Friendly policeman

Hanoi is wild and crazy, and has a ton of ambiance. I like it a lot so far. But there is the constant chance of death to worry about.

The moment you leave the airport, you're in a lush pastoral setting of green rice paddies being worked by peasants wearing Vietnam's famous conical hats. But a very busy and crowed pastoral setting. The highway is shared by water buffaloes, pony carts, bicycles, pedestrians, and massive amounts of motor bikes, some going down the wrong side of the rode. Because of the large number of vehicles, people, and animals, none of whom are paying attention to where they are going, all vehicles honk their horns constantly.

And Hanoi is absolutely insane. Narrow one way streets, jam-packed with mobs of people, motor bikes, and a few hapless cars and busses, all honking. I had countless near misses on the motorbike to my hotel, especially when the driver went the wrong way down a one way street!

Walking around is no piece of cake either, since there are no sidewalks, you have to walk among the sea of vehicles. I'm slowly getting used to crossing the street Vietnamese style: just dive in and start walking slowly, and the river of motor bikes will swarm around you. Busses and cars do have to be dodged, though.

At the concert

It really is a motor bike society. There's a concert at the park tonight, and everyone is listening to the singers while sitting on their bikes!

The other threat of death was starvation. I could not find a restaurant. I remembered a friend telling me that I should try banh mi, a French bread sandwich. Eventually, I came upon a stand selling it. Thanks to the French, Vietnamese is written with the Roman alphabet, so you can actually read signs. Of course, pronunciation is another matter. The only ingredient I recognized was pate, so I tried that.

But the city has a ton of character. It really is the Paris of the East, with its French colonial buildings. I'm looking forward to exploring it by day tomorrow.

I'm really in no hurry to leave, and I want to spend some time getting my bearings. I'm not sure how long I'll stay, or where I'll go from here. Whatever the case, "doing" Vietnam isn't a priority. I'd rather relax and enjoy myself.