The Hanoi Experience

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Hanoi is a bustling, hustling city that lies in the north of Vietnam on the banks of the Red River. Your first impression of Hanoi is the intensity of the traffic, especially the motor cycles. To cross the road you just step out, slowly but surely. The cycles and cars just make their way around you (if you're lucky). There seem to be no road rules in Hanoi. They drive on the right side of the road, but seem to spend most of their time all over the road.
At the heart of Hanoi is the old quarter. It has many architectural signs of the French occupation. Shopping in the old quarter was a tourist trap but they still sold quite beautiful lacquer ware, tapestries, paintings and wood work. I have some photos of the shops on the site. The heart of the Old Quarter is Ho Hoan Kiem, or Lake of the Restored Sword. In the middle of the lake, on a small islet, is the Temple of the Jade Mound. It is reached by crossing a brightly painted red wooden bridge. There are photos of this temple on the site.
No visit to the old quarter would be complete without a cyclo tour. For US$3 you get cycled around the streets in a bicycle. See the picture of Tom and Jenni on their cyclo tour.
We visited the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Min and saw him lying in state. Quite an eerie experience and definitely no photos allowed.

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