Hanoi, Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh Museum
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Hanoi is a suprisingly beautiful city with lots of water and greenery. The first thing you'll notice is the incredible amount of construction and growth that is happening everywhere, and at an alarming pace.  Vietnam is definitely a country on the move.

I stayed at the Hong Ngoc 1, a small, budget hotel in the old quarter.  The location was great, on a somewhat quiet street and the room was clean.  While in Hanoi, be sure to take in a production of the Water Puppets.  It's a wonderful show, which you can see most nights of the week.  Hoan Kiem lake, with it's old temple and red bridge is worth seeing, and if you get there early enough you can see people doing Tai Chi as the sunrises.  A great way to see the Old Quarter is with a 1 hour cyclo tour.  A "cyclo" is simply a bike with a seat in the front (that's where you sit).  It's a little scary at first, but you get to see all of the little side streets and shops. One of my favorite places in Hanoi was the Temple of Literature which was establisted in 1076 as the first University in Vietnam.

Turtles at the Temple of Literature.
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I'm not really a city person, so Hanoi was more of a stop off point to see other, more rural parts of Vietnam.  I was pleasantly suprised, however, at what a beautiful and vibrant city it was.  I hope I can return in 5 or 10 years to see how much it has grown and changed.