Vietnam flag from Wikipedia.
I was in Hanoi at the New Year and here are my top picks:
1 ROMANTIC CRUISE
Take a trip from Hanoi to Halong Bay. Cruise through the green outcrops of rock reflected in the water.(The technical term is limestone karsts.) Luxurious small and large cruise ships provide enough luxury, privacy and security. They can sit at tables for two watching the scenery go by.
2 LAKE WALK
Kin Jong-Un enjoyed a walk about in Singapore. Hanoi has two lakes you can walk around. On festive occasions the area is made pedestrian-only and car-free.
3 LUXURY HOTEL
A lakeside hotel with suites offering lake views would be just the thing.
4 SHOPPING
Will their wives be with them? No. But Kim Jong-Un's sister was seen alighting from the train. She might buy for herself and other members of the family, a great souvenir, a made to measure dress, the traditional Vietnamese tunic, knee length of longer, with slit slides and a long scarf and matching trousers. In silk, of course. (I bought one ready-made, in black and red.)
WHAT NOT TO DO
Prison Museum.
Too much anti-French and anti-American text and pictures. They would need a diplomatic guide to steer them past the early days of fighting and imprisonment towards the statue of the Vietnamese revolutionary leader and reconciliation.
Ho Chi Minh
CROSSING THE ROADS
You need an escort and the road closed. Otherwise the scooters come at you from all directions. If renovators can quickly fill in a few potholes, that would help.
Late Update on Hanoi Hotels:
Trump - probably staying at the J W Marriott
Kim Jong-un - Melia Hanoi Hotel
Summit destination: Sofitel Legend Metropole
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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