Crazy Hanoi

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Hanoi is one of the craziest cities i've ever been to. It's chaos and has a kind of grimy feel to it, but at the same time is totally endearing and pulls you in. Shops and eateries spill onto every pavement, with people sat around what looks like children's plastic furniture. Modern buildings stand next to shack like ones with corragated iron roofs and there seems to be more motorbikes than people; but you're constantly dodging one or the other! Some parts of the city are beautiful, like the lake and the temples.

We went to visit the famous water puppets show, which was magical to watch. The Vietnamese music and colourful puppets splashing around telling traditional tales, although very touristy, is a sight not to be missed. Another sight that we ticked off was viewing the preserved body of Ho Chi Minh. I struggled to relate to the body and it just seemed like part of a Madamme Tussauds exhibition. But the really interesting part of the visit was the whole phenomena around it, the huge ques, the high security measures; walking passed in silent single file lines, overlooked by armed guards. We looked around the prison museum too, where Vietnamese political prisoners were kept during the French rule. You could walk in and out of the old cells, after seeing photos and reading stories of the attrocities that took place, it was quite an eerie feeling.

On my second night in Hanoi i said goodbye to the group...it was strange to wave goodbye as hey drove off in the minibus and I'd had an amazing few weeks with them all. Angela was also staying in Hanoi for an extra night, so we spent the day walking around and visiting the temple of literature (which was the first University in Vietnam). If it was strange saying bye to the group, it was definitelystrange to say goodbye to Angela the next morning, after spending 3 weeks sharing a room. I guess it was also the feeling of travelling fully solo for the first time. I thought I'd feel nervous leaving Hanoi, but I didn't at all, I kind of suprised myself. I guess I've had chance to get used to travelling in South East Asia and know it feels safe and easy and a lot of fun!

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