Tay Ho used to be “a sleepy cluster of fishing villages” on Hanoi’s northern outskirts, writes Elisabeth Rosen in The Guardian. A place where “tourists rarely ventured … and neither did locals.” But since a paved road was built in 2010 around Ho Tay -- “the lake after which the neighbourhood is named” -- an influx of “creative expats and locals have transformed the area, opening chic boutiques and bistros infused with a Vietnamese sensibility.”
It’s a 15-kilometre walk around the lake, explains Travelfish. “Consider hiring a bicycle to circumnavigate the whole way -- clockwise so avoiding the need to cross over too many roads --or do some of it on foot.” Explore the neighborhoods around the Sheraton and Intercontinental hotels and you’ll “stumble across cafes as well as streetside restaurants, and you’ll see fishermen either patiently waiting for a catch, or in the lake itself.”