HANOI, Vietnam — Every morning, thousands of Vietnamese flock through the bustling streets of the country’s capital of Hanoi to pay respect to the country’s nationalist hero, Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969). His leadership helped defeat the French colonialists and later the American military to achieve his dream of a united, communist and independent Vietnam.
Viewed through foreign eyes, it’s an experience as unforgettable as it is surreal, and an interesting way to start off a visit to Vietnam.
After stopping to see Uncle Ho, as the locals still call him, one can walk by a statue of Vladimir Lenin and cross one of the city’s moped-infested streets to grab a bite of street food.
Lining the Vietnamese capital’s small, winding streets are stalls and shops selling homemade food and cheap beer. Food choices range from rice, beef, and vegetable combos familiar to the Western palette to more exotic items like fried larvae, barbecued dog and snake. The country’s famous soup, pho, is available nearly everywhere, though the Hanoi variant is more watery than that served up in southern Vietnam.
A central Hanoi street scene. Street food is widely available in the busy streets of the Vietnameses capital. (Josh Kovensky)
If guzzling pho and gorging on dog meat doesn’t appeal, stop by at one of the city’s bia hois for a cheap drink. Bia hoi is a locally brewed light draft beer available at stalls around the city that also sell fried fish and french fries on the cheap. A mug of bia hoi costs just around 4,000 dong (20 cents).
Hanoi has been Vietnam’s national capital since the country was reunified in 1975 following the Vietnam War. Since then, it has grown into a crowded, sprawling metropolis of 7.5 million people along the Red River. But the city’s past extends back more than a millennium – it celebrated its 1,000-year anniversary as Vietnam’s main city in 2010.
Vietnamese rulers battled China from their base in Hanoi for centuries, until France occupied the city in 1873. Vietnam remained a centerpiece of France’s Indochinese empire until the 1954 battle of Dien Bien Phu, when pro-Communist North Vietnamese troops led by Ho Chi Minh dealt the French a battlefield defeat.
The U.S. Air Force bombed the city into oblivion throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. U.S. Senator John McCain was shot down over Hanoi in 1967 and held captive in the city’s Hoa Lo prison, also known as the Hanoi Hilton, until his release in 1973.
The Hanoi Hilton was mostly demolished, but its former gatehouse now serves as a museum devoted to the jail’s history. One room features an exhibit on McCain’s time in captivity, including the flight suit McCain was supposedly wearing when he was shot down.
McCain landed in one of the many lakes that dot Hanoi. Next to the senator’s crash site is the Tran Quoc Pagoda, the city’s oldest Buddhist temple. A towering red structure built on a small island that juts out into the lake, the pagoda dates to the 6th century and still attracts visitors who come to pray and burn incense at the temple.
Another lake, called Turtle Lake for the supposedly divine giant tortoise that lived there until its death in January 2016, is home to the Temple of Jade Mountain, a religious complex devoted to Confucian and Taoist philosophers.
Water fun
Hanoi is 120 kilometers away from the jagged limestone islands of Ha Long Bay.
Jagged limestone formations of Ha Long Bay are a must-see for tourists interested in Vietnam’s natural beauty. (Josh Kovensky)
The bay, near the city of Hai Phong, is full of towering rock formations, each covered in jungly outgrowth.
Visitors can take multi-day cruises through the bay’s beautiful islands, exploring caves within them and hanging out on hidden beaches. Some of the channels between the rock formations are off-limits due to mining by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War.
Prices range from $100 to $300 for an overnight cruise, depending on the level of luxury one desires.
Farther south, the central city of Danang offers white sand beaches that stay warm, in the 70s and 80s, all year round. Western hotel chains dominate the city’s coastline, many located near abandoned U.S. military installations.
If you go:
Flight cost to Hanoi: Roundtrip flights from Kyiv to Hanoi are available for as little as $700, though typical tickets normally price out at around $1,100.
Domestic flight from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City: A roundtrip flight costs around $130.
Hanoi hotel going rate: Hostels offer beds for below $10 each night. More upscale options go for $50 a night.
Danang hotel cost: $50 per night for a beachside resort. Three meals in a day: If you only eat street food, it is easy to spend far below $10 a day on meals.
