We arrived in Hanoi about 10 pm last night and got to a lovely hotel around 11 pm (The Silk Path Hotel nonetheless!). After breakfast we met our guide to do a city tour. And what a tour it was!
Our guide told us that there about 7 million people in Hanoi and 6 million motorbikes! While we know this to be an exaggeration, it certainly does not feel like one!
They can and are even used to transport all manner of thing.
When getting around Hanoi you just have to get up the courage to cross into the foray of oncoming traffic believing that the "sea will part around you", and lo and behold it does and they go around you!
We spent the day enjoying the old quarter, where shops are as small as 1.5 meters wide, which is understandable when you learn that this frontage area goes for $100,000 per square meter (10 sq. ft.). So you can see why they are very narrow but up to 8 stories high and very deep.
The old quarter has a great deal of French architecture,
albeit with some unique wiring additions not present when the quarter was originally envisioned.
They also bring sidewalk service to a whole new level!
As busy and frenetic as it seems, there is still very much an underlying grace and elegance to the people's attitude and respect for others. While some may be taken aback a little by the fact that people may ask your age, it is done with much respect, as the relative age difference determines the manner in which you are addressed. There are many more intricate levels of this compared to the vous and tu in French, and it is important for them to determine how to address you.
Tomorrow we are off bright and early Halong Bay. Tune in later!
Bye for now,
Paul & Sonya
