Two rather dull days in Hanoi

Spent two days in Hanoi as part of a 10-day trip to North Vietnam, during which we also visited Cao Bang (which was honestly the highlight) and the Ninh Binh area (Tran Ang landscape park, the old churches of the area etc). The city fell a bit flat for me, not only because it felt as if it solely catered towards foreign nationals but also because it just felt “overhyped”. I read about all these Michelin-rated restaurants, the world-renowed “Banh Mi”, the rhytm of the old town,… and i just found it all quite superficial, often even wondering what all these western tourists (ranging from students to a surprisingly large amount of elderly couples) found so worthy of travelling 12+hours for. Cloudy weather 90% of the time, an old quarter whose vibe reminded me of a movie set, a boring lake being the most remarkable sight,… I sincerely hope they made it to Cao Bang or another mountaineous frontier region, since that’s where the true beauty of this country lies imo. Maybe i’m spoiled because i live in China, where the majority of the population sticks to the main sights and you have the rest of the country to yourself. What may have played an even bigger part in my dissapointment was the fact that i visited Myanmar right before Vietnam, which felt remarkably more unique. Anyway, i still managed to visit and enjoy a couple of spots, like the water puppet theatre, the old citadel, a couple of temples, the national art gallery, the cathedral, the old quarter,… Sorry for the whining btw:)