Stopover in Hanoi for a couple of days.

agrinnall

I found the Museum of Ethnology an interesting place, with examples of different styles of village dwellings from various different ethnic groups in Vietnam.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Museum_of_Ethnology

Doshwaster

PompeyPete wrote: »

Dunno. Hanoi International Terminal is excellent. From hitting the tarmac it took 35 minutes to clear the Airport. If you are getting a 15 day visa exemption make sure you have proof on onward international travel handy at Immigration.

Need some dong? Kiosks are on the right immediately after Clearing Customs.

The road into Hanoi is v.good, and takes about 35 minutes to the northern edge of the Old Quarter.

The only problem I had with the Dong is that I took 2 million (first time in my life I have been a millionaire!) out of the ATM and it was delivered as 4 x 500,000 notes so I had to go to a bank to get it broken into smaller denominations as nobody would accept the 500,000 notes.

The money can be confusing at first but you soon get used to the number of zeros on the notes.

phatbear

Doshwaster wrote: »

I had to go to a bank to get it broken into smaller denominations as nobody would accept the 500,000 notes.

.

I never experienced this in vietnam 500000 is only about £15, the only folks who had a slight issue were street vendors but no shops/taxis batted an eyelid at it.

Shimrod

phatbear wrote: »

I never experienced this in vietnam 500000 is only about £15, the only folks who had a slight issue were street vendors but no shops/taxis batted an eyelid at it.

We've not long returned from Hanoi and had no problems either.

For the OP, if you want a trip out of Hanoi, Trang An or Tam Coc are both a couple of hours away by car. You can join a bus tour for about $38 or hire a driver and go in a car. It gives a taste of what Halong Bay looks like (but a lot less water!) - for movie buffs the recent Kong film was shot in Trang An.

PompeyPete

Doshwaster wrote: »

The money can be confusing at first but you soon get used to the number of zeros on the notes.

500K, 200K, 100K, and 50K dong notes are all plastic too......no problem with using animal tallow in Vietnam. Same in Cambodia with the Riel.

NiftyDigits

We eschewed the Old Quarter(though of course visited) and stayed in the area of West Lake.
https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/gb/en/hanoi/hanhb/hoteldetail

A recommended place to eat would be https://www.ngonvilla.com Ate there twice. A la carte buffet. In other words you can choose anything from the menu, as many portions as you want, at a fixed price. All prepared and brought to your table.
From memory starts at around £13 per person. Don't rush it, give yourself at least a couple of hours to sample different things on the menu, without having to concern yourself with the cost.
Nearby is the train that thunders through a narrow residential street. So you can perhaps fit that in.
There is also a place nearby famous for it's Banh Khuc, close to the train tracks.
All of these places an easy walk from the Temple of Literature; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Literature,_Hanoi

Didn't take too much time to research ATMs, but VP Bank charges nothing.
Some others charged from 35,000 to 60,000 VND.

PompeyPete

NiftyDigits wrote: »

From memory starts at around £13 per person. Don't rush it, give yourself at least a couple of hours to sample different things on the menu, without having to concern yourself with he cost

Anything unedifying on the menu?;)

Came across a couple of places in February, in the NE corner of the Old Quarter that had what looked like pooches head by the bbq.

NiftyDigits

PompeyPete wrote: »

Anything unedifying on the menu?

Came across a couple of places in February, in the NE corner of the Old Quarter that had what looked like pooches head by the bbq.

No.

I only saw that sort of thing openly a few years ago in the wet market of the Old Quarter. A carcass on a rotisserie.

Doshwaster

NiftyDigits wrote: »

No.

I only saw that sort of thing openly a few years ago in the wet market of the Old Quarter. A carcass on a rotisserie.

The least appetising thing I saw was a tank full of live frogs and blender next to it ready to prepare "fresh frog porridge"

PompeyPete

Doshwaster wrote: »

The least appetising thing I saw was a tank full of live frogs and blender next to it ready to prepare "fresh frog porridge"

No more pea soup for me in vietnam......I felt croaky for days.:)