Hanoi

Suz Walking in Hanoi
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After our two weeks on the go with Alex we were ready for a break! When we arrived in Hanoi we found our self in an air conditioned room that had cable TV and a big 4th floor private balcony, so we decided to stay put, shut down the engines and get ourselves back to neutral.  We've realized that when traveling it's vital to stop every now and then to just relax.  It's a technique that has saved us many a battle and bad day.

After a few days of sleeping we emerged to discover the chaos that is Hanoi.  We've gotten many opinions about the city from other travelers, which have basically fallen into the categories of good or bad.  After seeing the city for ourselves we quickly realized that it truly was a place that you could either love or loath.  Of the three million people who live here, two million of them drive scooters, and all of them decide to ride their bikes down small streets all at the same time at all hours of the day.  In addition to the hectic traffic, the temperature hovers around 90 degrees with about 90% humidity.  There are no gutters, so an indescribable liquid is running down the sides of the streets at all times, and since garbage disposal is not a high priority around here there is disgusting trash everywhere.  Considering all of these drawbacks we love the place!

...we quickly realized that Hanoi truly is a place that you could either love or loath

Hanoi Street
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Amid the hectic traffic there is a very serene lake in the middle of the old quarter. Surrounding the lake are many euro-style cafes and restaurants where we can get our coffee fix as well as beautifully cold draft beers (a rarity in Southeast Asia). There are many things to visit in Hanoi including Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum (which contains the embalmed body of the communist leader), the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, and a traditional Vietnamese Water Puppet show. Thus far we have taken in the puppet show and the Museum of Ethnology, the latter being much more interesting. The hours on the Mausoleum are limited, but we hope to catch a view of the body before leaving town.

Hanoi
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All in all, Hanoi is really just a great place to walk around a see Vietnamese life at it's essence. The city is crazy, but in a controlled chaos sort of way. The boutiques are plentiful, providing everything you can imagine from sunglasses to beautiful photography. And the cuisine is diverse enough to pull us out of the rice funk we have found ourselves in.

We have not overlooked the significance of Hanoi to the Vietnam War (called the "American War" here), but in reality the effects of the war, as well as the communist party, are not really visible. The tales of communist life in the wake of the war was presented as a special exhibit at the museum, and to our surprise many of the displays and exhibits displayed a very harsh, unfair, and trying life under the strict communist structure of government allocation. Considering that the government remained heavily controlling until as late as 1989 it is amazing to see that today's Hanoi seems to be as economically vibrant as any developing country that we have visited. We expect to see more visible impacts of the war as we head south towards Saigon, but there is no telling what these might be. We'll keep you posted.

Hanoi
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We hope all is well with everyone. Take care.

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