Lonely Planet Hanoi & Halong Bay Encounter [Paperback]

Tom Downs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2007

What Will Your Hanoi & Halong Bay Encounter Be?

...dodging motorbikes and food vendors in the maze of the Old Quarter (p40)
...slurping noodles and sipping cheap beer at a streetside bia hoi joint (p18)
...bargaining for silks, ceramics and art 'til you're blue in the face (p132)
...seeing water puppetry by the Thang Long troupe, which has performed all over the world (p55)
...checking out the architecture and early-morning exercisers around Hoan Kiem Lake (p56)
...falling asleep under the stars on a Halong Bay boat (p26)

Discover Twice the City in Half the Time...

...full-color pull-out map and detailed neighborhood maps make navigation easy
...our discerning author recommends the very best neighborhoods, sights, restaurants, shops and entertainment
...listings of unique itineraries and highlights help you make the most of a short break
...locals give us the lowdown on everything from art to driving a cyclo and smoking a water pipe

Editorial Reviews

Review

Sherman's Travel, April 2007
'...Encounter guides...discreet in size, but generous enough on page count to provide a fuller city experience minus the hefty guidebook load.'

From the Publisher

Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travelers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travelers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
* We are relentless in finding the special, the unique and the different for travellers wherever they are.
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* We always offer the trusted filter for those who are curious, open minded and independent.
* We challenge our growing community of travelers; leading debate and discussion about travel and the world.
* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travelers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 166 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet; 1 edition (September 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1741790921
• ISBN-13: 978-1741790924
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 4.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #395,575 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > Travel > Asia > Vietnam

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good concise book on Hanoi, May 5, 2008

By 

Nikku - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonely Planet Hanoi & Halong Bay Encounter (Paperback)

The main plus with this book is that it conatined a fold out map of Hanoi. The map is paper and probably won't last more than a trip or two to Hanoi, but it was pretty detailed with a good street index. On a 5 day trip to Vietnam, I relied on this book more than most. It was pretty easy to use because it divided the city up into sections, so you could easily plan your time efficiently without criss-crossing town when it was not needed. I thought there was a lack of information about specifics, such as opening/closing times, admission prices, etc, taxi costs, etc. Also, a cab from the airport into town should cost about $15 USD or 250,000 Dong. Prices in Dong are usually quoted by dropping the three zeros (e.g. 250), so if someone quotes you a price of 2,500, they mean 2,500,000 Dong. For Lonely Planet, I thought these kinds of tips should have been included in the book, but they were lacking.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars one star for it's size... the other for the map., December 4, 2009

By 

Kimmy in Valencia (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lonely Planet Hanoi & Halong Bay Encounter (Paperback)

But otherwise, if you're looking for a guide to Hanoi and Halong Bay, I would say pass this up. My husband and I recently used this on a trip to Vietnam and were disappointed that it's already very outdated.

Also, the author really missed the boat on some areas including his table on how long it takes to walk from West Lake to the Old Quarter. Um, no it doesn't take 15 minutes... no matter how fast you walk!!

Also, there were some incorrect info that we came upon, such as the description of Temple of Literature. It had different dates that what was actually posted at the Temple of Literature.

Lastly, the restaurants recommended were mostly misses. And it's really outdated that they need to stop selling this!!! All the prices quoted in the book, need to be about doubled. We ran into another couple carrying the same book and compared how useful it was (or wasn't) and they completely agreed that this book wasn't worth it.

Would have been better if the author included less amateurish photos taking up the entire page (like the pic of his daughter, regardless of how cute he thinks she is)... and put more helpful info in.