Hanoi is located in northern Vietnam and will certainly offer to its visitors incredible scenery, beautiful landscapes, painted with colors, gorgeous food, friendly people and a friendly culture.

In terms of accommodations, Hanoi has nothing to by shy about, providing good services to the travel industry. Being less developed than Ho Chi Minh City, and thanks to this, Hanoi has preserved a special vibe given by old colonial and traditional buildings, green boulevards, and colorful temples. In terms of accessibility, Hanoi provides many services as comfortable boutique hotels, internet cafes and restaurants with a good variety of food. 

In the Old Quarter that preserves an ineludibly French taste, many boutique hotels offer a modest, but unique, charming environment to their guests. In fact, the recent refurbishments have been respecting the traditional architecture and design of Vietnam. Many of them, like the Pearls hotel for example, or the Old street Hotel, Hanoi Queen Plaza, the Ritz Hotel, the Joy Hotel, the Return Hotel, the Y Van Riverside Hotel or the Hanoi Plaza hotel are facing the still water of Lake Hoan Kiem, offering a gorgeous view to the guests that ask for it.

In terms of cultural events Hanoi’s calendar and Vietnamese calendar in general are spotted with many interesting festivals. Some of the most important events of Vietnamese culture are in January, when you can still hope to get  mild weather.

In January, there is probably what it is considered to be the biggest festival that celebrates the Lunar New Year. The Tet Nguyen Dan festival lasts for an entire week and involves families in particular. In fact, each family member is reunited and everyone is offered some little presents with special wishes for health and happiness. It is also a moment where family discussions, old difficulties and offenses are levelled in an atmosphere of forgiveness. But as the traditional family cannot forget the ancient relatives, that is, their ancesters, many candles and incense sticks are burst for them. In the same month, the annual Dong Da Festival celebrates the triumphant historical victory of King Quang Trung (Nguyen Hue) against the invaders of the Vietnamese nation. There are different venues where processions, activities and games, competitions, war stories, fires of colourful dragons and much more will entertain adults and kids!

Still in January, but on the 6th day of Tet, Hanoi and Vietnam celebrate the 5 elements (metal, wood, water, fire and earth) with music and sacrifices with the so called Co Loa Festival. Colorful flags and Dai Flags (great ones) in the wind and sculptures adorning the temples, are just some of the magic things you experience.

Last, but not least, The Cau Ngu Festival celebrates an ancient native who came from the north to teach the village locals many arts and techniques like fishing, trading etc. The name of this man was Truong Quy Cong, or Truong Thieu.

But, whatever month you go to Vietnam you can find festivals and celebrations to enjoy!

In 1968 the United States Navy assigned Brown to the prestigious Defense Language Institute (DLI) in Monterey, California, to learn Vietnamese. After a year of study, Brown was stationed in Vietnam and served as an interpreter. “It was a great assignment,”Brown states. “Unlike most other servicemen, I really enjoyed myself. I was so glad I took the time to learn Vietnamese.My job was mostly to smooth the cultural differences between the Vietnamese and the Americans.”

The “Learn Vietnamese” videos became so popular that I eventually made 20 more and created a website to give resources to others that want to learn Vietnamese. “The website http://www.vietnamese101.info/ is now getting more and more popular,” says Brown,”especially since Vietnam has opened its doors to the world. The people and culture are just fantastic. I encourage everyone to go and experience Vietnam. But first, try to learn some Vietnamese so you can enjoy the experience even more!”

Welcome!