What do you dislike or like about Hanoi?

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MojaveDan

I just answered what I like about Hanoi in another question. What I like most about Ha Noi is:

1) Meeting my wife

2) Getting married there

The rest of what I like about Ha Noi falls well behind the above. Here is a short list of other things that I like about Ha Noi unrelated to my wife:

Hoan Kiem Lake – The epicenter of Ha Noi. It is absolutely beautiful and quite possibly the best place in the world to people watch.

The Old Quarter – The first time through the Old Quarter was information overload. All kind of things happening anywhere you look. Shopping is excellent. Eating is incredible. Drinking at a Bia Hoi and people watching is an incredible experience.

The Night Market – The largest flea market that I’ve ever been to. Every Friday, Saturday night the street between Hoan Kiem Lake and Đồng Xuân market is turned into a very long flea market, with everything imagined sold there.

Minh’s Jazz Bar – In the Old Quarter about two blocks from the Tourist Center next to Hoan Kiem Lake. It’s unbelievable that an authentic jazz bar is located in the heart of Hanoi. Be prepared to pay U.S. prices for drinks though.

Bia Toi Tiep (a.k.a. Bia Toilette) – A very popular restaurant, bar and nightclub. They have a microbrewery, great food (native or Western) and great service. This is like Hussong’s Cantina in Ensenada, B.C., Mexico, where every ex-patriots or tourist must visit at least once when in Ha Noi.

The Museums – There are more museums in Ha Noi than you can shake a stick at. My favorite is the Museum of Ethnology, where you can learn about the history of the Vietnamese people and the numerous cultures within Vietnam today.

The Red River Boat Tour – An all day boat tour along the Red River originating from Ha Noi. Visit several pagodas along the way.

Bát Tràng – A world famous ceramic village just outside of Ha Noi. Everything that can be made of pottery is there and very cheap.

Visiting Family – Always a warm welcome visiting family there. There is always a lot of food and usually a lot of alcohol. Many times, some great stories are told too.

Eating – My favorite food, ban cuon, originates from Ha Noi, and I can’t eat enough if it. They make it better there than my Ba Ngoai could ever make it (sorry Grandma). Pho from a street restaurant is not only a meal, but also an experience.

Riding Motorbikes Through the Ha Noi
This blows away ANY amusement park ride. My life was in literally my hands. One wrong move and I would have 1,000 Ha Noi Viets run over me in a minute. An absolute adrenaline rush!

I can go on and on…

The absolute beat thing about Ha Noi (and all of Vietnam) is the people. They are the most friendliest and nicest people that I have ever met in my life, and that makes Ha Noi one of the best places in the world for me to visit.

What I dislike about Ha Noi sticks to my brain like honey to a slice of bread. The Red River along Ha Noi is an enormous garbage dump. It is disgusting to look at and to remember. Seeing that for the first time was one of the few occasions that I involuntarily threw up. Something has to be done about it before it’s too late.

huananduong

Like: beauty, culture, living style, food, history..
Dislike: Traffic

Infamous

the way people talk. it's really hard to understand sometime..

trojan_glory

I hate HANOI because is the capital of VIETNAM communist goverment,it was SAIGON and should be the capital of VIETNAM,nothing in HANOI can compare to SAIGON but poorer people and smaller street.Period!

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