Antiquities and Crafts shopping in Hanoi
Hanoi |
Old Quarter |
Water Puppets |
Crafts Villages
Hanoi [top]
54 Traditions
30 Hang Bun Street (northeast of the Old Quarter).
Tel: (04) 715-0194. Open by appointment, give them a call.
GPS: N21°02.547' E105°50.710'
Hands down, this is the best tribal crafts/antiquities shop in Hanoi.
Owner Mark Rapoport backs up his items with his own scholarship, and manager Nhung Thi Nguyen knows her stuff as well.
They've got everything from Shaman, to Yao, to water puppets, mostly first-rate.
Hanoi's Old Quarter [top]
Much of the action is located in Hanoi's Old Quarter.
Three of the most interesting shops are located on Hang Bac Street, proceeding west from Ma May Street.
Tribal Pan Flute
38 Hang Bac Street. Mobile Tel: 09135-38743.
GPS: N21°02.037' E105°51.183'
Flower, the owner, has a good reputation for honesty, and she'll give you the low-down on the interesting tribal and historical items in her shop.
Vietnamese Craft
46 Hang Bac Street. Mobile Tel: 0904-221-384.
Located several doors to the left of Tribal Pan Flute, friendly owner Thanh has nice original tribal jewelry and clothing, at attractive prices.
Hanoi Gallery
110 Hang Bac Street. Tel: (04) 926-1064.
GPS: N21°02.048' E105°51.077'
This shop specializes in original propaganda posters from the AmeriViet War to recent times.
They are wonderful examples of the poster art of Vietnam, and the shop owners have provided translations.
Highly recommended, even for a browse.
Water Puppets in Hanoi [top]
Souvenir Shop Van Mieu
On the grounds of the Hall of Literature museum. 58 Quoc Tu Giam Street. Tel: (04) 843-3615.
GPS: N21°01.753' E105°50.159'
If you've been to the extraordinary water puppet theatre, you may very well want to purchase some of the old marionettes (being constantly immersed in water, they only last a season or two).
You'll find plenty of copies but you can find the real thing here.
Whereas copies found in tourist shops will cost $10 USD, asking price for similar size here is $75 USD, but prices are negotiable.
If you want the real thing, this is the place.
Crafts villages outside of Hanoi [top]
Several villages specialize in different crafts, and are easily accessible by taxi or motorbike.
Bat Trang
Located 13 km southwest of Hanoi, at the turnoff from the Red River levee road, GPS N20°58.859' E105°55.197'
Noted for its ceramics artisans, Bat Trang is, with the exception of two shops, unexceptional in terms of it offerings.
We highly recommend it, though, for its amazing warren of back alleys, where ancient shops still operate.
Here, you'll find thousands of hand-sized coal patties stuck to walls, drying until their ultimate use in furnaces.
Many of the streets in Bat Trang have no formal names, so we suggest entering the alley at GPS N20°58.531' E105°54.700'.
The town ceramics market, at GPS N20°58.493' E105°54.721' is weak, offering mostly run-of-the-mill items.
Tuan Gom and Van Van shops (see below) are far more compelling.
Tuan Gom
108 Doc Co Dien. Tel: (04) 874-1472.
GPS: N20°58.459' E105°54.634'
Designer Nguyen Ngoc Tuan is a 3rd generation pottery maker, who combines the abstract with the traditional.
The shop is in his home, and he'll show you his labyrinthine studio and workshop.
He also makes nice ceramic images of traditional Vietnamese houses.
Van Van
4th Lane, Giang Cao. Tel: (04) 874-2557. www.vanvanstudio.com
GPS: N20°58.701' E105°54.790'
On the right hand side of the road as you enter the village, Van Van specializes in older collectors' ceramics, at very reasonable prices.
They are displayed beautifully in a wonderful old house, and a café sua da (iced coffee) goes down very well here at their outdoor café.
Van Phuc
Located 8 km southwest of the city center, just off Highway 6 (Hanoi-Hoa Binh Road).
The center of the village is at GPS N20°57.030' E105°44.954'
This village is noted for its large number of silk shops, but in our opinion, isn't worth the trip unless you absolutely can't find what you're looking for on Hanoi's Hang Gai Street (see our Fashion section in our Shopping channel).
Some old jacquard looms are in use in the backstreets, but you'll have to ask to see them, and they may not be working due to power interruptions.
