# Hanoi, Vietnam?



## jellson (Aug 24, 2005)

hello all,

i am going to Hanoi for a 3D 2N mini holiday. any suggestions on where to stay? things to do?

many many thanks,
jennifer


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## Judy999 (Aug 25, 2005)

Hi there - many recommend taking Ha Long Bay Boat tour which is 2 hrs from Ha Noi.  

Shopping is always fun..especially if you would like to have clothing custom made for you.  Frommers message board has recommendations of a tailor shop named "A Dong Silk" in Hoi An on Le Loi Street.  They were able to provide high quality custom made orders overnight.

I went to Frommers.com...Asia...Vietnam...click Message board.

There will be lots of recommendation of fun things to do and recommendation for tailors, etc...

Hope this helps.  

Judy


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## jellson (Aug 25, 2005)

Thanks so much for the Frommers link Judy! Great help!


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## Sydney (Aug 25, 2005)

I went in Aug 2003 for 3 nts and stayed at the Sofitel Metropole. Decent hotel and amazing breakfast. Was able to get a tailor made Vietnamese dress in one of the main shopping streets over-night.

You can see Ho's tomb but it's not always open. When we went, it was closed so you'll need to check. You can also do a day trip to Halong Bay through one of the tours establishment along the street or from the hotel. It's an early start and a very long day though. I think the drive was about 3hrs each way, or something like that. We gave it a miss as were completely exhausted after flying straight from Sydney - Hong Kong - Hanoi.

There's a lovely lake which you can walk around. Great place to buy hats as they are dirt cheap and some are very nice although rather on the small size so I only bought kids ones. Nice hand-made shoes where you can actually choose the style of strap to go over the sole. they just nail it in and you have a slip-on. Pretty cool! and pretty.

You can take a tour of Hanoi on a cyclo to see the town and then decide where you want to stop for shopping, a meal, etc. This would be a good way to see the French quarter. The street shops are amazing. You'll come across a whole row of shops selling just bamboo, shoes, hats, lanterns, clothes, souvernirs, etc. Great fun! Enjoy.


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## Judy999 (Aug 27, 2005)

I also found this post about traveling in Vietnam

http://tblogs.bootsnall.com/kemp/archives/013641.shtml


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## jellson (Aug 30, 2005)

Thanks again Judy, and Lang (hope I got your name right from memory, Sydney!)

I think Halong Bay is not for me, as I'd rather spend more time in the city since it's such a short holiday... I believe 3 days is not enough to enjoy the place, so I would do a lot of walking and sight-seeing and shopping for handmade crafts.

One thing that scares me is the numerous hotel stories from the message board that Judy referred me to! I guess I'll focus my research on that


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