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Most
shopping for Hanoi silk, antiques and lacquerware is done along
Hang Gai street and its extension, Hang
Bong. A graceful ao-dai
(pronounced "ow-zai") will set you back US$25-$70 – if you can fit
into one. Vietnamese women are awfully svelte, which is how you get
three or four on a single moped – and that's just on the handlebar.
Fortunately for visitors, garment sizes do not reflect these
vanishing waistlines. Business is directed at less-than-compact
foreigners so large-size stock predominates. Alterations can be done
in hours and a complete dress stitched in a day.
Silk
Khai Silk
121 Nguyen Thai Hoc St., Hanoi
8233508
Hien Silk (100 Hang Gai),
My Trang Silk (52 Hang Gai)
Hanoi Silk (77 Hang Bac Street)
Kenly Silk
108 Hang Gai St., Hanoi
8267236
Tan My Silk
Bags and more
Ipa Nima Shop
19-16 Nha Tho str.,Hanoi
9340876
Co (18 Nha Tho Street,
that specialises in hand-stitched clothes for men and women and
embroidered apparel.
Tribal Sfuffs
Craft Link
43 Van Mieu St., Hanoi
8437710
Lan
Vietnamese Handicraft
38 Au Trieu, Hanoi
8289278
Jewellry
Bao Tin Minh Chau
29 Tran Nhan Tong St., Hanoi
8259685
Jewellry and more
Mara Jewellry
2C Pham Ngoc Thach, Hanoi
5742296
From
Hoan Kiem it is a five-minute stroll down Trang Tien
(pronounced “chang tee en”) to the characterful Opera House
that dominates the much-photographed landmark square or, rather,
roundabout. Motorcycles buzz like hornets and of an evening a
newlywed couple will turn up to be immortalised in front of this
gracious building. Trang Tien is itself an
interesting street packed with a crop of funky art galleries and
bookstores, should you need one. A big, well-stocked bookshop is
Thang Long (55 Trang Tien). Or try the
Bookshop (41 Trang Tien). Close by is the Music
Shop (though its Vietnamese name is different, 29 Trang
Tien Street). Here, in a small room that doubles as a CD shop and
motorbike parking lot, you'll find DVD movies for
18,000 dong (pronounced "zong"), innumerable music CDs and pirated
software for D10,000. For some reason, Vietnamese music CDs are a
tad more expensive at D40,000 or so. Close to the Opera House is the
delightful Chi Vang store (17 Trang Tien) that
stocks a pleasing collection of silk embroidered fabrics put to
different uses. Gauzy eye-catching wine bottle presentation wraps
are US$5, stylish linen bathrobes US$99, and velvet blankets, should
you be so inclined, US$230 up. |
