Wanderslut: Hanoi

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We were confident that we were more prepared to enter Vietnam than we were for Laos. We had obtained a special letter from the Vietnamese government allowing us to get a Visa Upon Arrival, something that is not typically allowed. Although our immigration experience turned out to be fairly smooth, our taxi experience made up for it. What was supposed to be a 40 minute ride into Hanoi took us nearly 3 times that as we didn't have the address, the phone number was wrong, the hotel name had changed (in the last 3 days?) and our taxi continued to be passed by everyone both on wheels and feet! When we finally arrived, they moved us to their sister hotel as they were overbooked. Despite getting off to a rough start in Hanoi, we both fell in love with this chaotic city. Motos (beefy scooters) work harder than pick-ups in the Midwest. I was amazed at every busy intersection at the sheer quantity of people and goods that were packed onto the Motos. We saw as many as 6 people riding single moto although 3-4 was the norm. We saw entire retail stores stashed on and around the back seat. We even saw a full sized casket positioned perpendicular to the bike as it cruised down the freeway ready to decapitate anything in its path. Well, at least he'd be prepared. We originally came to Hanoi simply to arrange our outings to Halong Bay and Sapa but quickly became enamored with the enigmatic metropolis.

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