Vietnam Hanoi Tours

Hanoi's Old Quarter grew up as thirty-six guild streets, each named for the trade once practiced there, and much of that pattern survives in shopfronts selling silk, tin or paper votives today.

Water Puppets and Night Markets

Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre stages a tradition that began in Red River Delta rice paddies centuries ago, with wooden figures worked from behind a bamboo screen. On weekend evenings the Old Quarter's central streets close to traffic for a night market selling clothes, snacks and souvenirs.

Eating on Plastic Stools

Street food here is eaten low, on tiny plastic stools rather than at tables: bun cha over charcoal, cha ca fish sizzled with dill, or a bowl of pho to start the day. Egg coffee, a wartime improvisation using condensed milk, was invented in one of the side streets nearby.