Shops that cater to tourists at the old part of town. Bargaining is expected.

Hanoi is administrative capital of Vietnam. The architecture is heavily influenced by the French.

There is a stark difference between the old quarters and the embassy areas in Ba Dinh district.

The embassy area, on the other hand, boasts wide sidewalks (wide enough to fit a badminton court), tree lined streets and ostentatiously large government buildings. Modern high end hotels are located not far from there.

WEATHER : Fair

GETTING THERE :

The 14 hour bus ride was made more bearable as I slept through much of that overnight ride. We arrived at 4-5am in the morning and I was surprised that were so many Hanoians awake at that hour and going about with their early morning exercise.

Budget airlines Tigerairways now flies direct to Hanoi from Singapore.

ACCOMMODATION : I stayed at 2 establishments in Hanoi. The first was quite bad so I cannot recommend it. Subsequently, I shifted to TUNG TRANG HOTEL (address : 13 Tam Thu’o’ng, email : [email protected]) and I was happy with my stay there. For a slightly higher rate of US$10/night, you get to stay in the heart of town. It is near Hoan Kiem Lake and just at the edge of the shopping belt. The small alley that leads to the guesthouse may look quite grotty. But once you enter it, it is a completely different world. The rooms are indeed very clean and quiet. It stands head and shoulders above the rest of its competition in that area.

BIRDING HIGHLIGHTS : Besides the few Eurasian Treesparrows, there are barely any another other birds along the streets! The situation there is so bad that many locals take to rearing caged birds to introduce natural sounds into their compounds.

I birdwatched at two public parks in Hanoi : Vuon Bach Thao (Hanoi Botanical Gardens) and Lenin Park. Those two parks seemed to have almost identical bird species.

Birds seen there included Red-Whiskered Bulbul, Plaintive Cuckoo, White-Throated Fantail, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Black-Throated Laughingthrush, Green Peafowl (2 caged at Vuon Bach Thao), Oriental Magpie Robin, Common Tailorbird, Great Tit, Eurasian Treesparrow, Arctic Warbler & Japanese White-eye.

LEECHES : None

MAP/SKETCH : Nil

SCOPE: Not needed.

LESSON LEARNT : Don’t waste your time birding at both parks. If you have not seen a Green Peafowl before, you may prefer to bird watch at Vuon Bach Thao. Be assured that the rest of Hanoi is fairly uninteresting for birding.