Hanoi aka: Ha Noi

Sorry, I’ve forget to post their address.
Hong Ngoc 1 hotel, 34 hang manh,hoankiem, Hanoi, Vietnam
email:sales@hongngochotels.com
Site: http://hongngochotel.com
Enjoy everybody.

Hanoi is so peaceful, quite at night and all bar closed at midnight,lol.We want to recommend a great hotel.We travel as a family quite frequently and have two children ages 10 and 12. So, I spend a lot of time trying to find good hotels on TripAdvisor. A bad hotel can ruin a trip. The Hong Ngoc 1 hotel’s location is perfect for shopping and and is a five minute walk from Hoan Kiem Lake, The Water Puppet theater and many other sights. It is located on a narrow street with no cars so the noise while noticeable is undoubtedly much less than at other hotels. The hotel itself was like an oasis in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Hanoi. Frequently we would go out at 8:00 am and return at about 2:00 pm just to have a quiet comfortable place to rest and recharge before going out again later in the afternoon. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. They knew us by sight so when we walked in, they just handed us our room key. The night reception even allowed us to take a family picture. The breakfasts were buffet and eat even what want till full :)
We also booked our trip to Halong bay through the hotel on Paradise Cruises. Before we went I could find very little on this particular boat, but decided to trust the hotel. We couldn’t have been happier with the choice. Rather than go into that here, if you are interested in Paradise, I will write a separate review under the “Halong Bay” section of the “Things To Do” tab. Suffice it to say, we had a great time and I would highly recommend the 3 day cruise over the 2 day one. Two days really means one night and about 18 total hours on the boat. Not nearly enough time to do and see everything.

The view from the airport to the city is amazing, especially in summer. Beautiful, green rice fields and old clay-coloured houses, with random brown murky rivers winding their way through.

The way the city hugs the lake gives it less of a city feel adn more of a local town kinda feel.

Food = amazing. Truly, amazingly delicious, and absolutely dirt cheap, along with the beer. Streets freaked me out until I went to Saigon. The first time you cross can be nerve racking, but after a while it’s kinda like a fun challenge.

I taught ESL and lived here for a year. The people are so friendly and gracious—just beautiful inside and out! I worked with doctors and nurses at the School of Public Health. I’ll post an essay I wrote about it all at some point!
Picture is of me New Year’s Eve after a sunburn on a VN beach, vacationing

People said this city is like Jakarta 30 years ago…? Or maybe less…
Anyway…I really enjoyed my time here…even though it was really short…
Very cheap! And the food is great!
What I don’t like about this place is the people is unfriendly!
But…hey…what could you expect?! :p