Hanoi, a sea of bikes interspersed with the odd car and taxi, you need to take your life in hand when crossing the road. The idea is to stop and pause by the side of the road for long enough for the traffic to see you, then you step on the road in the middle of the mayhem, you can't wait for a break in the traffic as that is never going to happen, you just have to take your chance and step into it. Simply keep looking in the direction of the oncoming traffic and walk bravely and slowly across the road without faltering. The motorbikes will weave their way around you! If you falter, then you will get hit.
Our first experience at road crossing began with lighter traffic as it was the middle of the day on a Sunday and most people were enjoying a leisurely Sunday lunch with family. But by the end of the day we risked life and limb to cross the road as the traffic had certainly increased. Fortunately we were with friends who live in Hanoi, so we just followed them into the fray.
We spent about an hour wandering through the old quarters of Hanoi initially along the street selling shoes. The shops are all very narrow as in colonial times there was a tax on the frontage of buildings, thus many were only 3 - 5 m wide but around 50 m deep. Even newer shops are the same size so I assume this tax is still in effect. Shoes spilled out on the footpath and with all the motorbikes taking up the rest of the pavement, we had to walk along the road, joining women in Vietnamese conical hats carrying their wares in baskets, one on each end of a pole across their shoulders, motorbikes and pushbikes carrying all types of loads, and the odd car. Bikes seem to be able to carry pretty much anything and a lot of it. We saw one laden with a load of eggs, trays of 3 dozen eggs piled 30 high and 3 deep leaving only a few inches of seat for the driver to perch on. What a massive omelet that would have made if he crashed. Others carried whole families, loads of vegetables, huge blocks of ice, boxes of goods, computers, TVs whatever you want I am sure they could manage to carry it. Mike and Amanda said that they just bought a large wardrobe, over 3 meters wide and yes you guessed it, it was carried home on the back of a motorbike!! They also had their flat screen TV and refrigerator delivered, both arriving together on the back of one motorbike.
We passed shops filled with silk and lacquer ware, galleries, bag shops, clothing stalls, flower markets and food markets etc whatever you want I am sure it could be found here. They call it the 36 streets of the old Quarter as it was originally built on 36 streets, but now it takes up more like 50 streets. You could spend days getting lost here in the maze of little lanes or sipping coffee in one of the many coffee shops, one of the great legacies of the French along with their bakeries.
We walked along the shore of one of the many lakes that can be found around Hanoi, remnants of a once flooded Red river. As it was a beautiful day weather wise, not oppressively hot and humid, there were many bride and grooms out making the most of the pleasant weather to have photos taken by the lake and on bridges crossing the water. Apparently it is the tradition in Vietnam for the bride and groom to spend the month leading up to their wedding wandering around in their wedding regalia having photos taken looking like star crossed lovers. There they were in the parks followed by a an entourage, like major film stars with a photographer, someone to sort out lighting, hair and makeup people and sometimes even wardrobe people if they were wealthy enough to have numerous changes of clothes. The brides seemed to be in either full white western wedding dresses with long trains or in deep red western dresses, red being the colour of wealth, prosperity and good luck. Couples seem to be happy to spend US$1000 on an album of photos of just the 2 of them and all in the days leading up to the wedding!!
I am writing this whilst sitting on a train, we are commencing our journey to Sapa, about a 9 hour train trip to the north of Vietnam in a soft sleeper berth. Sapa is situated right up near the Chinese border. My eyes are growing heavy with the clickety clack, clickety clack, clickety clack of the train. Soon I will be asleep.......
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