The busy Old Quarter in Hanoi is a shock to your senses. It’s loud, hectic and full of energy. It’s a city trying to be modern, but still has an old feel with narrow lanes and fruit sellers on bicycles wearing woven, conical hats. There’s a unique charm to this large city.
Old Quarter is where you’ll find most of the action. The narrow streets are bustling with people and the air is filled with scents from street vendors and restaurants making Pho and the northern specialty Bum Bo Nam Bo. This dish translates to ‘noodle beef from southern Vietnam’. It was fresh and light with sweet and sour aspects, even the vegetarian version is incredible. When we were in southern Vietnam though we couldn’t find this ‘southern’ dish. There they said its only available in the north!
We thought walking across the street in India was difficult, but in Hanoi, there’s never a break in traffic. The city of 7 million people has 5 million motorcycles. At least they’re not cars… yet. Just be careful crossing the street and remember the rule: make eye contact with the driver, slowly walk across at a consistent, slow pace and the motorcycles will swerve around you.
Streets of Hanoi 
Vegetable seller, Hanoi 
Streets of Hanoi 
Fruits and vegetable sellers, Hanoi 
Typical electrical wiring in Vietnam
In the middle of this crazy city is the calm Hoam Kiem Lake with the picturesque Turtle Tower in the middle. Legend says that a magical sword originated from this lake and was used to defeat Chinese invaders in the 1400s. After the battle, a turtle returned the sword to the bottom of the lake. The tower was built to honour that turtle. There’s a lovey sidewalk around that lake that is great for a calming walk. On one side of the lake are a few restaurants with patios. It’s a great place to sit and enjoy the view.
Turtle Tower inHoam Kiem Lake, Hanoi 
Turtle Tower in Hoam Kiem Lake , Hanoi
On the other side of the lake is Ngoc Son Temple on a small island. Inside, it is colourfully decorated with a red alter and red and gold porcelain decorations such as horses and phoenixes. Vietnamese religions are a mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and the worship of ancestors. Ngoc Son Temple is dedicated to all of those except Buddhism. There are statues of the various ancestors around the altar making it look much different than other temples we’ve seen.
Ngoc Son Temple, Hanoi 
Ngoc Son Temple, Hanoi 
Ngoc Son Temple, Hanoi 
Ngoc Son Temple, Hanoi
Built in the 9th century, Bach Ma Temple is the oldest temple in Hanoi. Bach Ma means ́white horse ́ which relates to its legend. There are a few different versions of the story. They all explain how a white horse determined the location of the new citadel, which is now Hanoi. Bach Ma Temple was built to worship the white horse. Inside it is also decorated in red and gold with phoenix statues and of course a statue of a white horse. In the 1800s a shrine to Confucius was added. The temple is located in Old Quarter as are many other temples that are worth visiting. Walking through Old Quarter, we also saw many small shrines on trees or in small spaces between buildings.
Bach Ma Temple, Hanoi 
Roadside temple, Hanoi 
Temple in Hanoi 
The Temple of Literature is a gorgeous complex of traditional, well-preserved Vietnamese buildings. They have typical low roofs, tiled with terracotta and have turned up decorated corners. There are 5 courtyards with ponds and manicured gardens in the complex. Built in the 11th century, it was dedicated to Confucius but was built as a place of study of Confucianism rather than for worship. It’s said to be Vietnam’s first university. When we were there the courtyards were filled with hundreds of students and their families, posing for grad pictures, so we couldn’t explore much of the grounds.
Temple of Literature, Hanoi 
Temple of Literature, Hanoi 
Grad students, Temple of Literature, Hanoi
Halong Bay is a must-see site in Northern Vietnam. This UNESCO World Heritage site has a unique landscape, filled with thousands of karst islands and islets standing like tall pillars in the blue ocean. We booked a 4-day 3-night cruise through our hotel and it was one of the best decisions we made. Our junk boat cruised between the tall, jungle covered pinnacles making us feel small in comparison. The scenery is spectacular. We kayaked a few times between these giants allowing a different perspective. Some of the islands have naturally formed tunnels that not only make great pictures, but some were large enough that we were able to kayak through.
Cruise boat, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Tunnel, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Tunnel, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Kayaking, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Kayaking, Halong Bay, Vietnam
Although it’s a very touristy area, it still has a remote feel. There are many local fishermen with old, wooden fishing boats. Some of them have very basic houseboats where they live and fish each day. Other fishermen live in stilt homes forming small villages in quiet bays. We passed a few temples and shrines that the villagers built on the islets. We were only 165 km from Hanoi, but worlds away from modern conveniences.
Fisherman, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Fishermen on their houseboat, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Fisherman, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Fishermen on their houseboat, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Village, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Floating village, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Temple, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Fishermen on their houseboat, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Fisherman, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Village, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Temple, Halong Bay, Vietnam
Some of the villagers work on one of the many pearl farms in the bay. We stopped at one and saw how they grow, cultivate and polish the pearls. Of course there was a jewelry store with hundreds of choices of necklaces, earrings and bracelets strung with the cultured pearls. At least the store didn’t have an aggressive sales staff and they let us just browse.
Pearl farm, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Pearl farm, Halong Bay, Vietnam
We were able to get off our junk boat to explore one of the islands. There was a cave on the island that is open to tourists. It was fairly small, but had many narrow passages and alcoves. The cave was full of large stalagmites and stalactites giving it a mysterious feel. It was a small cave, but still interesting to actually be inside one of the islands. At the end of the cave was a walkway that led to a secret lake with amazing views of the surrounding island peaks. It was a beautiful, calm end to our cruise.
