The bustling city rustle in the Hanoi Square, the cheery street dancing on the road, and the bands passing by every hour. The glowing lights and dazzling bridges are everywhere. Welcome to Hanoi. In this adventure-packed city, this 1-night itinerary will go perfectly with your Vietnam Plan.
Relax - That was a very tasty meal! After enjoying the Vietnamese Pho, we relaxed at the hotel for some time and discovered some more about Confucius and Confucianism. There are other alternatives to doing this: you could either go shopping in the Hanoi Marketplace, go explore more in Hanoi or if you did some intensive activities, go for a full body spa.
After that 45-minute show, we explored a little bit more of Hanoi, going to the depths of it. Then we went back to our hotel and slept there.
Trấn Quốc Pagoda - Our final destination in Hanoi was the Majestic Buddhist temple near the riverside called Tran Quoc Pagoda. It was a really tall and symmetrical place with beautiful wood and stone carvings. There was also a huge banyan tree situated right in the middle of the Pagoda!
Some stuff we missed - We missed shopping in Hanoi as we did not have that much time and our flight was too early. We also missed the symbolic catholic church in the middle of the city. Those places were a necessity to go to and I hope you won't make the same mistake as us.
Arrival at Hanoi - We had previously been in Ha Long Bay and took a 2-hour cab on Grab to our hotel at around 2pm-3pm. After Settling in our hotel for about 20 minutes, we went out to explore the city.
The Temple of Literature - Our 1st destination was Conficius' Temple of Literature. While traveling across East Asia, Confucius Spread his ideas all around Vietnam, spreading them and gaining popularity. We explored it at around 3:30 pm as it closed at 5pm. There are 5 courtyards in the Temple of Literature, one of them for praying to Conficius and his 4 main disciples. That was a really historic place and I really enjoyed it.
The Temple of Literature
Street Food Dinner - After visiting the Temple of Literature, we took a little break on the streets near our hotel and had the Vietnamese Delicacy called Pho. It was basically a hot pot where we put noodles, lettuce, some Tofu, and vegetables stirred in a pineapple broth which tasted awesome with a little bit of soy sauce.
Vietnamese Pho
The Hanoi Marketplace
Water Puppets Show - We booked our show to go to the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre at 8pm. It was a very traditional experience. (My Water Puppet Experience)
After that 45-minute show, we explored a little bit more of Hanoi, going to the depths of it. Then we went back to our hotel and slept there.
Tao Temple - We woke up early the next day, as we had to catch a flight to Central Vietnam at 11 AM. We then took a cab and went to the Tao Temple in Hanoi. There we saw the ways the Tao Philosophies worked, and how the Tao/Dao people prayed. Daoism is the way, like a drop of water in a stream, a very fascinating Chinese Philosophy originated by Laozi.
The Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - We then took a cab to the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, which had been sadly destroyed by the French in the 1st French Indo-China War of Vietnam. There were not many remains of the citadel except for the 2nd floor and some bricks of the top roof.
The Imperial Citadel
The Trấn Quốc Pagoda
Some stuff we missed - We missed shopping in Hanoi as we did not have that much time and our flight was too early. We also missed the symbolic catholic church in the middle of the city. Those places were a necessity to go to and I hope you won't make the same mistake as us.
Travel Tips:
Shopping Prices - Vietnamese Dong: 25,000 Dong = 1 Dollar
Make sure to bargain at least 10% off if it's pricy and good quality
Temple Prices - Very Cheap for Adult and mostly free for children
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