Discovering Hanoi: Part 1

I'm sitting here in front of the computer going through pictures from our Hanoi trip and thinking of what to write about Hanoi. There are so much to say about the experiences in Hanoi. I remember thinking at different points of time during the trip, "ohmygoodness, this is so amazing, I shall write about it in the blog when I get back." yet now, I feel like words just sort of left me. But I am going to attempt anyhow. If there is a phrase I could use to describe Hanoi, it would be along the line of "....chaotically beautiful."

We really had little expectations before coming to Hanoi other than looking forward to a warm weather and we also read horrific stories about the traffic in Hanoi, even watched them on Youtube. However, when we arrived we were greeted with rainy cold weather. The locals were wearing winter jackets for goodness sake.  The traffic horror, one we got to experience first hand for the next couple of days when we were there was like a scene of all hells break loose. They were constantly honking every other minute but for them, it's not rude, it's just a way of saying "Watch out, I'm coming" or "You're too slow, get out of the way so I can drive pass" or "Hey, just because...". Really, sometimes, they just  honked for nothing. I was talking to Christina, a fellow traveller and a friend I met from Portugal that it's amazing how crazy the locals are on the road yet we don't see accidents happen at least not while we were there. Also, crossing the road took a lot of guts.  A new friend we met from Germany, Daniel, who now stays in  Hanoi said it's easy to cross the road, just don't do anything unexpected, like dash back all of a sudden. One of the tips he shared with us is when crossing a busy road in Hanoi, walk slowly. The drivers or motorcyclists will actually look out for you and more often, they would slow down or swerve around you to avoid hitting you. So yeah, it was comforting to know that the locals are in fact, being careful in that sense.

But, looking past the weather, traffic, pollution and dirty streets, we soon discover that embedded beneath the facade of the city that portrays a large portion of French influenced architectures is a city that is still historically and culturally driven and one that still holds its traditional values while at the same time trying to fit in the modern contemporary world. I guess that is what makes Hanoi a charming city, the blend of the old and new, of different cultures that transcend through passage of recent history and events but nevertheless leave its marks, layers upon layers until it becomes a characteristic that is so uniquely Hanoi.

And just when we thought Hanoi is just this big, populated and congested city with 7 million in population and a staggering number of 3.8 millions motorbikes (that is one bike for every 2 persons, wow), we were driven towards outside Hanoi's big city and into the outskirts that revealed less buildings (can't say about less traffic though) but more greens and clearer skies. We booked two separate tours for the first two days we were in Hanoi. The first was the Hoa Lu Tam Coc tour. The tour started with a 2 hours drive away from busy Hanoi city  into Ninh Binh Province also referred to as 'Halong Bay on land. Here, we visited a Buddhist temple with a beautiful tall gate at its entrance and later after lunch, we went for a river cruise down the narrow Tam Coc river sandwiched between paddy vegetations on river and wall of cliffs made of limestones. Oh, I forgot to mention about the other thing that made the river cruise so unique. The boat person paddled the boat not with their hands but with their feet. It was interesting to note that and after the boat ride, we opted for a bicycle tour. We cycled for about 4 kilometres in total, back and forth, through the village and to another temple with cave on hill and back before getting on the tour bus to go back to Hanoi. 

When we got back to Old Quarter where we stayed, the sun had set and we walked around in search of a place to have dinner and finally came upon this restaurant called Ladybird. Front window of the restaurant displayed the menu which consisted of both local vietnamese and international cuisines and a few articles that wrote the restaurant was recommended by Lonely Planet. So, we decided to have dinner there.  

We had the spring rolls, roasted chicken for me and beef sate for Oliver and downed it with Iced coffee with milk. Two glasses each for both of us. The meals were decent and inexpensive. A great end for our first full day in  Hanoi and the next day promised another adventure, Halong Bay, the real deal. 

But, I'll continue another day. I need Vietnamese coffee now.