HANOI -- It is 6 a.m. on a chilly December morning, but Hanoi is already alive, breathing and buzzing. Female street vendors with bicycles are peddling colorful roses, chrysanthemums and tulips. Groups of older women dance to loud, upbeat music around Hoan Kiem Lake, one of the city's natural freshwater bodies. Nearby, office workers in suits sit on plastic stools on the sidewalk, chatting over bowls of steaming pho (rice noodle soup with bone broth, meat and herbs).
Vietnam's capital has come a long way since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. The city now brims with specialty coffee shops, thrift stores, restaurants and craft workshops. Hanoi welcomed 4 million foreign tourists in 2023, according to the city's tourism department, most of whom bedded down in the 36 tightly packed streets in the city's vibrant Old Quarter.
