Hanoi: Vietnam’s Chaotic Capital

You might have been told that Hanoi is a place where terrifying street crossings are common and chaotic traffic is simply a part of daily life. But beyond the constant rush of motorbikes lies a vibrant capital, a rich blend of centuries-old temples and traditions woven seamlessly into a living, breathing city. And somehow, despite the noise and motion, it all just works. Welcome to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. In this travel guide, we're going to show you the very best of Hanoi, including top attractions and hidden gems. We'll even take a day trip to one of the most popular nearby destinations. This morning, we're beginning the day at the Ethnology Museum. Now, this museum is dedicated primarily to the 54 officially recognised ethnic groups in Vietnam. And it's not just a museum in a traditional sense. Instead, you can come here and see the indoor exhibition. But the real charm here is a two hectare outdoor garden where you can learn all about life in different regions of Vietnam via life-sized models. As well as 10 full-scale architectural structures from 10 different ethnic groups, there are a number of other things to see in the garden. This includes examples of traditional boats from various regions, as well as learning about traditional crafts and puppetry, such as behind me. The museum is home to over 15,000 artefacts. And once you're here, I do recommend wearing sandals because you can go into many of the different properties, but you will have to take your shoes off. There are regular craft demonstrations and you can also climb up into many of the places too. This is incredibly cool. We've climbed several metres off the ground up a pretty precarious ladder and now we're inside a traditional building which reaches perhaps 8, 10 metres tall. It's just massive. Right, Antoine told me to say 10 or 15 because it's even bigger than I imagined. Something I really enjoy about the museum is that for each of the houses, there is a map from where the house comes from, as well as some descriptions in English, French and Vietnamese so you can learn more about the history. For example, we are currently in the Tay house. This house was built in 1967 in a village not far away from Hanoi and then was reconstructed by 12 Tay people in 1999 here at the museum. Something I find very interesting about this house in particular is that the way in which they would have protected against woodworm would be to dip the wood and bamboo in water for three to six months and this would avoid any kind of pests infiltrating the house. There are some really cool inventions to see here. For example, this is a Yao hydraulic rice mortar and the Yao Ho people would have used this in the 1980s. They would have gone off to the rice paddies in the morning and they would put the whole grains of rice into the mortar and when they came back it would have been white rice thanks to the power of the water. They could do up to seven kilos of rice per day using this contraption. I've really enjoyed this museum and I recommend spending one to two hours here. If you want the least amount of people possible, maybe come at the weekend because the week seems to be very popular amongst school groups. As the Ethnology Museum is a little bit out of the way of the city centre, we had to take a taxi around 20 minutes in order to reach our next destination. This is the Imperial Citadel and is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are several points of interest here including the Hanoi Flag Tower, a historic gate, an old palace and archaeological ruins. When you're in the Citadel, there is one building you cannot miss and that is the Hanoi Flag Tower. Including the flag, it's around 41 meters in height. It was built at some time between 1805 and 1812 and is one of the rare structures in Hanoi that survived the invasion of the French. Today it stands proud as a symbol of the city and can be seen from a lot of different angles within the Citadel. When you visit here, you'll definitely want to make sure that it's on a sunny day or at least one that it's not raining because the main points of interest are outside. There is also a small exhibition space detailing the military history of Hanoi but yeah, wandering around the complex you're completely exposed to the elements. There are actually quite a few exhibition spaces to explore here and while I wouldn't say this is a must-see in Hanoi as opposed to some of the other things that we're going to be showing you in this video, it's definitely worth it if you're interested in archaeology, military history as well as royal history. I particularly enjoyed the exhibition showcasing archaeological finds which have been found within the vicinity of the Citadel. One of the most popular dishes to have in Vietnam is of course the banh mi. Now what you should know is that this is usually a breakfast or dinner food but we're choosing to have it in the middle of the day just because I really fancy the banh mi. Often you can get meat options but this one is a tofu and egg and the other good thing is that you can choose your spicy level because they're off when it's already on the table. Time for the taste test. That is so good. The bread is the perfect amount of soft, it's a bit sweet, salty, it's just the perfect sandwich. West Lake is a freshwater lake and this is also