Hanoi is a city with almost as many scooters/motorbikes as people. I seriously doubt this is an exaggeration. Traffic is a cluster, no rules, other than the fact that one should honk every 5 seconds. Traffic lights? Who cares…. 5 people on a scooter? Sure. Scooter towing a trailer with a full size pig? Done.
As planned, I met Jessica at Hanoi Airport after my quick Hong Kong flight, and her quick Thailand flight where she’d been touring on her own for the past 3 weeks.
Vietnam can be experienced for pretty cheap if you are willing to go a tad out of your normal comfort zone. Dinner for two, and two big beers? $US 2.50. But you do end up sitting on tiny chairs and kids tables at “illegal” street restaurants occupying Hanoi’s sidewalks. We even did a private food tour one evening. Bun Cha, Snails, Sea Worms, quail eggs with embryo, egg coffee, and some local strong alcohol shared with some enthusiastic locals who ended up buying us some beers, and sharing their appreciation for the US and especially Bill Clinton, less enthusiasm was shown towards Trump.
Time in Hanoi was spent walking around the city, watching locals simply celebrating life and having fun. On the weekends, some streets in the old quarter are blocked off for traffic where after thousands of people take them over. Music, games, selfies, lake, concerts – you name it. These guys are loving it. I think we could learn a bit about this in the US!
On the sightseeing part we visited Hoa Loa prison that was used over various wars and conflicts. Including keeping some US Prisoners of War captured. Senator John McCain was held here. The museums description of the US POWs conditions vary a bit from the one shared by the US POWs, but it wouldn’t be any good communist proaganda if we stretched the truth a bit (I’m sure the US is guilty of similar stories themselves)
Also managed to visit the Womens museum which was a great way to learn about women in Vietnam as well as traditional family life and culture.
While Hanoi was a major target of US air raids, there is no grudge held against any American or foreigner here, more the contrary. Smiles and happy people everywhere you go. Still a bit odd to know that not long ago Americans were dropping bombs on Hanoi, and today they’re dropping dollars (or Dongs as they are humorously called)
One part that we had decided as a must do was Halong Bay, unfortunately it seems as most tourists considers this a must-do as well and it was rather busy. We spent two days on a cruise boat, also known as a “junk boat” crusing around stunningly beautiful Halong Bay. With just 8 cabins on our boat it was not crowded at all, and always great meeting other travelers from all over the world. Our crew was great and spent time with us showing us Halong Bay, including some kayaking during sunset. We did manage to visit a cave that was inundated with tourists, to the point where it was a bit ridiculous. Managing Vietnam’s natural beauty is an area where some urgent attention is needed before it is destroyed.
Heading south
We caught a domestic flight south to Hue (pronounced ¿Hué or whey?) which is a much smaller city compared to hectic Hanoi. We visited multiple sites, including the Imperial City with a massive wall surrounding impressive buildings.
Too bad these buildings were severely damaged during the war, and restoration is at a snails pace. Hue suffered some of the most intense battles between the North and the South/US during the Vietnam war.
We enjoyed some $9 hour long massages along with some $0.50 beers from the small street vendor next door. Grabbed dinner at the beautiful riverside.
It was a quick visit to Hue since we only had one night, but well worth our visit here.
Next, heading further south…