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Published: April 30th 2009
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Flew into Hanoi-what a crazy place!
We stayed very near the Old Quarter. Pretty late when we got in so everywhere was closed down. Got a bit of a shock after coming from sweltering Bangkok-it was really wet and cold-just like a winters day in Ireland. Just realised then that it's the end of rainy season here. We were woken up early the next morning to the sound of horns ( of all different tunes and pitches) and traffic-chaotic! Realised then that the earplugs I had saved from one of our flights would be coming in very handy in Vietnam. Venturing out for a walk around the Old Quarter was an adventure-you really do take your life in your hands crossing the street-the amount of motorbikes! and they're coming at you from all angles-lucky there was two of us, one to keep an eye on each side. The old quarter was just crazy-so busy, all the street sellers were out in abundance selling everything you could dream of; all the counterfeit shops were opened onto the street with as many goods as possible packed in; people eating on small stools at every available space on the footpath-of which there was
very little as most of it was taken up with either goods or motorbikes (dont even think about using it for walking!)
We were hardly a hundred yards down the road when we were scammed-a woman came running across the road with a long bamboo stick across her shoulder holding 2 large baskets of pineapples and before we had time to say "no thanks", she had the pineapples hanging off pearse's shoulder and her vietnamese cone-shaped hat on his head (Priceless!). She kept telling me to take a photo but I didn't-then Pearse felt sorry for her and told her he would buy 2 portions of pineapple but she took his money and refused to give home back any change (and it was a lot). Eventually he got most of it back-we really did learn our lesson then-don't stand in the one spot ever-keep moving!
Went to see a water puppet show and it was wonderful. Seemingly the farmers developed this idea as a form of entertainment when the paddy fields were flooded. Now, in the theatre the stage is made up of a huge tank of water and the puppeteers stand in the tank but are
invisible behind a partition of some kind of greenery. Their puppets are extended out in front on and in the water by long poles. They have animals, boats, people-its vey well done.
Went to Halong Bay for a day trip-was a very long day of travelling. Picked up at 8.30am, 4 hours on the bus to Halong City, onto the boat for 4 hours and then bused it back for another 4. The driving was just insane-thankfully we were sitting near the back. The scenery on the bay was really nice, visited a very beautiful cave and we also got a pretty nice traditional Vietnamese lunch.
Went to see the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum and museum. I learned so much about him (Ho Cho Minh)-had had no idea who he was but he is worshipped here and known as "Uncle Ho". He is the Communist leader who orchestrated the Vietnamese winning their independence from the French and also the reunification of North and South Vietnam. His body lies in the mausoleum in a glass case. The museum is also totally dedicated to him and recognises him as a true hero. We took a guided tour from a Vietnamese
history student and she truly was in awe of him. Also went to the Ho Lao prison where the American soldiers were imprisoned during the war-really is an eye opener and I must say (very) biased towards the Vietnamese. If life was as good there as it is depicted I would go there on holiday myself. Hmmmmmm!
The civilians here really are subjected to propaganda. One Vietnamese guy told me that they do not learn history, geography, art etc in school and he feels really stupid when tourists ask him about his country as he really doesn't know much. Thankfully that must be changing with the internet as its widely available here.
Life really seems to be lived on the streets here, even in the cold , wet weather. People eat outside on tiny plastic tables and chairs. Maybe they have nowhere else to eat as we did see beds set up in several shops. People sit on tiny plastic chairs and start a small fire on the footpath and have a large pot cooking on it. Sometimes these double up as restaurants too.
There are about 5 million people living in Hanoi and 2.5 million have motorbikes
and you would know it-the streets are just crazy.
Pearse's parents arrived on Monday for 2 weeks so we've been having a great ole catch up and a few beers in (outside) the local Bia Hoi joints-12c a glass-you cant go wrong! Its a great place to meet people-local and foreign.
I started this blog on my first day here. However, we've been here almost a week now and in that week our attitude and feelings towards Hanoi and her people have completely changed. The city is so lively and busy and has so much character. The people have to be admired-so industrious-everyday up at cock crow all trying to make a living in whatever way they can-whether it's cycling a "cyclo" with tourists around the city or trying to sell glue to tourists to fix the soles on their shoes. I've noticed a lot more smiling faces and warmth coming from the people and realise that those who don't smile, perhaps lack confidence or thats just the way they are to everybody -locals and tourists. They live a hard life here but manage to keep going and making the most of it. We really feel safe here-no
fear of being robbed or harmed in anyway. Even the traffic doesn't seem such a big deal-we now cross the street easily and ignore the noise.
Tomorrow, we fly to Danang and bus it to Hoi An. Looking forward to hiiting the beach and visiting a few tailors...
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