So,we managed to get the train to Ha Noi. The sun was barely even peeping over the horizon when we arrived. No earlier than 04.30. We has passed a market as the train pulled into the city. It was alive with activity. We stepped from the train to find maybe one million or so taxi and moto(cycle) drivers trying to take us to a 'great hotel' of their choosing.
Luckily we'd been recommended a place to stay in the Old Quarter where we'd already reserved a room. A tip from a very friendly Belgium guy we shared a dorm room with. Unfortunately we had to wake up the hotel staff to let us in. We amused ourselves on the internet for a couple of hours whilst they enjoyed the rest of their night's sleep. It was almost midday before we finally checked into our room.
Ha Noi itself is pretty nuts. Apart from the odd car or minibus pretty much everyone drives scooters/motos. The cross roads are a nightmare. Few traffic lights and no mercy.... It seems that all you need to approach one of these and survive is a loud horn and an iron will. But somehow people seem to glide past each other without crashing. No one gets road rage. Crossing the road on foot is a little testing. The trick is just to step out into the road and just walk, whilst keeping a keen eye on the vehicles travelling towards you. A highlight for us in Ha Noi was going to the quarter final of the Asia football cup. We'd been following all the games on TV in China and realised that there would be a chance to watch a game at Ha Noi stadium. Chin and I had both chosen a team each. He chose Iraq and I chose Malaysia. I ditched them pretty soon after as it was clear that they weren't going to get anywhere. They didn't score one goal in the whole of the tournament. So, I needed to choose another team, which happened to be Japan.
Lucky for me, the quarter final match was between Japan and Australia. It was a really exciting game the game went to extra time and then penalties. Japan won on penalties and were through to the semi finals. At one point we thought that Japan and Iraq would face each other in the finals but it wasn't to be. Japan got knocked out in the semi-finals and Iraq went on to win the cup. More thumbnails ...
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