My wife and I have never visited a more surprising City, in a good way. Hanoi is a City of about 1.4 million people, similar in size to the City of London. Vietnamese is the official language. English is the official second language. The Vietnamese also speak French, Chinese and Khmer. We were expecting the City to be uninviting to western travelers, in particular Americans.
Suggestions:
We could not have been more wrong because all of the people we met were hospitable and friendly. They really do love American travelers. We would suggest you first select a good, westernized hotel in which to stay. A good choice would be Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi. Former President Donald Trump chose the hotel for The 2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit. If it was OK for Donald it is OK for us. The Sofitel opened in 1901 as the Grand Métropole Hotel in Hanoi. The hotel is one of the most important buildings of Vietnam because of its French colonial style. Our second recommendation is to secure the services of a good english speaking guide because of the City’s overwhelming sights and sounds. Our guide was extraordinary.
You will find:
Hanoi is one of the most ancient capitals in the world. It is located on the banks of the Red River. Travelers will find well preserved colonial buildings, ancient pagodas and uniques museums within the City center. This French-colonial City has delectable cuisine, vibrant nightlife, silks and handicrafts, as well as multi cultural communities made up of Chinese, French and Russian influences.
Popular Attractions:
The Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, the war museum and the former “Hanoi Hilton” jail are a few of the most popular attractions for travelers. John McCain and other American prisoners were incarcerated in the Hoa Lo Prison, aslo known as the”Hanoi Hilton jail” during the Vietnam War. It is curious to note the Vietnamese refer to this as the American War. I guess that should have been expected. We were also surprised to discover that this jail was right in the heart of downtown Hanoi. It is located across the street from the Vietnamese Supreme Court. Who knew! For what ever reason we had assumed it was located out in the countryside. The visit to this facility gave us a real appreciation of John McCain and his determination and patriotism. Most residents of Hanoi have a high regard for John McCain.
A Very Safe City:
There are no Slums in Hanoi per our guide. He said no “slum” areas were ever zoned so none ever emerged. The whole city is pretty orderly and well maintained. He went on to say there are some areas that are more affluent, up-scale, than others but none of city’s neighborhoods were dangerous. It’s a very safe city.
Student Education:
We had a unique opportunity during our trip to Hanoi to visit the Temple of Literature, Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam. Quoc Tu Giam has been the national school at the imperial capital. For over 700 years its goal was to teach and train people to serve the country. The picture above is of several participating students during their high school graduation ceremony at Quoc To Giam, The Temple of Literature. Their english was quite impressive.
The population of Vietnam (Hanoi as well) is quite young with the median age is 31.9 years. The county is dedicated to a well educated populace. There has also been a real push to educate and train teachers because of the tremendous growth in the student population.
The number of general education teachers in Vietnam has increased to more than 800,000. Vietnam is strongly promoting the STEM sciences. Science teacher education is therefore a priority. These efforts seemed to have paid off based on the Vietnamese students achieving standardized test scores comparable with developed countries. Science education has become one of their most innovative fields.
