Vietnam - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 840

Tran Quoc Pagoda , occupying a tiny
island in West Lake (daily 7.30-11.30am
& 1.30-6.30pm). he pagoda probably
dates back to the sixth century, and the
sanctuary's restrained interior, part of
which was under renovation at the time
of writing, is typical of northern
Vietnamese pagodas. West of Quan
hanh in Ngoc Ha (Flower Village),
down the alley next to 55 Hoang Hoa
ham, lies the B-52 Memorial . he
remains of the downed bomber,
half-submerged in a lake, form a
poignant memorial to the victims of the
1972 “Christmas Bombing” raids.

the centre, signposted left off Hoang
Quoc Viet. A taxi from the Old Quarter
will set you back around 130,000VND,
or hop on city bus #14 (4000VND) from
the west side of Hoan Kiem Lake to the
Hoang Quoc Viet stop, from where it's a
500m walk.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By plane It's a 45min ride into central Hanoi from Noi
Bai Airport ( W hanoiairportonline.com), 35km away. The
cheapest option upon arrival is to take public bus #17 to
Long Bien station (5000VND), and take a xe om to your
hotel from there (20,000VND). Just outside the inter-
national and domestic arrival terminals, you'll find
Vietnam Airlines minibuses (32,000VND) that bring you to
their o ce at the corner of Trang Phi and Quang Trung.
Airport Taxi charges a flat fee of 190,000VND for a door-to-
door ride and it's $18 if you've booked transport with
your accommodation. In the airport arrivals hall, there are
ATMs and exchange bureaux. To get to the airport, you
can take the Vietnam Airlines minibus from their o ce
(daily 6am-7pm), which leaves every half-hour from
4.30am-11.30am and every hour from noon-6pm.
Alternatively, sign up at one of the travellers' cafés for a
shared car or bus ($5/person).
Destinations Da Lat (4 daily; 1hr 40min); Da Nang (14
daily; 1hr 15min); Dien Bien Phu (daily; 1hr); HCMC (36
daily; 2hr); Hue (4 daily; 1hr 10min); Nha Trang (4 daily;
1hr 40min); Phu Quoc (daily; 2hr 15min).
By open-tour bus For tickets and information on long-
distance open-tour buses that stop at popular cities
between Hanoi and HCMC, contact reliable operators such
as Sinh Tourist (see p.844). Direct one-way (and hugely
uncomfortable) overnight buses run to Vientiane (daily;
16hr; $30), departing from Hanoi at 7pm, crossing the
border at Cau Treo.

11

Museum of Ethnology
he highly recommended Museum of
Ethnology , or Bao Tang Toc Hoc Viet
Nam, situated on the western outskirts of
Hanoi in the Cau Giay district along
Nguyen Van Huyen (Tues-Sun
8.30am-5.30pm; 40,000VND; W vme
.org.vn), is a bit of a trek out of town,
but worth the effort for its fantastic
exhibitions on all the country's major
ethnic groups. Musical instruments,
games, traditional dress and other items
of daily life fill the showcases, alongside
excellent life-size displays on funerary
ceremonies, conical-hat production and
traditional sacrificial spears. Outside in
the museum grounds there are detailed
replicas of various ethnic dwellings and
burial statues; standout exhibits include
a thatch-roofed Giarai tomb and stilt
village houses. he museum is 7km from

SCAMS IN HANOI
Hanoi plays host to a large number of hotel racketeers, phoney tour operators and con artists
determined to part you from your cash. Check the authenticity of any establishment before
booking a tour (check the real address using a guidebook or the internet), as names of
genuinely good and popular hotels, taxi companies and tour agencies are shamelessly copied,
and be very sceptical of taxi drivers telling you that a hotel or restaurant has closed down or
relocated. Many taxis that loiter outside the bus and train stations have rigged meters, so try
and get a taxi with a reputable company (see p.844) or be aware how far you're travelling and
how much you should be paying (prices per km are displayed on the sides of taxis). If you take
a cyclo, firmly agree on a price and be aware that some cyclo drivers try to add an extra zero
when you come to pay (“I said 200,000, not 20,000”) or try to charge double for two people.
Also be wary of “students” who approach you around Hoan Kiem Lake wishing to practise their
English - it is a renowned scam that could land you with a restaurant or bar bill of a few
hundred dollars. Such incidents should be reported to the Vietnam National Administration of
Tourism, 3 Tran Phu ( T 04 33560789, W hanoitourism.gov.vn).