Cave, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Cave, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
Secret lake, Halong Bay, Vietnam 
View from the secret lake, Halong Bay, Vietnam
Coming up Next: Trekking on the Dong Van Plateau
For more pictures from this trip, click here. For pictures from our other trips go to Gallery at Monkey’s Tale.
For more stories from our other adventures, go to Destinations.
If you like what you read, please comment or share using the links below.
Monkey's Tale 
Great memories, good photos and information.
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Thank you!
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Really good and informative…✌️✌️✌️
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I loved Hanoi’s combination of laid back atmosphere and urban pandemonium. The old district is fascinating; I loved walking around even though it was raining the time I was there. My stay was short as well and I want to go back. Missed Halong Bay as well. I guess I have many things to look forward to when I return to Vietnam.
Great pictures again. 🙂
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Thanks Carl, we liked Hanoi more than we expected. It has more soul than many big cities. You’ll have to go to Halong next time!
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Having lived in a really quite place on Ireland’s West coast for the past 18 months, I would love to experience a place that’s hectic and full of noise. Your photos are absolutely stunning and so is the wealth of useful information, thanks for sharing and inspiring 😀
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Thank you! Hanoi has just the right amount of hectic with a few quiet spots to get away from it. Thanks for reading!
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We loved the temples in Vietnam. Would love to visit Halong Bay, though, it looks and sounds amazing
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The temples are so colourful and different than other countries aren’t they? Halong Bay is a must! Thanks for reading!
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I’m so glad to hear you say that Halong Bay retains a remote feel despite the heavy tourism. It looks incredible…I would love to go. What time of year was this? Your pictures are so sunny. I’ve seen other blogs/articles with heavy fog/mist.
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We went in December and the weather was cold but clear. We actually needed warmer jackets in the evening. It’s definitely worth looking in to. We were in awe of the scenery.
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Hanoi certainly looks a lot cleaner than when we were there, but just as hectic.
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We were surprised that it was as clean as it was. We enjoyed Hanoi a lot more than we expected.
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You guys take the most beautiful pictures. I hope to make it there one day…
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Thank you!! You should go to Vietnam, we really enjoyed our trip. It has amazing sites an interesting culture and pretty easy to get around as a tourist.
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We came up with a verb for crossing the street in Vietnam. To Hanoi It: Verb – to cross the street by wading into traffic and continuing to the other side at the same pace while letting the bikes avoid you. Even outside of Vietnam, we will occasionally say, “Let’s Hanoi it.”
How were the crowds at Ha Long Bay? Is it getting over-touristed? I went there about 15 years ago and there were few travelers, but I assume that has changed.
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Haha I may use that! We went for 3 nights so our boat was able to get out further where there were fewer boats. I think the short cruises are in more congested waters. We had many times when we were the only boat in sight.
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Fabulous photos. Really looking forward to visiting Vietnam some day…..
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Thanks Marie, Vietnam is a great country to visit. There’s a lot to see and it’s quite different north to south.
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You had great weather in Ha Long Bay! When we were there it was rather overcast… hope to go back again some time!
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We had very clear skies, but it was December so it was a lot colder than we expected in Vietnam.
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Oh really? We were there in October and I remember it being quite nice up north, but stiflingly hot in the south.
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This is an excellent article with a lot of great pictures. Thank you for taking of your time to post this for the rest of us to get to see and read. I am going to reblog this article for you.
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Thank you, we appreciate it!!
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Reblogged this on Truth Troubles.
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Thanks again!!
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Wow, this looks amazing, the photos are fantastic, can’t wait to see these places ourselves next year
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Halong Bay is unbelievably beautiful. Here’s my first tip. Book a tour for at least 3 nights, because the first and last days are only 1/2 days and it’s spent traveling to and from the shore. We met people who did 2 nights, but they didn’t get to see much.
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Thank you, will add it to our list
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Oh this brings back some memories!! Love your photos from Hanoi especially, you’ve captured so much atmosphere.
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Thank you! Hanoi has a lot of character, glad it came out in the photos.
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Awesome pictures. Do you find it’s tough to balance taking all those photos and enjoying the place you are in?
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Thanks for your question. We usually spend quite a bit of time at each site when we visit. Sometimes we return to spots just to take a picture because it was too busy or the light was poor earlier. And though it seems like we take a lot of pictures we don’t take too many, at least not like many of the selfie takers.
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That’s a great strategy, didn’t think of doing that. Thanks!
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Hello Maggie and Richard, just doing our research into Halong bay, will make it there mid March, but with more reading it’s looking like not such a good weather time to go, what time of year were you there? have you any tips? Not sure if to give it a miss on this trip to Vietnam as we have now found Tam Coc which looks amazing, anyway, and suggestions would be welcome😊
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We went to Halong in December. It was cool but clear skies. I assume March is into rainy season so it wouldn’t be a good trip. Everything to do is outside and if you can’t see the islands it would be disappointing. Can you change your plans to go at another time? Are you still in Thailand? If you’re going to Ayutthaya look into sukhothai as well.
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Thank you, yes still in Thailand but fly to Chiang Mai tomorrow so doing around that area for a few days then Mae Win before heading to Chiang Rai then Loas. Will probably still head to Halong but perhaps just a quick visit 😀
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