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Published: August 7th 2012
Gooooood morning Vietnam!!!!!
And what a good morning it was... Not! After a sleepless 8 hours on a sleeper bus to get to the border we were expecting another 4 hours on a different bus. It actually took us NINE HOURS!! So we'd spent 17 hours solid on a bus. Draining.The silver lining is that we weaved in and out of Vietnam's gorgeous rural landscapes, jumping from rocky mountains to miles upon miles of flat rice paddies that glistened in the sun. We were also on a bus entirely full of natives, not a tourist in sight! We were definitely the centre of attention!
Finally we arrived, although it took 5 Vietnamese men staring at a map to work out where in Hanoi we were. We were then greeted by a crashing wave of motorbikes in the road! I have never seen so many! I even got clipped by one of them, painful and 'Hanoi'-ing (yep I went there and made that horrendous joke!) It is just the busiest most bustling city I've ever been in. Wandering around the streets you can't help but get lost, but it allowed you to stumble upon hidden Buddhist temples and pagodas. Very
A Buddhist temple
The typical colourful interior design of a Vietnamese Buddhist temple. The smell of incense is never far away either. exciting and interesting to see!Some of the best things we saw here were the amateurs practising Tai Chi along Hoan Kiem lake at 6am and the water puppets show!! The latter was fascinating to watch and even funny at times, plus it gave a real insight into traditional Vietnamese music. A definite must-see!
Our first impressions of life in Vietnam:
• a lot poorer and basic living, compared to China.
• motorbikes are the way to get around!• they are very religious. You cant get away from the smell of incense! Also in the street they burn fake money, called ghost money, which is 'sent up' to help deceased friends or family members in their afterlife.
• they do exercise work out sessions not in gyms but outside, many a time you walk past a group of people doing some eccentric moves to kitsch pop music. Of course we ended up joining in!• the food is healthy and so so tasty!!! They use so many different types of fresh herbs with everything, but it's especially good in noodle soup! Bun Cha, Bun bo nam bo and pho bo are all to die for.
After 3
A typical working woman
Everyone in Viet Nam wears these hats! days of this bustling city we were ready to hit Vietnam's gorgeous natural wonders!!!
Next stop: Ha Long Bay!!!!!!!!!
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