Hanoi a city with energy
So Hanoi exceeded my expectations -why? Normally when you see pictures of Hanoi it is crazy traffic but there is so much more to this city . We took a direct flight from Siem Reap to Hanoi and arrived at the Oasis that is the Sofitel Metropole Hanoi what a beautiful hotel small , art deco and with the most wonderful staff This hotel has history it was built in 1901 and is where all the celebrities stay in Hanoi and is french colonial style with a wonderful bar 'Angelinas' it also has its own bunker from the vietnam war found under the swimming pool
We only had 2 nights here I wish we had more time
There is a beautiful lake in the centre of the town - Early in the morning locals come to exercise and dance with a love for BONEYM line dancing it really was fun to watch a real sense of community . There is a lot of traffic in Hanoi but we soon got uses to crossing the roads with millions of motorbikes ready to take you out
We had a tuk tuk tour the following morning which incorporated a few stops in the city We had a busy day visiting the Confucius temple of literature , Mausaleum of Ho chi Minh which made me think ‘very North Korea’ AS THE soldiers guarding him were very serious . Ho Chi Mihn was THE beloved leader who took on the USA and his body has been embalmed and held in a tomb which you walk by and pay your respects.
We also visited the infamous Hanoi Hilton prison camp where B52 bombers were imprisoned for 7 years.
From the hotel we walked to silk street 20 mins by foot this is where there are a lot of shops as we looked for last minute souvenirs. We were short of time as we were going to the puppet theatre so – quickly set back to the hotel in a rickshaw peddled by a man who must have been 70 – it was hilarious especially in the crazy traffic plus it had started raining and we were covered in a plastic sheet. He ripped us off and charged us more than the 'agreed' price ( common for rickshaws) but who cares the experience was priceless.
In the evening we did a golf buggy tour of the old town followed by the water puppet theatre for which Hanoi is famous After the show we were still full from lunch so after a couple of cocktails in Angelina's Bar w made our way into Hanoi to visit train street which was organised by the hotel concierge – we had our own front row seat . It was beautiful with bright colours and pretty lanterns lining the way . It was well worth it and we had fun watching the train pass by - and they are close!
Our last day in Hanoi was actually really cool as we paid to keep our room for an extra 6 hours So didn’t have to vacate until 6pm We went shopping , walked by the lake , had a manicure in the spa , lay by the pol , had afternoon tea followed by a tour of the hotel . The hotel is really famous since 1901 famous people have stayed here including charley chaplin and more recently Donald Trump when he met Kim Jong Un for a meeting in 2019 Joan Baez stayed here too and Jane Fonda when protesting against the Vietnam war – there is a bunker in the hotel that they found a few years ago from this time underneath the pool which only ‘guests’ of the hotel can see . This hotel is stunning and the staff are off the scale – and I even purchased a silk dressing gown from the hotel which was beautiful - Vietnam is famous for its silk
A place I will return if only to stay in the Metropole again !
