South China Morning Post
Nov 6th 2001
South China Morning Post, Features p.4
Planning
Less than a two-hour flight form Hong Kong, Hanoi is a great destination for a long weekend, with three days being plenty of time to see the city.
Bikes and motorbike outnumber cars, the food is good, the architecture charming, the street life vibrant and the weather as good there in autumn as it is here.
Vietnamese New Year - Tet - is an interesting but busy time to visit: Hanoi becomes a massive party, but book now if you want to go during our Lunar New Year festivities.
Web-wise, a good place to start is Peter Geiser's Internet Travel Guide (www.pmgeiser.ch/vietnam), which is widely recommended on the links pages of other Vietnam sites. The Hanoi section is succinct
and fact-packed. There are also useful General Information and Hotels sections; the latter includes everything from the five-star Hotel Metropole to the US$4-a-night (HK$31)
Bi Bi Guesthouse, plus links for online booking. (Also visit www.asiahotels.com for more hotel information.)
The Lonely Planet site (www.lonely-planet.com, then search for Hanoi) is always worth checking out. Its free guidebook upgrade includes details of the new night market north of Hoan Kiem lake.
