Ha Noi Capital Travel Guide

Imagine a city where the exotic chic of old Asia blends with the dynamic face of new Asia. Where the medieval and modern co-exist. A city with a blend of Parisian grace and Asian pace, an architectural museum piece evolving in harmony with its history, rather than bulldozing through like many of the region’s capitals. Hanoi is where imagination becomes reality.


History and name

Hanoi used to be called Thang Long (flying dragon). The myth was that in 2010, the new king Ly Cong Uan while visiting this valley saw a dragon flying into the sky, and took this as an omen that this place was a suitable capital to rule. Thang Long had rich soil and good defense because it was surrounded by the Red River and backed by mountains.

The city was later renamed Hanoi (which means inside the river) in 1831 when the Nguyen dynasty moved capital to Hue. Hanoi was returned its status as capital during the French rule from 1887 to 1954, and continued to be the capital, first of Communist North Vietnam (from 1954) and later,  of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.


As of 2008, Hanoi will be expanded to include the surrounding province of Hatay and parts of Ha Dong, to a size of 3.200km2 and population of over 6 million people.

Getting there and around

Most visitors will land at Noi Bai international airports through one of the following airlines:

•    Vietnam Airlines - the primary national carrier
•    JetStar Airlines (tel: 84-4 9550550)  - discount Vietnamese carrier
•    Malaysia Airlines Malaysia Airlines fly daily to Hanoi from Kuala Lumpur
•    Cathay Pacific - upscale airline with flights to Hong Kong
•    Hong Kong Airlines  - new carrier with daily flights to/from Hong Kong
•    Thai Airways International - two flights daily to/from Bangkok
•    Lao Airlines – operating flights from Phnom penh to Hanoi
•    Nok Air  - budget airline flies to/from Bangkok
•    Tiger Airways

It takes around 40-60 minutes to get to the city downtown from the airport by taxi and costs 30 US$.

By train

Vietnam’s major north-south train, the Reunification Express, runs from Hanoi south to  central Vietnam (Hue and Danang) and then further to Ho Chi Minh City (more than 30 hours from Hanoi).

By bus

Hanoi is the main gateway for buses run from north to south on the coast of Vietnam. There are daily bus routes from Hanoi to all cities around Vietnam at Kim Ma, Giap Bat, Luong Yen and Gia Lam bus station.


A mass of motorbikes swarms through the tangled web of streets that is the Old Quarter, a cauldron of commerce for almost 1000 years and still the best place to check the pulse of this resurgent city. Hawkers in conical hats ply their wares, locals sip coffee and bia hoi (beer) watching life (and plenty of tourists) pass them by. Witness synchronised t’ai chi at dawn on the shores of Hoan Kiem Lake while goateed grandfathers tug at their wisps over the next chess move.

See the bold and beautiful dine at designer restaurants and cut the latest moves on the dance floor. Hanoi has it all: the ancient history, a colonial legacy and a modern outlook. There is no better place to untangle the paradox that is modern Vietnam.

The grand old dame of Asia, Hanoi lay in a deep slumber after Vietnam’s partition in 1954 until the effects of economic reforms kicked in four decades later. The city survived American bombs and Russian planners to emerge relatively unscathed in the early 1990s as an example of a French-conceived colonial city. Huge mansions line grand boulevards, and lakes and parks dot the city, providing a romantic backdrop to the nonstop soundtrack. There are still moments of Paris, as the smell of baguettes and café au lait permeates street corners.

Known by many names down the centuries, Thanh Long (City of the Soaring Dragon) is the most evocative, and let there be no doubt that this dragon is on the up once more.

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