Everyone in the hotel is so nice, and after breakfast, map inhand, we set off for a walk around the Old Town. Our hotel is in the Old Town, a maze of tiny maze like streets. It looks very run down. But we could read the map this morning, so followed their suggested route.
The place is a hub of commerce. People with baskets on their shoulders,men welding pieces of metal. Women making meals. All mixed in with smart little boutique hotels and clothes shops. It's quite bizarre.
And mixed in with this is the traffic, everything from huge 4x4 to thousands of scooters, and you just have to dodge them like a game of froggit. The difference here from Thailand is in Thailand they weave around you, here they drive straight through you. They have no concept of the pedestrian, you have to get out of their way. It is quite scary. Crossing the road is interesting and you just have to go for it
The place is fascinating, noisy, grubby and life is amazing. We walked down to Hoan Kiem Lake, which on a bright day will be lovely. Today it is covered in mizzle and looks spooky. We were immediately acosted by three school girls eager to talk to us. They were on a school trip from Lo Cai. I have to say their English was pretty good for eleven years olds. They wanted desperate to be photographed by my giant of a husband.
They invited us to their school in Lo Cai, but I am not sure we will have time to go, which is a shame.
We have just had tea with honey and Rod had freshly ground coffee with sweet milk, he seems to love it. Back to the hotel for a sit down, checkout and then back to the streets for another death defying walk around.
This time we headed for the French Quarter and I am sure what I expected, colonial buildlings and fashionable boulevards. But it wasn't to be. The roads were wider and there were a few traffic lights and crossings, not that the locals took any notice. At one point we were going down a one way street, keeping to the left out of the way of the stream of bikes, to be confronted by scooters coming up the wrong way.
It is apparent that there is great poverty here mixed with extreme wealth right next to it, which seems strange as it is a communist country.
By the end of the day I have had enough of Hanoi, which is a shame as we have four days here when we get back from Sapa. Apart from the Palace of Literature that we want to visit and a night food tour, we spoke to our hotel and have arranged some trips out of the city when we get back.
I have found it extremely tiring dodging the traffic and the diesel fumes, and the constantly noise from scooter horns. It is Lovely sitting here in the reception of our hotel in the peace. And looking forward to our train trip tonight and seeing the terraces of Sapa. Although we have been told that it might snow up there tomorrow. Here we will wait and see.
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