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Sorry, I couldn't find my trip report here on Fodors, but I did find it in my travel files on my computer. So here is a brief summary:

We spent a week in Hanoi in November, 2003. Hanoi is a city of contrasts. There are lovely, broad, tree-lined streets, and the worst traffic I’ve witnessed! Everyone drives with their horn, and the noise is 24 hours a day. Most of the traffic is motorbikes, and no one wears a helmet. The leading cause of death in VN is head injuries from motorcycle accidents. Many corners have no traffic control, and in those cases, everyone just goes at once, weaving between and around other vehicles. In order to cross a street, you just slowly walk into the street, allowing drivers to miss you by inches on each side!

Hotel: We chose to stay at the DeSyloia, a small boutique hotel not far from the lake (but not in the Old Quarter). This was a great place to stay. The hotel is lovely, and the restaurant in the hotel is excellent. While I didn’t see one of the regular rooms, we stayed in a nice suite (beautiful hardwood floors and a great jetted bathtub). The price, including tax, service, and full breakfast was US$95 a night, booked through asia-hotels.com. The staff was very helpful. They had internet access at the hotel.

Places to visit: Hanoi has a collection of great museums, with admission fees of 10,000 – 15,000 VND (about US$.66 to $1).
The Museum of Ethnology has great exhibits, as well as some fascinating videos (a Tay shaman ceremony for instance). There are also traditional dwellings of several different ethnic groups that have been constructed on the grounds. Well worth a few hours.
Temple of Literature is a lovely island of calm in the midst of Hanoi’s crazy traffic. It’s the site of the first university in Vietnam. There are lovely gardens, interesting traditional architecture, and a Museum Shop that has some nice items.
Museum of Fine Arts is also fascinating. It is on the next block behind the Temple of Literature. It has lovely Buddhas, some ancient artifacts, and contemporary paintings. I found the contemporary paintings dealing with the war of liberation to be very evocative.
The VN History Museum has items from paleolithic times up through the 20th century. There is a broad range of items, the best of which may be the collection of Champa stone sculptures. There is also an outdoor sculpture garden. The building itself is beautiful, and worth a visit for it's architectural merits alone.
Across the street is the Museum of the Revolution. It traces the VN independence movement from the mid-1940s through 1975, and beyond into economic growth. For those who grew up with the war in VN, it will give you a different perspective on the war, that of their propaganda rather than US propaganda. The language of the “revolution” sounds a bit dated now (Americans and their lackeys…) but is an interesting historical perspective.
The Women's Museum is also worthwhile. It has some interesting women's perspectives on the wars of liberation against the French and the Americans. It also has a nice exhibit of traditional dress for various ethnic groups.

There are many interesting Buddhist temples in Hanoi. Do get outside the Old Quarter, and you will often find you are the only non-local visiting the temples.

Day trips: The one day trip we took was to the Perfume Pagoda, a series of temples along a mountain path culminating in a large cave with Buddha images in it. It’s a lovely setting, and a good hike. The road was badly damaged by floods earlier this year, and part of the usual route was impassable. It took about 2 hours to get to the river. It's another hour by row boat to the place where you begin climbing. They are widening the river at the boat landing, so it's quite a mess. I wouldn't go if it's raining, as even in dry weather you have to cross a sea of mud! The trip was well worth it, though. The Lonely Planet talks about a circus-like atmosphere. I didn't find that to be true. We went on a Thursday, and there weren't a lot of visitors. Certainly there were vendors trying to sell water, coca cola, etc., but they weren't especially persistent. However, the guides there were the most persistent I've ever encountered in trying to weedle large "gifts" from you. Ours insisted that others tipped them US$50 each “to pay for a month of school.” We tipped generously, as usual, but declined to give them US$50. They were relentless in asking for more money. It was an unpleasant interlude in an otherwise lovely trip.

The trip to Halong Bay is reported to be well worth it, but it does take at least two days, so we didn’t do it this trip.

Street vendors: VN is often noted for vendors who are perhaps the most persistent anywhere. There are plenty of people trying to sell you postcards, books, and even lighters ("I have Saddam Hussien lighter, lady!"). Most people will offer their goods and move on if you say no or shake your head. But there are young men selling books, some of whom will not take no for an answer. Some of these guys will shout obscenities after you when you politely decline. These vendors are most common around the lake and in the old quarter, where they are most likely to encounter tourists. (Also note that Sapa, a town in the north where people go to visit the hilltribes and markets has a cadre of young men and women who are renowned for shouting obscenities at anyone who doesn’t buy.)

ATMs: There are international ATMs in Hanoi, including one at the airport. The two banks where you’ll find ATMs are Vietcom Bank and ANZ. The most you can withdraw at a time is 2 million dong (about US $130).

Crafts: CraftLink is a non-for profit fair trade shop (near the Temple of Lierarature). It was great! I found some very unusual textiles there as well as a variety of other local craft items, all fairly priced. They have a large variety of very unusual hand-made purses. I ran into a buyer from a boutique in Switzerland there to stock up.
I went to the silk village outside of Hanoi and picked up some items there. (Chinese silk reversible bathrobes, patterned silk on one side, embroidered dragons on the other for US$10) It is, however, mainly yard goods and clothing, no hand-woven pieces that I saw.
I also visited a textiles shop near St. Joseph's called Silk and La Boutique. They have textiles from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

Do note that this report is several years old; prices and exchange rates have changed. We really enjoyed Hanoi. We did not do the things that many people consider "musts" like visiting Uncle Ho in his mausoleum.

The Museum of the Revolution is is must if you want to understand a different perspective on the war.