Hanoi Part I

We arrived in Hanoi today for the start of our two week journey through Vietnam. After a slightly less-than-efficient immigration through customs, we embarked on our drive to the Sofitel Metropol, our hotel.  It was a good thing we had a driver, as traffic rules in Hanoi are quite unlike anything we've ever seen.  Hanoi seems to be the motor scooter capital of the world, and they outnumber all other vehicles by at least five to one.  The people here are all very skilled drivers, as some of the scooters came within inches of our van.  We even caught a few people texting and scootering.  More on traffic later...

We met up with some of our group at the hotel, and immediately ventured out into old town Hanoi for an authentic Vietnamese street dinner.  We are near the "lake of the recovered sword", so named for a legend about a turtle who brought back a sword to help fight off the Chinese invaders 1000 years ago. Walking next to the lake was quite pretty, as there is a lit pagoda illuminating the waters with some of the other lights of the city.

Lake of the recovered sword at night

Crossing the street here for the first time feels sketchy.  As there are few traffic lights, tons of scooters, and a few cars, the normal rules don't apply.  And travelling in a group of 15 or so - including kids - adds an extra layer of complexity.  We settled on a strategy of avoiding cars, letting motorbikes avoid us, and walking in a slow predictable manner to let the traffic react to us.  So far - no casualties.


Old town Hanoi is equally crazy. The streets are narrower, and even though some areas are dominated by pedestrians, a few determined motorbikers insist upon making passage.  Given the lack of space, many of the restaurants use kindergarten-sized plastic stools for seats, and slightly taller ones for the tables.  Our first meal had wooden seats and tables, but sized for small people still.

hanoi Street food feast

We ordered a variety of things - sometimes randomly.  "Ink balls" and stir-fried frog came out, along with more familiar things like sweet potato fries, and deep fried cheese.  And of course beers aplenty.  Many in our group are in the "try everything once" camp, and I'm no exception.  All in all, the food was tasty, even if a bit unfamiliar.