Like many travelers, I enjoy visiting Southeast Asia a lot. I’ve visited 6 countries and have been to the region numerous times, including twice this year. But the first country I ever visited in Southeast Asia was Vietnam and it remains my favorite. My first stop was its capital Hanoi.

I flew into Hanoi, not knowing much about the city except that according to articles and blogs I’d read, it was supposedly rather sleepy and conservative compared to Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon in the south. As it turned out, Hanoi was anything but sleepy, with its crazy traffic, its Hoan Kiem Lake which comes alive at night, its noisy and colorful Old Quarter, and its busy weekend night market that takes up an entire street. Hanoi boasts several interesting sights to see if you’re a history or military buff.

I stayed in the Old Quarter, which is the city’s oldest district and is a hive of activity with its busy lanes, stores and charming old buildings. On the weekends, the Old Quarter has a busy night market that is blocked off to motor traffic and goes up to the Dong Xuan market building. The Old Quarter is near Hoan Kiem Lake, which is a small, pleasant lake with a small structure in the middle, the Turtle Tower. I have a thing for cities with nice lakes, parks or hills so I started liking Hanoi, with its several lakes, early on.

Hoan Kiem lake’s name means the return of the sword, which refers to a legend about something that happened in the lake. A Vietnamese emperor was boating on the lake, when a giant turtle suddenly came towards his boat, took his sword, and dived back into the water. As this sword itself was said to be holy and of special origin (somewhat like Excalibur, King Arthur’s sword), the emperor reasoned that the sword was rightfully being returned and named the lake after that event.

Hanoi’s Military History museum‘s main attraction is a giant outdoor pile of aircraft wreckage from American planes shot down during the Vietnam War. There are also captured American aircraft and helicopters (including the famous UH-1 “Hueys”), as well as a Vietnamese tank and anti-aircraft guns. The museum itself features exhibits on Vietnam’s ancient wars with China, the anti-French struggle and war, and of course, the war with the US.          
For a small country, Vietnam has a proud history of constant warfare against larger foes. As my student guide (whose agency offers free personal guides who are university students looking to practice English) told me, Vietnam fought China over a period of 1,000 years, the French for 100, and the Americans for 10 years. The Vietnam War exhibit was in a large room where weapons and objects were proudly displayed, including a bicycle used to transport goods through the Ho Chi Minh jungle trails during the war.

There was a small exhibit on an ancient naval victory over China featuring three wooden stakes that were used to sink Chinese ships, as well as a painting of that battle. The Vietnamese really commemorated their battles against China, which were often victories. I’d known that China and Vietnam had fought in the past, but not so many times. China’s Song, Yuan (Mongols), Ming, and Qing dynasties all sent armies into Vietnam. As a result, dioramas and paintings of Vietnamese victories over China are a common feature in Vietnamese museums.

Tank in the courtyard of the Military History Museum

Hanoi has several lakes, with the largest lake being West Lake. Next to it is Truc Bach Lake, a smaller lake that is famous for John McCain (RIP), the late US senator, parachuting into it after he was shot down on a bombing raid during the Vietnam War. He was soon pulled out and captured. The lake is placid with restaurants and homes alongside its shore. 

Because West Lake is really big, we didn’t walk around it, but instead we went to the Tran Quoc Pagoda, on the lakeshore. The distinctive red pagoda is Vietnam’s oldest pagoda, having been built in the sixth century (which precedes Hanoi which celebrated its 1000th anniversary in 2010). It features multiple Buddhas facing different directions on each of its levels. Inside its compound, there are attractive temple buildings, and some sort of tree growing inside a pool.
Truc Bach Lake
Tran Quoc Pagoda
Hoan Kiem Lake in the evening and daytime (below)

Night market pastries

Military History Museum

Bicycle used to transport goods by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War

Wooden stakes used to destroy the hulls of invading Chinese ships, Military History Museum