Hanoi

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Hanoi 03 December 2003 Solo

First impression...the country's traffic...how is it logical that motorbikes, cars, beasts, anything that moves, do the swerving to avoid crashing into pedestrians instead of the other way round??? Truly first class…I was standing by this roadside near the Temple of Literature wanting to cross over to the other side and I stood there for the longest time...thinking real hard of the various ways I could employ to cross that damn road. Then, some kind soul popped from nowhere asking: "waiting for…?" Well, according to this man, he said, “just go”….indeed, just go. After a few days or so in Hanoi, I finally got the hang of how it works in this country...just go.

Good advice.

In my opinion, if you are in Hanoi, you simply can't miss Sapa. Sapa lies in the very north west of Vietnam near the Chinese border. Took an over-night train to Lao Cai followed by a minibus transfer up to Sapa (please ask for the receipt after paying the minibus's driver...I was accused and screamed at for "stealing a ride". Even though it was only at most a few dollars, it would be effing wrong if I were to pay again. On hindsight, it was probably not very smart to argue with these people, especially when you are a single woman travelling...but...Anyway, Sapa is to me, a wonderland. It was extemely cold when I was there but when you were alone, walking down the traffic-less "road", looking for a quaint little cafe some other travellers told me about, somehow it made you feel really good...

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