the biggest lake here in Hanoi. It covers 500 hectares so obviously we're not gonna be able to see everything but there are a few places of note in this area. The pagoda just behind me is the reason most people come to West Lake. It's actually situated within the oldest Buddhist temple complex in Hanoi and the temple itself dates all the way back to the 6th century. Tran Coc was originally known as Cai Coc meaning national founding temple. In the 17th century it was moved to its current island location where it's surrounded by water giving it a sense of peaceful isolation from the busy city beyond. Hanoi is home to over 1,000 years of history and a great place to experience this is at Hoan Kiem Lake. This serene body of water is home to two islands which in turn are home to two temples. It covers approximately 12 hectares and the name of the lake is actually translated into English as the lake of the return sword due to a unique legend associated with it. Hanoi's historic quarter is a district that many visitors make the point to visit because of its 36 historic guild streets. There's lots of narrow lanes here and shops to explore. It's meant to be raining tomorrow so we're going to explore this area more then but in the meantime we'll see what it looks like in the evening. Hanoi's old quarter was founded all the way back in the 11th century though of course little of the original area remains but what makes the old quarter truly unique is its interesting architecture. Many buildings blend Vietnamese tradition with French colonial influence so wooden shutters, tiled roofs and faded yellow walls sit alongside balconies, iron railings and arched windows. Social media has led to the rise of some pretty surprising attractions and Hanoi is no stranger to this trend. That evening we headed to the famous train street where the main attraction is seeing a train go by. Welcome to Vietnam! Thank you. Where are you from? Paris. Oh some of you! To be honest train times are not entirely always clear but we personally arrived at around 8 30 and saw our first train come at around 9 15. We also managed to see yet another train pass by around half an hour later. I would say that what many people don't mention is that you can actually sit on the upper floors while watching the train which seems a lot safer plus you get a better view. Vietnam is home to countless beautiful temples but one of the most historic here in Hanoi has to be the Temple of Literature. Founded all the way back in 1070 and dedicated to Confucius this is often considered to be the first school in Vietnam. Now you can visit for a small fee but if you're a woman make sure that your shoulders and knees are covered. It's a lovely serene space to explore and there are several buildings to see. This is a great place to see historic Vietnamese architecture. For centuries this was the centre of education in Vietnam where rigorous examinations were held to select mandarins i.e government officials for the imperial court. Success here could literally change a person's life and bring honour to their entire family. Built in traditional Vietnamese style the temple is arranged into a series of five peaceful courtyards which in turn each represent a step in the journey of learning. One of the most important parts of the whole complex is in the third courtyard. This is where you'll find rows of stelae sitting atop of turtles which represent permanence. Here are recorded the names of over 1,300 men who passed the exam in mandarin in order to become doctors. Some of the stelae are better preserved than others and the interesting thing is that because it was between the 15th and 18th centuries the tortoises have different carved faces and so you can see the different eras in which they were carved depending on exactly how they were carved. When it comes to coffee there's no shortage of places to come from but the weather isn't looking so great so we wanted to go to somewhere we could go inside and we also want to explore the old quarter and so we've come to the note cafe where you can get different kinds of Vietnamese coffees and the unique thing about this specific coffee shop is that when you have your coffee you can write a little note for other guests who are coming in the future to read. We want to try some traditional Vietnamese food and this restaurant down this little alleyway off of the main street was recommended to me by my sister. Hopefully it's very good and apparently they have lots of vegetarian options. So the lady gave us a demonstration on how to roll the spring roll and Osman has just rolled this one. It looks quite good let's taste it. Apparently we're meant to dip it in this sauce. If it's raining at all during your stay like it is for us then one of the best things to do is just to wander around the old town and the surrounding area and explore the shops and cafes so that's exactly what we're going to do now. I'm going to show you some of my favourite shops that we visited. Whilst strolling the streets you'll find yourself drawn to all kinds of different shops but I particularly enjoyed Lowe's Corner which sells high quality linen goods. Another popular spot is Three Sisters Silk and they can even custom make dresses for you to pick up the next day. When wandering around the old quarter you might also notice how narrow some of the houses are and this is because they