Blog 8 – Hanoi

Hanoi is insane, or at east that’s the first impression after our last two weeks in small towns and back blocks of Laos. The roads are clogged with motorcycles and there are no road rules. Pedestrian crossings have no meaning. To cross a busy road you just start walking slowly, looking both ways. Motorbikes, rickshaws and cars will stream past with little regard for the right hand side of the road and with drivers often talking on cell phones or otherwise distracted. Horns toot incessantly and a thin smog hangs in the air. I took a motorbike taxi earlier today; $3NZ for 20 minutes of excitement. Actually, once you are in the traffic with a good driver you realise that speeds are quite low and it’s not as dangerous as it seems.

Prices in the city are also a little bit crazy. We ate an excellent Vietnamese meal, washed down with a beer in a pleasant restaurant last night and the bill came to $10NZ for two. Lunch in a classic street stall was $2 each for delicious Vietnamese “pancakes” with crispy pork. However espresso coffees in western cafes can be $7 each. There are definitely two prices for everything and as newly arrived falangis we stand out and and attract the higher prices.

We began he day with an early start walking around Hoan Kiem lake. The locals were out in force practicing Ti Che and playing badminton. The park was basically the gym of the people. Since then we have had a day of checking out options and operators. We are booked on an overnight sleeper to Sapa on the border with China, where we hope to explore the area on foot and cycle for 3 days. Then it’s another overnight sleeper back to Hanoi and a bus out to Halong Bay where we have arranged to charter a small sailing junk for 24 hours.

Must go – have a train to catch.

Ross