Hanoi - an attack on the senses
Unlike in China, where we were constantly on the go, we wanted to have a more relaxed time in Hanoi, but that proved to be much more difficult than planned. Indeed, Hanoi feels like an attack on your senses; it is a loud, bustling city, with chaotic streets and people everywhere. The narrow streets are dominated by thousands of motorcycles beeping (mostly unnecessarily) at other road users. That wouldn't be such a problem if you could walk on the pavements, but they are usually filled with either parked scooters or people, who seem to live their lives sitting outside of their homes and shops. This, combined with the heat and humidity haven't made it the easiest place to chill out, although we have now mastered the art of crossing the road here.
We stayed in the Blue Sky Hotel which is positioned on the edge of the Old Quarter (the main tourist area of Hanoi). Our first night there was spent in what was clearly the last room available, as it was not quite finished with varnish splashed all over the place, dodgy electrics and cold showers. Given the rough state we arrived in we were just happy to have somewhere to dump our packs and wash. We planned to move to another hotel the following day but in the end there was no need as we offered a different room.
On our first day we headed to Hoam Kiem Lake, the centre of the Old Quarter. We had decided to go to the 'Museum of Ethnology' just out of town, which the Lonely Planet described as unmissable. However after lunch it was clear that we had neither the motivation nor the energy for it. Instead we wondered through town to the 'Temple of Literature' which is an 11th-century Confucian temple that was converted into a University. Despite the number of tourists this was probably the most peaceful place we found in Hanoi.
In the evening we went out for a meal with the two couples we had travelled from the border with: the Irish (Donad and Deidre) and the Aussies (Ange and Ash). We ordered masses of food and ate like Kings for about $4 (that's how we compare prices in Vietnam as many places give prices in $), or about 2.20 GBP. After the meal we learnt a very important lesson: if you go out drinking with Irish and Australians, you will be drinking for many hours!
We had a great time with them, staying out until the early hours of the morning and visiting several different bars including one called 'half-man, half-noodle'. Unsurprisingly, all 6 of us were feeling worse for wear (although Ash was still talking about going out again!) in the morning, and our second day became something of a write-off. After a long breakfast we did manage to find our way to a travel agents to book a tour to Halong Bay, as well as arrange our train journey out of Hanoi. We then decided to head to Lenin Park which lies just south of the Old Quarter. So we hopped in a cyclo (like a rickshaw, but with the passengers at the front) and directed the driver to the park. After initially going in the wrong direction we arrived at Lenin Park, where the driver tried to charge us $6 each. This came as quite a surprise to us because when we had got into the cyclo we had arranged a price of 6000 Dong (about 35c, or 20p). Moreover, we knew that the going rate was approximately 30,000 dong ($2) for one hour. I was defintiely not in the mood to be messed about, and after an argument outside of the park, we gave him 30,000 dong and walked off. It is fair to say that we did not part on speaking terms (although there was some spitting on his part).
We weren't sure whether the driver was putting on an act or not. We've increasingly got the feeling that the Vietnamese feel they have the right to rip tourists off, because even when they are clearly charging you too much they will not allow you to barter the price down. Despite what people say about the friendliness of the Vietnamese we are yet to be convinced. It seems to me that they are only happy and smiley if they are (a) waiters/waitresses in a tourism-orientated restraunt or (b) they are trying to rip you off. That said, they do seem to enjoy life much more than the Chinese. I hope to be proved wrong as we see more of Vietnam.
We also had a disagreement with our hotel organizers who seemed to be very angry at us for not booking our tour to Halong Bay with them. We didn't really care and had only booked with the other travel agents so that we could go on the same tour as the Irish couple. It was quite a lot of fun watching the manageress getting wound up about it and it was down-right bizarre when we came back down to find her apologetic, friendly and smiley.
One of the highlights of our stay in Hanoi came on the last evening when we went to the Water Puppet Theatre. Developed by rice farmers, water puppetry, or roi nuoc, originated in northern Vietnam a 1000 years ago, and consists of wooden puppets, in water (Rosalind - any more personal requests?). The puppeteers were accompanied by music played on traditional Vietnames instruments. We did not know quite what was going on for most of the show as they spoke in Vietnamese, but it was fun all the same.
Hanoi has been fun, though more because of the other travellers we have met than the place itself. We've also eaten very cheaply at some great places - we have particularly enjoyed some of their french-style coffee shops which serve pain au chocolat to die for. We have just returned from the picturesque Ha Long Bay and are looking forward to seeing the more traditional towns of Hue and Hoi An. We never did make to the Museum of Ethnology!
Chris
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