were designed in a way to avoid high taxes based on street frontage. This is Saint Joseph's and it's the oldest church in Hanoi. Construction of this gothic revival building began in 1884 and it was eventually opened to the public in 1886. Now you can go inside for free although of course a donation is always appreciated and once inside you'll see some lovely stained glass window as well as typical gothic architecture. Saint Joseph is actually the patron saint of Vietnam and this was one of the first buildings constructed under French colonial rule. It's actually based on Notre Dame which is in Paris. It was then time for one more quick stroll around the old quarter before we headed to our hotel early for a night of rest before our early day trip start the following day. Today we're embarking on one of the most popular day trips from Hanoi. We'll start the day at the old capital city before we head out on a relaxing bike ride. We'll then grab some lunch before even more historic activities. It's really nice to come out here it's really serene peaceful very green and very different from the bustling streets of Hanoi so I definitely recommend a day trip if you are going to Hanoi for three days or more. Hoa Lu ancient capital the first capital of the first feudalism of Vietnam the first full independence period for our country. So why are we coming to a temple like this? Because as you may know the king inside the temple there who was the one who chose this land as a capital. Whenever we have national heroes when they have sacrifice for the country when they have a contribution money for the country we're gonna go treat them and what we have done for the country is he is the king over the first full independence period for the country. Fast ride through the village I think it's about four kilometers but we're taking hours to do it so slow pace. I really enjoyed the cycle ride and we even managed to buy a kingfisher to be honest my only complaint was that it could have been a little longer. The boat ride takes around one hour 50 minutes and there's four of you in the boat you're then guided through a specific circuit which will take you past islands to temples you'll see lots of the nearby gorges which are particularly stunning and the whole area is full of butterflies it's really relaxing and I definitely recommend bringing a camera along because this UNESCO site is definitely stunning. The journey begins on a small wooden boat gently rode by hand and it's certainly tough work so you'll want to tip your rower you'll soon proceed through a series of narrow caves. Picture-perfect Ninh Binh is often referred to as Halong Bay on land and while the entire region is known for its dramatic limestone karst mountains the abundance of water in this area of course means that one of the best ways to enjoy it is on the water itself. One of the most important stops on the boat ride is the Vu Lam Royal Step. This site actually served as a strategic military base during the Trang dynasty's resistance against the powerful Mongol invasions in the 1200s. In 2016 several scenes from the movie King Kong were filmed at Trang An and you can still see the remains of the movie set to this day. Currently the only way to see the set is from the water but of course this might change in the future. We've arrived at the starting point for the Mua Cave viewpoint. We're going to ascend around 400 steps to get an amazing view of the surrounding region. In total you can climb up 500 but we'll see if we actually make it all the way to the top. My name is Son, I've been working as a tour guide for over three years and I'm taking you guys to Mua Cave viewpoint. Two areas, Mua Cave is over there and viewpoint is up there. You can see the people going up to the viewpoint only but Mua Cave has a history of 50 years which nobody cares but anyway if I tell you the history of the cave is like this. This area where the American aircraft B-52 they came to drop the bomb and the soldier they have to fight but they have to hide they have to take a shelter as well but in here you can see everywhere we have water they cannot dig the tunnel they cannot hide under the ground that's why the caves they are the only thing that they can take the shelter but the war has lasted for years and years as you may know like almost 20 years if they hide inside the cave for many years like that they're gonna have a lot of mental problem that reason why we need some like dancers, singers come to make them happy that's why they name that dancing cave. If you finish the mountain you still have time okay it's kind of interesting thing to go but if we compare to that it's not really comparable we'll go and have a look at them either yes of course we should do that first there are actually two mountain peaks here but the one on the left hand side has the better view we've already made up 400 steps and already the view is incredible so let's go all the way to the top the view from the top is really nice and we definitely have a great overview of many of the things that we've seen today now let's go back down and explore on the ground once you've headed back down the mountain you can walk amongst the lakes on these lovely boardwalks there's quite a few birds here as well as fish insects etc thank you so much for watching and don't forget to like and subscribe for more travel content see you next time