Every weekend, the walking streets attract not only local Ha Noi citizens but also overseas travelers. Every Saturday, from 7 p.m., Ha Noi Old Quarter becomes a whole new area.
The long busy lines of motorcycles and taxis are replaced with sights of families walking their children. Teens and tourists groups look for a place to have a chat and grab a bite with their friends.
Along Ma May street, right across the old houses, many people are attracted to a group of contemporary dancers of Ha Noi. They lose themselves to the grooving melody of Western, Korean music, but also sometimes slow down to the harmonic nature of Vietnamese songs.
A few footsteps away, on the intersection of Ngoc Quyen and Ma May is the traditional Vietnamese music show. The stage is small, but it gains a large amount of followers. Among the crowd, apart from the elderlies, there are also young adults and even overseers stopping by
As the streets become vehicle-free, the kids can have fun with mini cyclos, rollerskates, and bicycles. Not only that, parents can take their little ones to see magicians, dancers and beatboxers.
For backpackers, Ha Noi Old Quarter, especially the walking street, has become the ideal location for an intimate get-together. They come from all walks of life, from classy to dirty, from rushing to calming, from ecstatic to upset. Ha Noi is sort of an addiction that causes an individual to become one with the people and join the nightlife.
Apart from dining, shopping, exploring, and sightseeing, overseas travelers can take part in some of these activities as street performers right here in Ha Noi Old Quarter. The scene of two Caucasians performing classic songs with their accordion, harmonica, and ukulele had the girls going wild. Everybody was so intrigued that they have to stop everything just to see them perform. Tourists can also be filmmakers, recording footage of the exciting Ha Noi nightlife.
During daytime, these streets are for vehicles, but as the sun goes down, the food starts coming out. Everywhere you go on the walking streets, there are food stalls on the sidewalk and the fancy restaurants. Beer shacks, sidewalk cafes and shishas, hot pots and BBQs, etc. pop up next to each other, sometimes they even expand to the asphalt.