Best tourist spots to go in Hanoi, Vietnam?
I've been searching the internet and there's a lot of daily tours available, I can't choose which ones I should do. We'll just be there for 2 nights and 3 days so we really have limited time and can't do all of those tours (I wish we could though hahaha).
Any recommended tour operator? Anyone? Help?
3 days - and you don't say what your interests are.
History - you could spend all 3 days in the museums.
Cultural events - you could spend a couple of days visiting the pagodas, dinhs and other similar sites - and if you are lucky enough to be there when there is a special festival, that is one facinating day in itself!
If I were coming to spend 3 days - I would spend the 1st day visiting the old quarter / section of town - each street is new and interesting - there is one street dedicated to medicinal plants and animals; nearby there is a street dedicated to religious items, there are lots of interesting public markets, streets where people sell reconditioned old fashioned fans, streets where you can buy plastic items.
I would take one day and (beforehand) figure out which bus to take out to Bat Trang Village. Go out early in the morning, go into the back streets where the potters live and work - don't stop at the pottery shops - walk the back streets and alley ways. Talk to people and you will be invited into small pottery production shops and see some really intersting things! By the way, don't forget to check out the retail shops before you leave.
Ride the bus! Ride it anywhere, it is cheap. And ride it back. If you go into one of the major bookstores you should be able to get a current map of the bus system.
At night go to the puppet theater - east side of Hoan Kiem Lake.
Go to the Thuong Theater - I can't find my Hanoi map, so you have to ask where to find it - it is WORTH THE EFFORT!!!!!
Walk around Hoan Kiem Lake - early in the morning, and later in the day.
If you are there Saturday, walk up the street at the north end of Hoan Kiem Lake - it is closed off to vehicles and street sellers set up their little stands, selling stuff (much of it junk), but it is really interesting - as is the crowd. Watch out for pick pockets - Lao or Chinese, not Vietnamese! ;^)
Try o mai - I love o mai (candied fruit). If you walk around, you will see shops with tall jars, full of different colored "stuff" - dried fruits, some bitter, some pungent, some soft and chewy and sweet. It is sooooo gooood!!!! (a few items excepted).
When someone comes up to you and asks you to buy a (tee shirt/book/map/postcard/xyz) smile and ask them why? Tell them you don't know how to write, don't know how to read, already have too many tee shirts, and besides it is too cold - don't need a hat - don't just ignore them. They are trying to make a living - and it can be fun talking with the street sellers. Don't be rude to them, they can be pleasant to you too.
Don't be up tight!
If you need to use a tour operator - there are lotsa - but you should think about what you are interested in, and want to do.
Enjoy
Enjoy
Enjoy
I envy you, and I was not too long ago there for 4 short years.
Vietnam Vespa Tours
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vietnam tour operator
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