Good Evening Vietnam!

Having waved goodbye to Emm in the morning, I arrived into Hanoi later that night (via Bangkok) and met up with another of my closest friends, Annick. Having spent so much time travelling on my own at the beginning of my trip, this was feeling like a real treat! I was also really excited to finally be in Vietnam: one of the countries I had most been looking forward to visiting.

That said, the journey from the airport left me a little frazzled! The swerving, sudden braking and incessant honking was quite a shock to the system after the quiet, empty roads of Bhutan! But I liked the look of this new city, and of course it was great to see Annick again.

We got straight on with the sight-seeing the next morning, starting with a leisurely stroll around Hoan Kiem Lake, in the heart of the city. The lake itself was very serene but the pathway which encircled it was a hub of activity, as the local people strolled, jogged or just relaxed in the shade.

Jade Island, on the Hoan Kiem Lake

The Tortoise Pagoda, Hoan Kiem Lake

We then did a trusty Lonely Planet walking tour around the Old Quarter. This was a great way to explore the narrow backstreets, stalls and markets and to get a good feel for the place. The Old Quarter is often referred to as the "36 streets". Each originally specialised in just one product (china bowls, roasted fish, shoes, combs, jars etc) and was named accordingly (e.g. the street which sells silver is called "Hang Bac", meaning "Silver Shop"). This still holds true today on many of the streets although a few have diversified a little bit. Many of the shops had birdcages hanging from the awning, with the birds gaily singing away! It's a very atmospheric place!

Old Quarter shop

Hang Ma (Paper Offerings)

Fresh foods in the market

Birdcages hanging from a shop in the Old Quarter

I was particularly excited by the street food in Hanoi. Along every street, women squat on the pavement, chopping vegetables or sizzling a tasty something on a tiny stove. Scattered around are knee-high, plastic blue tables and an assortment of 6-inch plastic stools. Sometimes these take up a large section of the pavement, and other times it's nothing more than just one tiny table and a couple of chairs, squashed on to the front of a food or clothes shop. The stalls tend to specialise in just one dish, so the quality is high. Of course we were keen to dig in, and picked one at random for lunch. No English was spoken so we just pointed at whatever miscellaneous meat products were in the tiny steel bowls. 

Street food in Hanoi's Old Quarter

Annick enjoying our first street food lunch!

Another thing which instantly stood out in Hanoi, was the number of motorbikes. I've never seen anything like it! You don't see many cars on the road here (few people can afford them) and there's probably 50-100 bikes for every one car. In fact we heard that there are 7 million people living in Hanoi and 5 million motorbikes! It would seem that in most cases the traffic lights are only there for the cars - motorbikes continue straight through them, whether they're red, amber or green. Therefore it's useless to wait on the side of the road for a chance to cross; you just have to walk out and let them navigate around you. Apparently the key is to walk at a slow but steady pace - don't run, don't stop - so that they can anticipate your path and adjust theirs accordingly! Scary at first but satisfying when you successfully reach the other side!

Motorbike Madness!

Oh, and I also need to mention the heat! It was probably around 35°c but the humidity was close to 70%, making it feel much, much hotter. The air felt heavy and it was really energy-sapping. Beads of perspiration stood out along my arm like bubble wrap - not a very pleasant feeling! We needed a break in a fancy air-conditioned cafe to recover and I enjoyed my first delicious Vietnamese iced coffee (with condensed milk). Mmm! At the end of the walk we had another rest-stop in a nice little spa and enjoyed a manicure and pedicure - all for next to nothing of course.

That night we went to check out the night market which had a nice atmosphere, although we soon noticed that most of the stalls were selling the same tat, just laid out in a slightly different arrangement! After a quick wander around it was time for dinner (more street food!) and a couple of drinks in a bar on the way home.