Hanoi Kids Tours

Hoan Kiem Lake

Along with being the cultural center of Hanoi, from predawn until about 6 to 7am, the lake becomes something like an Olympic training camp.

Going along the walking paths and wide road that circles the lake, hoards of locals work up a sweat, taking advantage of the morning cool and greeting the day with, as a Vietnamese friend put it, "a breath of fire."

Groups doing calisthenics and light aerobics to loud taped music stand next to ranks of white-clad, slow-moving tai chi practitioners, martial arts groups, and even ballroom-dancing clubs. Joggers and speed walkers circle the lake, and you'll spot solo exercisers doing all kinds of strange contortions or practicing meditation.