scooters, scooters and more scooters

Flying time from HK to Hanoi takes about 2 1/2 hrs and our plan was to sleep. As we queued at the departure gate the American man/boy in front of us was joined by a lady/girl (from Finland I think) who he had met on his travels. We know this because from that point on and for the entire flight they talked about their travels and themselves  with continual reference to everything being ‘awesome’ and ‘cool’ very loudly. As we boarded the plane we'd had enough of them and  couldn't believe it  when they sat right behind us. Earplugs didn't help. They talked incessantly. Even before we had taken off  the man in front of us asked to be moved because of the ‘loud American boy’, but they still carried on. After an hour of high speed talking he got  out his Ukulele (no that's not a euphemism) & started teaching her to play – on the plane!! Next he started to read  to her-  out loud – a short story - for all the plane to hear. For a good 15 minutes. Everyone around was looking at each other in disbelief!  He was oblivious. When he finished even she was embarrassed. He announced that he used to be an actor – of course he did! As we landed they discussed where they were staying & we were mightily relieved it was not our hotel!! 

We were greeted at our hotel (our best so far) by friendly staff, an upgraded room & petals on the bed. Our first task was to get our clothes laundered, then out onto the crazy streets of Hanoi where the scooter is king & pavements are taken up by parked bikes & street vendors. There seems to be no rules on giving way so scooter, cars, people - they all move around everything else & it seems to work . A little nervous at first we soon got the hang of it. We stayed in the old quarter so were well placed to see the highlights.We visited Hanoi prison also known  as the Hanoi Hilton  – worth a visit although the Vietnam slant on how US troops were treated may not be fully accurate.We also visited the women’s museum which I found really interesting. 

I am not a fan of puppets but I enjoyed the visit to the water puppet show. Mr L was less keen and referred to it as ‘water torture’. We walked plenty and took in many of the other sights – the lakes, Ho Chi Min Mausoleum, Hanoi’s highest Building – we even came across a statue of our good ‘friend’  Lenin.

On  one occasion a man stopped his bike and offered Mr L some guidebooks which Mr L declined saying he wanted one on Laos. We carried on walking & Within minutes the man returned with a guidebook on Laos! It was obviously copied but at £4 after some haggling,  we were happy & so was he. 

We ate some wonderful food on the streets and in restaurants/cafes and met some nice people. We also sampled a few glasses of the locally brewed beer – Bia Hoi – without preservatives and has to be drunk straight away. V tasty. One evening we found a small street full of bars, people, music & lights – great for people watching but, pricey. The following evening we found a quieter bar where we got talking to couple of dutch lads (I mentioned the rain in Amsterdam – I had to!) & somehow ended up in a ‘lock in’. Before we knew it,  it was 1.45am! Our bar bill for the evening? Less than £6! As we left the streets were a complete contrast from what the day. They were silent, dark, still & clean - almost. When we got back to the hotel we were locked out & had to wake the staff who were all settled in for the night on make shift beds in the reception. We felt awful but they were still so lovely and friendly.

We had had enough of the city so decided to book a cruise around Halong Bay. Hanoi is full on, noisy and intense. Not a place to go to relax and if you have never been to Asia it may be too much for a first experience. We cannot decide if we liked it or not but we enjoyed our stay.