatment of the American POWs were often odd and distasteful portrayals.
One caption in the museum read “From 1964-1973, a part of Hoa Lo Prison was used to detain American pilots, the majority of the engaged in ‘Dien Bien Phu in the air’ battle. Inside the stone walls of ‘Hanoi-Hilton’ was the daily life of American pilots. No more flights on B-52s and carpet bombings, only a serene time for these American pilots to think about what happened and feel the beauty of peaceful life and warm humanity in Hoa Lo Prison.”
Nonetheless, it’s a place that one must see when visiting Hanoi.
2. Visit the Vietnam Military History Museum – this is a great place to go if you’re a military history buff. Here you can find war artifacts from the Vietnam War and from Vietnam’s fight against the French.
3. Visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum – this is Ho Chi Minh’s resting place and a place of pilgrimage for some Vietnamese.
4. Take a Day Trip to Ninh Binh – Ninh Binh is the closer day-trip alternative to Soppong. It’s breathtaking, tranquil, and a welcomed break from the smog and chaos of Hanoi. Its main feature is the Hang Mua Peak and Mau Caves that you can ascend by trekking a steep and windy path. Once you reach the top, you overlook rice paddies and a river that cuts through the valley.
In case you’re curious about how we got to Ninh Binh, we rented a motorbike in Hanoi and made the 3-hour drive south with friends of ours.
Pro Trip 1: When you arrive, do not fall for the parking scam! Locals will flag you down on the road leading up to the Hang Mua Peak and Mua Caves demanding you to stop, park, and pay them for parking your bike. Just ignore them and continue to the end of the road. Your entrance ticket includes parking in the price.
Pro Tip 2: I wouldn’t recommend motorbiking from Hanoi to Ninh Binh unless you’re a confident motorcyclist and if you plan on staying at least one night in Ninh Binh so as not to risk leaving Ninh Binh too late and driving in the dark. We made the unfortunate mistake of leaving Ninh Binh too late, so the last half of our ride was in the dark. Ugh. Unfortunately, our friends, who had been following us, were aggressively driven off the rode by a truck and fell off their bike. Luckily, they were alright except for a few cuts and bruises.
5. Escape Hanoi’s Chaos and Get a Massage – If you want a FANTASTIC massage, go to Mido Spa. We had the best massage of our lives for a reasonable price.
There are also many other places that you can visit including the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, which showcases Vietnam’s ethnic groups and the Fine Arts Museum.
Our Key Takeaways and Tips
- Visit Hanoi in the dry season and when it’s warmer
- Consider watching Ken Burns’ documentary on the Vietnam War to give you helpful context and history about the war
- Consider taking a trip to Ninh Binh instead of Soppong
- Pay attention when walking around because there are many scooters and crazy drivers