Hanoi is where you will see the old charm of Vietnam

In the last one year, I've been up to Hanoi a few times for business and managed to do some sight seeing. Unlike HCMC, Hanoi still retain Vietnam's old charm. Compared to HCMC, there are few tall commercial & residential buildings, traffic here is not as chaotic & less bustling with commercial activities . By 9pm, the roads & streets are dark and quiet with little traffic and diminishing crowd. There are no modern shopping centers in the touristy areas and not much of night life to be found.

There are also significant differences between the people in the northern and southern parts of Vietnam. The northerners claim to speak the most accurate Vietnamese language and they are much more vocal and aggressive.

The weather in both cities are distinctly different. Hanoi experiences the 4 seasons while HCMC gets summer all year round with 6 months of raining season.

Melia Hotel on Ly Thuong Kiet Street

Room service lunch was not bad ... Nasi Bryani & Tom Yam soup

View of the Hoa Lo Prison Museum from the hotel room

View of the Hanoi Tower, part of which is the Somerset Service Apartment

Hotel lobby

Straight ahead to the cafe for breakfast buffet

"Old Quarters" of Hanoi

An ang moh couple squatting on low stools, enjoying the local cuisine.

Modern looking shops, a contrast to those in the Old Quarter

Restaurant belonging to Bobby Chin (chef from Discovery & Living channel)

Even the restroom looks great!

Aggressive advertising!

Famous Cha Ca La Vong restaurant on Cha Ca Street
serving fried fish and vegetables over charcoal fire with 'bun' (noodles), peanuts & fish sauce

Hoan Kiem Lake

Walking around the Hoan Kiem lake in the cool weather is a joy

Lucky chap...

Tourists crossing the red bridge of the Rising Sun over to the Ngoc Son Pagoda

Large ocean-liner-shaped building on Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square

There seems to be more temples in Hanoi than in HCMC

St Joseph's Cathedral built in 1886, along Nha Tho street

Hoa Lo Prison Museum, the other famous "Hanoi Hilton"

Familiar names..

Hanoi Opera House

Government owned buildings with French architecture influence

State Bank of Vietnam

The Sofitel Metropole Hanoi Hotel seems quite impressive.
Looking like its situated in some parts of Europe instead of Vietnam

These tourists seemed lost

Stayed in Hilton Hanoi once. Definitely better than the Melia Hotel.
This is also where I spotted our Defense Minister, Teo Chee Hean with his family.