Hanoi (Vietnam)

Hanoi

When you visit Bangkok - you only think of chaos, then you come to Hanoi. Motorbikes out number cars by 15 to 1 here. They drive like lunatics and carry the most ridiculous things on their rear. Like ants carrying oversized leaves, the motorcycle riders cram what they can on. I'v seen live chickens, a box of pigs and even an entire bed being transported - the options are endless. As such, crossing the road here is an art form. In Thailand they drive on the left, in Laos - on the right, in Vietnam - as long as your on the road then your in the correct lane - and the problem is that most of them arn't!!! The little green man means nothing - so to get across you just have to walk. The trick is never to run or take a step backwards and only to look out for cars (they don't swerve as easily). Amazingly it becomes quite easy. I don't even look anymore - I just walk and hope for the best.

The old quater of Hanoi is the back-packers spot, with a large lake at its centre and small side streets full of market stalls. A trip further into town takes most to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum where his body still rests - and is in pretty perfect condition due to some nifty embalming. To get in, again some military training would have been handy. You are literally marched in, 2 by 2. I got told off three times, for walking too fast, for not having my hands by my side and walking on the wrong bit of grass.

Around the mausoleum is the HCM Museum, the presedential palace and the one pillar pagoda which are all worth a trip. I also headed for the long walk south to Lenin Park, which you actually have to pay to get into and ends up not being the greatest recreational location in the world but is necessary to get away from all the madness.

I spent a few days actually in Hanoi but used it as a base to see other nearby locations, namely Halong Bay, Tam Coc and Hoa Lu......