Through no fault of my own, I’ve managed to squeeze in two trips to Hanoi in the short time I’ve been over here.
In November I was supposed to help run a communications training, but it was cancelled as the remnant of Typhoon Haiyan hit Vietnam just as we arrived. Instead, I ended up staying in the hotel for most of the week glued to my computer working 12-14 hour days helping with response communications. Add in a bout of food poisoning and you have the first visit.
I did get away from my computer for a couple hours one afternoon to visit the Old Quarter of Hanoi and Hoan Kiem lake. Though it was just a quick glimpse, I already loved the city. It reminded me of Paris or the Trastevere neighborhood in Rome – tree lined streets, buildings squeezed close together, and endless waves of scooters.
The training was rescheduled for early January, which was even better as the city was preparing for Tet New Year celebrations. The only reference to Tet I’d ever heard is about the Tet offensive during the Vietnam war so it threw me for a minute!
It was described to me as Christmas and New Year all rolled into one huge celebration. The city was beautifully decorated with red and gold and mini orange trees and forced cherry blossom branches – both of which bring good luck.
In the evenings we had a little time to wander, which included the night markets and sidewalk restaurants. I even found a tailor that I really liked, where I had two dresses made, with dreams for a houndstooth coat to be sewn on my next visit.
Here’s a little visual tour through the city:
rumpledluggagetag.com 
Nice post and photos! Thanks!