Blogs from Hanoi, Red River Delta, Vietnam, Asia - page 245

For the most part, I spent my first day in Vietnam learning to cross the street. Despite having dodged traffic in a variety of continents, I was surprised by the interpretive ingenuity of road etiquete in Vietnam. I spent the morning on an informal tutorial, following natives up to busy intersections and walking alongside them as they confidently headed directly into the flow of traffic. I stopped on several corners just to take a mental snapshot of a vegetable woman picking her way across the street as motorbikes sped past on either side and a taxi barreled on behind. On narrower passages, pedestrian traffic is forced onto the street, and motorized vehicles dodge and weave in any spaces in between. There are no rules of right or left, only the law of "motorbikes and bicycles dodge ... read more

Happy Monday to all, especially those sitting in work !!! We left boring Vientiane yesterday and took a 50 minute flight to Hanoi in North Vietnam. So sad to leave Laos, the people are amazing. It is ranked 14th poorest country in the world and you can see why when you pass through some of the towns, but the people are so happy and work 7 days a week. Most of them have never left the country......never seen a beach or the sea.......makes you think! Arrived in Hanoi late last night and got a minibus into town. The city is huge (3.5million people). I know a few of you warned me about how mad Vietnam traffic is, but it has to be seen to be believed!!!!! Motorbikes flying across the road in all directions. The trick ... read more

Greetings from hot and humid Hanoi! Hanoi is one of the two largest cities in Vietnam but it has such a small town feel because most of the architecture is older and French style. Remember that Vietnam was occupied by the French, Chinese, Japanese, U.S. at one time or another although the French were here the longest which is why they have amazing french bread here. After being devoid of bread in China, Danielle and I are devouring bread like...well the French. I've learned all of this history from going to the museums here and it's a bit disconcerting to see the Vietnam war called the American war . But it makes sense that their museums are slanted to a more pro-Vietnam-Communism view. They have a right to be bitter after being invaded so many times. ... read more

Hanoi 03 December 2003 Solo First impression...the country's traffic...how is it logical that motorbikes, cars, beasts, anything that moves, do the swerving to avoid crashing into pedestrians instead of the other way round??? Truly first class…I was standing by this roadside near the Temple of Literature wanting to cross over to the other side and I stood there for the longest time...thinking real hard of the various ways I could employ to cross that damn road. Then, some kind soul popped from nowhere asking: "waiting for…?" Well, according to this man, he said, “just go”….indeed, just go. After a few days or so in Hanoi, I finally got the hang of how it works in this country...just go. Good advice. In my opinion, if you are in Hanoi, you simply can't miss Sapa. Sapa lies in ... read more

The flight to Hanoi took an hour we then boarded a packed bus into the city which took about an hour, one female passenger nearly fainted. Arriving in Hanoi’s old quarter a Vietnamese passenger on the bus pointed us to a guest house, the room cost USD10 per night unfortunately the bathroom wasn’t good, and Mark slept on a mattress on the floor. Next day we moved to the A-Z hotel then wandered the old town, we visited a rooftop restaurant at the top of some rickety stairs that served snake spring rolls which were full of little bones and drank snake wine. Unfortunately, a group of loud Canadians came in and destroyed the vibe, so we headed off. Not much to do in the old town at night except for the little home run Karaoke ... read more