Hanoi, Vietnam
Whoa, Hanoi is like nothing I’ve seen, crowded, frenetic, hot, beeping horns, mopeds, heavy traffic but amazing food! It’s a very large city so we situated ourselves right in the heart of the Old Quarter so we would be surrounded by everything we wanted to see. We were also close to the beautiful Hoan Kiem lake a bit of peace and serenity in the city. We did some exploring but had to keep it in short spurts due to the heat. We’d go out for 1-2 hours, see a museum or part of the city then back to the hotel for another shower and rest or swim. We did this a few times a day in order to not burn out and get on each other’s nerves! There’s nothing worse than profusely sweating in mid 90’s temperatures and 100% humidity and to have the kids hanging on to you. So far we have been lucky with no rainy days. It has rained a lot at night and we have had a few quick sun showers but nothing that affected our plans. I thought we would be in rain jackets and umbrellas most days. I like Hanoi but it took a little getting used to! The noise and traffic was annoying at first, well it still is but I’m acclimating to it. We were terrified to cross the street in the beginning because the cars and scooters don’t stop for you or red lights! Everyone drives on both sides of the street and there are always almost head on crashes, even on the highways with the trucks and buses-I just sat in the back with my head down, if I watched I would have had an anxiety attack! In the city it is mostly scooters with a few cars and a few buses here an there. The intersections are so much fun to watch! Complete chaos with horns just beeping and everyone going in every single direction at the same time! So to cross, you just walk into the traffic and slowly navigate through…nerve wracking! (See video) You really can’t walk on the sidewalks because they are full of parked scooters and people sitting eating or drinking or cooking right there. So you must walk in the street most of the time with the crazy driving! It has some really cool things to see and great markets. The food was the most exciting part of the city!! Every shop is full of fresh meat cuts each morning and produce just sitting out for sale. By the afternoon it’s all gone and all the restaurants have prepared it for the days meals. They don’t have many refrigerators and don’t order ahead. Buy in the morning, prepare, sell and they are empty by nights end. The way they eat is pretty interesting too. Since it’s a big city, rents are really expensive so they have very narrow storefronts with seating inside in the back and/or on the sidewalk. But you don’t eat at regular tables and chairs. Since they have to fit more people in, you have a preschool sized table and mini stools to sit on-see the pictures. I felt like I was in a kindergarten lunchroom! But all of this doesn’t matter once you eat the amazing food! You need a whole book to explain the different foods, how to order, where to order, how to eat, etc! Luckily we hired a local guide to bring us to the best places and she explained everything to us. It was so exciting to learn about all this new food and the boys loved it too. But three hours in, we had to throw in the towel…we were done! I couldn’t look at anymore food! I think this night was the most exciting in Hanoi-see all the food pictures from each stop.
