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“You can't help but feel that there is an impending disaster, but after a few hours you feel right at home....walking in ... ” |
I have been waiting our entire trip to arrive in Vietnam! Boy was I excited to finally get here! We landed nice and safely in Hanoi. Thankfully our guesthouse (Hanoi Queen Hotel) picked us up from the airport and drove us 45 minutes into the city. Rach and I stayed in the heart of the Old Quarter. An area characterized with small narrow streets, vendors of all sorts, and small food stalls ready to feed you at any moment.
Now the most important thing to know about Hanoi is the crazy life threatening experience of being a pedestrian. Oh My God. The key is to cross quickly. Do not hesitate, do not go backwards, just Go! In the first 15 minutes of 'exploring' I almost got mowed down. My heart was thumping. The streets are a garble of bicyclists, motorbikes, trucks, taxis, and people. You can't help but feel that there is an impending disaster, but after a few hours you feel right at home....walking in front of autos of all sorts. Bring it on Bus!! Oh and a ride on a motorbike is less than a dollar give or take your life.
We recieved advice not to see the water puppet show about 4 days too late. It was entertaining for the first five or ten minutes. Then wierd. Then boring. Only $1.25, and tickets sell out early. I guess its neat to see, just to be your own judge. We also visited Ho Chi Minh's resting place. He has his own set of guards. Bit much for a grave eh? Apparently not. Unfortunately we were unable to visit the women's museum. It is a tribute to the Vietnamese women who have fought strong and brave for Vietnam. For those unaware, North Vietnamese women over 18 were required to fulfill the samed duties as men in the war. Neither received compensation. Quite the propoganda campaign.
Anyways, we took off for a couple of days to Halong Bay. (About 3.5 hours southeast of Hanoi) The weather was a bit chilly, but the islands were beautiful. We sailed on a boat, kayaked, hiked, explored caves, and sipped on Tiger Beer. We made some really cool friends that made our time very enjoyable. We all celebrated Valentine's Day together!
Well, the best way to experience Hanoi is to just walk around and take it all in. The French architecture, the crazy drivers, and the smiling locals.
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3 take Asia says:
We wanted to see Uncle Ho but he was in Russia undergoing his yearly cleaning. He was the last dead embalmed commie that we were supposed to see on our trip, the trifecto of Lennin, Mao, and Ho. How awesome is Hanoi?!?!?!? I loved this country, and if you get past the money making machine, the people can be wonderful and are absolutely beautiful. Isnt crossing the street fun? I have one story of street crossing that made me feel like a complete badass. I was pretty much in the middle of the street when a wall of traffic was bearing down on me.
trinady4 says:
Sounds like an interesting place..I don't know if my short legs could have kept up :)