As a country made up of 54 ethnicities, Vietnam is uniquely in need of an ethnology museum. And happily, the one found in the west of Hanoi is excellent. We drove out to the Cầu Giấy district to check out the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology.
Legend has it that Emperor Lê Lợi was fishing on Hoàn Kiếm Lake, when a turtle god emerged and asked for his magic sword. Although the sword, which he had used to defeat the invading forces of the northern Ming, was precious to him, Lê Lợi was not about to second-guess a god. The turtle took the sword in his jaws and brought it to the depths of the lake, where it remains to this day.
A distinctive facade of three wide arches welcomes shoppers to Hanoi's largest covered market, the Chợ Đồng Xuân. With mostly clothes and bulk foods on sale, this isn't a place for souvenir-hunting tourists. But if you're in the market for a fascinating slice of local life, it might be just what you're looking for.
Built in 1070, the Temple of Literature was Vietnam's first university, where the country's brightest scholars aspired to the role of mandarin, or court official. The temple is dedicated to Confucius, and is one of Hanoi's most historic sights.
We named this iteration of our travel project "Hanoi For 91 Days" more for aesthetics than for accuracy; "Central and Northern Vietnam For 91 Days" just doesn't have the same ring to it. But the truth is, we didn't even reach Hanoi until Day #31. After a month on the road, from Hoi An to Ninh Binh, we were ready to settle into the rhythm of a city, and get back to life as normal. It didn't take long for us to realize, though, that life in Hanoi could never be considered "normal".
When we chose Saigon as our seventeenth "For 91 Days" destination, we never expected that Hanoi might be the eighteenth. We've never stayed in a country for a second consecutive adventure, and it wasn't even under consideration. But we never expected to be so completely enamored by the people, culture and cuisine of Vietnam. After spending three months in the south, we simply couldn't leave without devoting an equal amount of time to the north.
