As a 1000-year-old political, cultural and economic centre of the country, Hanoi has accumulated for itself a large variety of distinctive features. As the Great Celebration of the 1000 - year - old Capital is coming soon, Tuan Linh Travel provides this tour to help tourists discover some of the most outstanding cultural features of this ancient city.
ITINERARY
9:00 AM pick up at your hotel. We begin with the Museum of Ethnology, which focuses on the 54 officially recognized ethnic groups in Vietnam. It is located on a 3.27 acre property in Cau Giay District, about 8 km from the city center. Since its foundation, the Museum has preserved rich and diverse showpieces and documentary references. At present, more than 15,000 objects, about 40,000 photographs and many audio-visual tapes, of which many collections are of highly cultural value, are exhibited and preserved by the Museum such as a collection more than 10 traditional houses of local peoples through out the country.
11:30 we leave the museum and visit the Tran Quoc Pagoda, one of the oldest pagoda in Vietnam. Hanoi now has the most pagodas many of which were built more than 1000 years ago. If you are interested in this aspect, you can spend a whole day to go west-wards to Son Tay or Thach That District where hundreds of pagodas are still preserved.
Lunch is the time to learn about the culinary art of Hanoi. Cha Ca La Vong (or La Vong grilled fish) is a traditional dish with very special taste. If your stomach still has room, try to enjoy a bow of Pho Bo (Beef rice noodle - this translation is just partly correct). This is the favorite food that Hanoi people cannot forget wherever they go.
In the afternoon, you will have time to learn about the tradition of schooling of Vietnam with a visit to the first university of Vietnam - Quoc Tu Giam and the Temple of Literature - where a famous teacher and a famous scholar are worshiped.
Next comes the Hoan Kiem Lake and Hanoi Old Quarter of 36 Ancient streets. The Lake is really like a heart if you look at it on the map. And it is still recognized as the focus of Hanoi, a must-see for tourists coming to Hanoi. Near the Lake is the famous Old Quarter consisting of 36 streets the names of which show what used to be sold there.
Late afternoon, you will have a chance to learn about Hanoi theatrical arts. On Thursdays or Sundays, we enjoy 1 hour of Tuong performance at the National Tuong Theatre. On the other days, a water puppet show will cheer you up before the tour ends.
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