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Published: February 1st 2007
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The beautiful game can be played anywhere
Even on the stairs of the Catholic Cathedral of Hanoi Hanoi is a city of horns, hawkers and hectic streets. There is still a lot of poverty in this up and coming Vietnamese city, and a large portion of the population sleep in small rooms down dark alleyways, while others simply sleep on the floor of whatever establishment they work for. It is a strange experience stepping over all your hotel staff sleeping in the lobby when returning from a late(ish) night out.
It was cold, it was dark, it was winter. What had happened in only a short flight from Malaysia? On our 45 minute taxi ride from the airport to the city we looked at one another wondering if maybe we should have checked the weather forecast for our destination!! Stupidly, we had assumed that most of Asia would be moderate, and the warmest things we possessed were long sleeved T-shirts!
A little shellshocked, we sought refuge in a cafe overlooking one of Hanoi's busiest intersections, amazed at how traving moving in seven different directions can flow without incident, yet seemingly without rules. The horn is king, and the man (or woman) with the most balls gets the right of way. Crossing the streets was a battle,
as they drive on the right hand side so we were often looking the wrong way (which really doesn't help) plus there are just so many bikes and cars and cyclos just pelting past each other and totally ignoring you. Eventually, when we realised the break in traffic we were waiting for just wasn't going to appear, we started walking across the street, pausing in between scooters, feeling a bit like the frog in Frogger. We soon saw that all the cars and scooters were very experienced in avoiding pedestrians, and before long were crossing with confidence.
Hanoi, like most Asian cities, can really get to you. Constant honking, everyone trying to sell you something, and the perpetual feeling that most of the traffic is trying to mow you down. To be honest, we would have probably made a quick exit, as neither of us was in the mood for a big city, but we had plans to meet up with Sharon's uni friend Meg, and were a few days early.
This turned out to be a blessing as we ended up enjoying our time in the city immensely. It is not the sights (as there aren't that
Strange grafitti
We never did work out what it was advertising many) but the soul of the city that is special. We met some great people, ate some excellent Vietnamese and French Fusion food, and whiled away the hours wandering the streets and drinking coffee in great little hideaways in the French Quarter.
This is not a city of a thousand sights, but if you want to chill out in a busy little city with some character, then Hanoi may be the place for you. Just remember: cross the road with conviction and they will avoid you!
Travel Tips: for anyone who may be following in our footsteps
Same, same, but different... In Hanoi, when one establishment becomes successful, then other establishments will rename themselves the same thing in the hope of confused tourists going to the wrong place. So there are 3 different Little Hanoi restaurants, 3 different Camellia Hotels, and almost every travel agency has the word "Sinh" in their name (because the original, and presumably the best, company is called "Sinh Cafe"). So make sure you know the address of the establishment you intend to patronise, otherwise you may well end up at an inferior copy of the original. Well, they do say that
Defending a 2-pin plug
They're very passionate about their power in Hanoi. Not really. imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!
Taxi tricks. Also, when in Thailand we learnt that we were better off putting the meter on when travelling in taxis, as this would mean a cheaper fare than trying to negotiate one. We naturally assumed it would be the same in Hanoi. We agreed with a taxi driver (upon our return from Sapa at 5am in the morning) that we'd use the meter, but then noticed that the meter would increase slowly, and then suddenly increase quickly, then go back to increasing slowly. When we arrived at our destination, the meter read 1309 which the driver informed us was 130,900 Dong (about $8). The streets were empty and it had taken all of 5 minutes, so we knew that he was taking us for a ride. We argued about the fare, even checking at our guesthouse as to what the fare should have been (they said maximum of 30,000) but because we'd agreed to use meter the taxi driver wasn't budging. Also, we'd put our luggage in the boot, and he started to drive off with it forcing us to leap into the moving taxi. It was 5am in the morning
Hoan Kiem Lake
We never did figure out what the balloons were there for, but when we got back from Sapa they had vanished. and we'd been arguing for at least 20 minutes. In the end we decided that you have to get screwed over by at least one taxi driver, and this was as good a time as any, so we paid $7 instead of the $2 it should have been. We learnt later that a lot of the taxi drivers tamper with their meters in order to rip off the tourists. For comparison, you can negotiate the 45 minute journey to the airport for a fixed $7, and within Hanoi trips should be $1 to $2. So our tip for Hanoi taxis: Keep your luggage inside the car with you if you have space, and agree a price before you get in.
Booking your excursions (eg to Halong Bay and to Sapa). We booked our side trips through the guesthouse we were staying in, as we found that they were competitive on price, and were happy to store our luggage for free while we were away. When we got back from Halong Bay at 4pm and needed to leave for Sapa at 9pm, they gave us a room to shower in for free as well. When we got back from Sapa
Nice kitty!
Sharon gets cuddly with one of the temple guardians at 5am they gave us a room to sleep in (even though check in wasn't till noon officially). All in all, we were happy with the level of service they offered, and hence booked through them. However, we did hear reports of people who were treated badly if they didn't book their side trips though their guest house. Eg. When Meg arrived they were happy to offer her a room, but once she revealed she wasn't going to book any trips (having been to Halong Bay and Sapa before) they told her that her room was no longer available and kicked her out! I think this is because the guesthouses make most of their money through selling tours, and rely on having a high turnover of guests booking tours through them.
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Meg
non-member comment
Solution to the graffiti
Sharon and Bronson Thanks for your blog! I am still thinking about those delicious spring rolls from Little Hanoi. I asked Em about the advertising, where there a phone numbers all over the walls. Apparently it is advertising for electricians and other tradesmen. Much love and enjoy Laos, Meg xoxo