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Published: March 8th 2008
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Next stop........ Good Morning Vietnam
I just had to say that, first and only time this trip. Well I made it across to Hanoi, not that it was all that challenging really. Get on a plane, plane lands in a new country, wait forever as Customs examine my passport (again, one day someone will tell me what looks dodgey about it) and into the hotel's car with the driver, all too easy. After two nights at my original hotel I've moved down the road to a place that's USD15 cheaper for a few more nights (when you're paying USD40 a night, saving USD15 is not only a bargain but pays for the days food and entertainment). You see for some strange reason I've decided to hang around a bit longer in Hanoi, can't exactly work out why but it seems a good thing to do, plus I'm loving the controlled madness.
I'm still trying to work out what's so fantastic about the Old Quarter of Hanoi though, most of the French colonial buildings have some sort of advertising signage hanging from them and are covered in the usual Asian grime. But there is shopping to be done all over the Old Quarter and the shops are grouped per area, so you walk along the street and all
The moto taxi man taking me for a ride
This is one of the main ways to get around, after a while it all appears quite normal cruising in and out of the traffic. you can see is shoe shops. Turn the corner and there's the tombstone strip, after that it's the luggage vendors turn. Then there's the travel shops, everyone who's anyone is in the business of trying to sell you a tour in Hanoi. I'm sure there's a travel desk in a public toilet here as well. The other bonus is that when one travel mob gets a good name it clones itself, well someone else clones it. Sinh Cafe is one such travel mob and there must be about 600 Sinh Cafes around town now all claiming to be the original, my only tip is don't use them as a navigation marker as you're roaming the streets.
Before I arrived in Hanoi I was told it's noisy, there's scooters everywhere and crossing the road is well "different". Well the former "stalker" was correct, horns are used to let the rest of Vietnam know you are out riding your scooter and it's normal to use your grinder at 1am to finish off that all important construction job. Crossing the road with more scooters and cars on the street than blowflies on a carcasse is an act of sheer magic. It's like
Nothing like an oil painting
Hanoi is also the place to get that "original" old master watching those really big ballroom dancing competitions where everyone just waltzes around without bumping into each other. You just have a look walk off the kerb and away you go, everyone goes around you, the only thing to remember is dodge anything big.
Not being much of a bargain shopper or shopper for that matter I've amazed myself and managed to find a couple of bargains in the form of glasses. That's right two pairs of prescription glasses (one pair being sunglasses) for the princely sum of VD 1 000 000, with about VD 15 000 to the AUD, you do the math. Since most clothes are now made either in Vietnam or China there's also some bargains to be had in the clothing department, but I decided the silk ensemble wasn't really me though. Oh and since I'm not really one to support international DVD piracy I haven't taken advantage of spending $1 a DVD to add all the latest releases to my collection.
Todays little jaunt was out to what's left of the Hanoi Hilton and the Army Museum, both interesting in their own right. The thing that stands out though is that the Vietnamese are
not exactly fond of the French. Interestingly the Hanoi Hilton has been partly demolished to allow for the construction of an apartment building. The main focus of the Hanoi Hilton exhibition is the persecution of the Vietnamese by the French. The captured American pilots who had the pleasure of staying there also feature, including John McCain who was fortunate to be shot down over Vietnam while flying overhead. You may have heard a lot about John McCain at the moment, something to do with him wanting to be President of the United States of America. The other notable to be imprisoned there due to his plane being shot down during the war was the USA's first Ambassador to Vietnam, Doug Peterson. It's always good to see someone elses view of an arguement or in this case a conflict. The Army Museum gives the view from the Vietnamese side of things. It starts out showing how their victory over the French and then goes on to show how they battled the "Puppets" and the USA with it's Allies and came out victorious, although the Allies don't get much of a mention if any. Plus there's a brief mention of that short
conflict they had in 1979 with China.
Stay tuned for the next almost exciting edition as it's off to Halong Bay I go to take in a scenic karst or twenty.
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