As the Covid-19 pandemic keeps people at home and the crowds off the streets, the capital city has reverted to a yesteryear quiet. 

Cyclos have rare access to the main streets and photography spots, as in front of the Hanoi Opera House, but there are few customers wanting a ride.

The St. Joseph’s Cathedral courtyard and the area around it is usually packed to the gills as the most popular hangout spot in Hanoi for both locals and foreigners. It bustles with coffee shops and eateries catering to all demographics, especially the youth. The Covid-19 induced social distancing has emptied the place of its madding crowd .

The Temple of Literature, one of the most crowded attractions in Hanoi, has been closed since March 13. It’s reopening date is uncertain at this point. All entrances to the 1,000-year-old university are locked over the worsening Covid-19 situation in Hanoi.

The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is also closed and fences have been placed around the flower garden and even on the sidewalks to prevent people from walking around in the area.

The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, another popular tourist hotspot, was closed March 9. Not a visitor in sight, the place is peopled by just security staff and other museum employees.

Another museum, Vietnam Military History Museum on Dien Bien Phu Street has been closed from March 15 to 31. Its displaying chambers are locked. Souvenir and drink shops inside are closed, too

The Hanoi Flag Tower has closed its only entrance to the top. The 200-year-old construction is 33-meter-high, has three stories atop which the Vietnamese flag flies high. On normal days, visitors can go to the third floor to get an aerial view of the immediate surroundings, including the Vietnam Military History Museum right below.

Shops on Trang Tien Street near the Hoan Kiem Lake, another place that hustles and bustles incessantly, remain closed on March 20.

Ion Nicolae Rosescu, a Romanian tourist, tries to take a picture of The Huc Bridge through the locked door of Ngoc Son Temple on Hoan Kiem Lake. The temple was closed on March 14. Ion said that during his two-week trip from Ho Chi Minh City to Hue, Quang Ninh and Hanoi, all attractions were shut down. All he could do at the moment is walk around the streets and eat fast food while waiting for his flight back to Romania.

"I had to change my flight because the airlines temporarily stopped working due to the pandemic," Rosescu said.

Ta Hien Street is perhaps the most densely crowded place every night in Hanoi, but an order to close all bars and shops from March 13 to 31 has returned to it the peace it has not enjoyed for decades.

A bar on Ta Hien Street has taken the time off to do some repairs and give itself a makeover.