After spending four days in Sa Pa, we took the four-hour bus ride back to Hanoi where we stayed for for nights at the Aquarius Grand Hotel before we flew home. We were in Hanoi for the first time back in 2001. We liked it much better this time even though the air pollution can be very bad. The first day (2/10/25) we arrived Hanoi, the air quality index was 184 (red warning). I got the asthma while there. At this time of the year, the weather is cool, overcast (fog and pollution) and occasional light rains. The famous Old Town area are always crowded with tourists, shops and eateries. Besides the much smaller Hoan Kiem Lake nearby the Old Town section, we also walked from the hotel to the West Lake for sightseeings. The round trip is about 18Km (or 11 miles).

Link to the Northeastern Vietnam photo gallery: https://pbase.com/mic_hong/northeastvnfeb2025
Link to the Northwestern Vietnam photo gallery: https://pbase.com/mic_hong/northwesternvnfeb2025
Link to Ninh Binh photo gallery: https://pbase.com/mic_hong/ninhbinhvnfeb2025
Additional photos of Ninh Binh and Hanoi from Thanh Huong...
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipO8EvXVvcPXcu3K2UescNruWcjSKI9yCyhR0jcpY1Y3zUF_YOKjcfwqbpS5ALAyNQ?key=eWFyd25YWnBpak8xOG56QkUybzVURXhFaGI1RkN3