Moto doging in Old Hanoi

Trip Start Apr 16, 2008
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Trip End Apr 15, 2009


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Sunday, June 15, 2008

After Sapa I arrived back in Hanoi to to a bit of sightseeing and to meet up with Scotty who was arriving for a 3 week holiday. He was actually delayed one day so I had a bit of time around the city. It was a bit of a shock at first - every street you cross is a river of motorbikes (even if there is a green man to cross). You just have to face the oncoming traffic and walk at a slow steady pace and trust they will dodge you. We I survived anyway but I did see a few accidents.
Over the first few days I visited the War Museum and the History Museum but the most memorable thing was my visit to Uncle Ho's mausoleum. His request when he died, because he was a simple man, was to have a small cermony and then be cremated. Instead there was a huge state funeral, parade and now he is embalmed and encased in glass in a huge mausoleum north west of the city centre. You can even parade through and see his body which is quite eery.
After Scotty arrived we did a bit of celebrating. Despite the fact that every bar should close in Hanoi at 11.30 pm we found one bar which did lock-ins and made frequent visits over the 4 days there. Some greats nights and many new friends.
Over the time I was there Hanoi really grew on me and I really got to like walking around the buzzing Old Quarter. But after 5 nights there in total we moved onto to see Halong Bay.
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