Hanoi

The charming part of Hanoi consists of old men in berets sitting by the lake and all facets of the population out exercising in the morning or early evening. Oh and there was the corner in backpacker alley, where each of the 4 corner shops had a keg of beer where you could sit down of their plastic stools and have a drink for 3,000 dong. (the exchange rate is 16,109 dong/$1)
But after travelling over much of Vietnam looking for information and examples of Vietnamese "Ethnic" Minorities we found the Ethnology Museum in Hanoi to be very educational and complete. Little did we know at the onset of this trip that along Vietnam's boarders live over 40 different distinct populations. Some of these peoples have migrated to Vietnam within the past 200-400 years from China, Tibet, Laos, etc. The museum included demonstration homes built by villagers brought to Hanoi for construction over the past 20 years, as well as photos, costumes, and artifacts all with through descriptions.