Hanoi, Vietnam

We thought this would be a stop over city on the way to Halong Bay but it turns out it is a really interesting place to spend a couple of nights. We stayed in the "old quarter" and the really interesting thing about this part of the city is that each block is divided by business type. One block will have shop after shop with only coffee, tea, and candies while the block next door will only have shops full of party decorations. One block away is a street full of notecards, paper, and letters and right next to that block is one full of eye glasses and sunglasses. The layout of the old quarter was established by the various trades hundreds of years ago and has stayed the same through today. It is really neat to see but it makes it rather difficult to find an ice cream cone when you want one because it could be on the other side of town!

 

Traffic never stops in Hanoi because there are no traffic lights or stop signs. This is a five way intersection where cars, busses, people and motorbikes just go where they need to in and around whoever is in the way. When you want to cross the street you just start walking at a steady but slow pace in a straight line and amazingly the traffic will bend and weave around you. It is terrifying until you do it two or three times and learn how it is done.

There was a big lake right in the middle that made for a nice walk and gave some relief from the street stress

We went to a really neat Water Puppet Show one night. The puppeteers stand in the water and orchestrate the puppets in this large pool to create the performance. We didn't take any pictures during the performance because we would have had to pay extra. Also, it seemed rude to be flashing a camera away during a performance.

The bars are all together too, but you sit instead of stand at all of them

We found some amazing crab spring rolls for lunch one day. All the restaurants have these chairs and tables right on the street

 

We bought our train tickets south before leaving to go to Halong Bay because they would have been sold out if we waited. Vietnam is not ashamed of blatantly ripping off tourists with a two tiered pricing system for locals and foreigners. In most cases like the train tourists pay double for the same exact seats. For the local bus system it is the same.

 

 

All the buildings here in Vietnam look like this. They are about 20 feet wide and as tall and long as you can afford. The reason is because you are taxed based on your road frontage only! Everything from hotels, houses, restaurants, and shops are built in these dimensions.

 

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