With the peace, tranquillity and calm of the hot springs of NZ still echoing in our ears, we were suddenly hurtled into the chaos, craziness and crowds of Hanoi and Vietnam. Vietnam was described to us a country whose soundtrack is like Spinal Tap, cranked up to 11. This is certainly the case in places like Hanoi, however for the few days that we have been here already we discovered that there are also some very unique places of tranquillity and calm, where mother nature sings loud and proud.
The first initiation of Hanoi (a city with a population of just over 4 million) is braving the chaos of motorbikes to cross the road just outside your hotel. To say that it is organised chaos is an understatement. There are no lanes just a street where hundreds of motorbikes are weaving around each other in both directions. We learnt very quickly that you take one step at a time as quickly as you can, don’t look at the traffic coming towards you because you will lose you nerve, just keep focused on your goal – the other side of the road.
This skill came in handy when we did our own walking tour of the old quarter in Hanoi, thanks to our trusty photocopied Lonely Planet guide which we bought off a street bookseller for $6 USD. The walk took us through some the amazing backstreets of Hanoi where it feels more medieval than modern. Hundreds of little shop fronts selling absolutely everything. The food market was inevitably confronting, with an array of creatures being chopped, smashed, fried and skinned before your eyes. Duncan discovered that frogs squeal when they are being thumped on the head by a woman welding a wooden club in readiness for dinner.
On a much more civilised note we also went to the Water Puppet theatre which is a must do while Hanoi. Puppets as if by magic emerge from that water and perform for the audience. We even saw fire breathing dragons and a rain storm covering the entire stage to assist in the story telling.
However, the thing that Duncan and I were looking forward to most was the delicious street food. In any other city eating cooked meat in an alley would be a totally different thing altogether, however in Vietnam it is the best place to get your evening meal and the tastiest food Vietnam has on offer. For our evening meals Duncan and enjoy sitting on a tiny stool on the street having Pho, a huge steaming bowl of beef noodle soup. Funnily enough it is an island of serenity while all the chaos happens around you. Cost for two 500ml Hanoi beers and two bowls of Pho = $4 –the cultural experience = free. Awesome!!
We are now planning to leave our expensive hotel ($20 per night) and head to Ha Long bay to spend some time discovering the islands on a junk. We are looking forward to it, but hopefully the view will be as good as from our Hanoi hotel…
