So the problem with going to Vietnam towards the end of the rainy season is its the rainy season. One might think this is a truth that is self evident; towards the end, but not there yet. Sadly for the eternal optimists out there such as myself, when it comes to weather we see the term 'towards the end of' to mean 'clearing up'. Hanoi proved me very wrong today... so so very wrong.

When we headed down for brekkie we could see that it was lightly raining outside, we spent a few hours planning our next few days and could see it was still lightly raining. Not to be one's to let things rain on our parade we decided to head out in the light rain and check out some of Hanoi's sights. Fair to say I should have listened to Emily when we found ourselves at a 6 way intersection with what I think was supposed to be a round-a-bout in the middle, but it just could have easily been a chuck of concrete that fell off a truck and nobody wanted to move it so the just painted arrows around it. Anyway, Emily pointed out which road we needed to be on, which was all the way over the side of the intersection... this meant crossing the road. I strongly believe that there 80 year old Vietnamese people that have never left the block the grew up on because they simply cannot cross the road... Crossing the road here is taking your life into your own hands... its stupidity...

So because it was to scared to cross at the crazy intersection I told Emily we'd be fine if we followed the road we were on, it would bring us to the main road and we could navigate from there... rookie mistake number 1. we got hopelessly lost, but through the fine navigation skills Milly and Mihai, we managed to stumble upon the Hanoi Hilton (an old prison built by the French and used by both French and Vietnamese governments), our intended destination.

After about a hour in the Hanoi Hilton we decided we'd like to see the Opera house which, apparently all the materials had been shipped directly from France to build. As we wandered towards the Opera house through the French quarter of Hanoi, admiring the French style architecture, we saw a building that took our fancy and deviated from our set path... Rookie mistake number 2

The building was pretty cool, however somehow we ended up being turned on the map... and when I say we... I mean Me, I was navigating. It was still raining, had been all day... it was very humid... and we were lost in Hanoi... Again...

Once again Emily came to the rescue, finding a street sign that matched a street name on our map. From here we were able to make our way to the opera house... which is a pretty cool building, however once we found it I think we were well past building appreciation time, and more focused on food time.

We rounded out our day with some well deserved beers and Pho at our local Pho place... 

The one thing that I did learn today is that my Thongs (or flip flops for those of you who like to name shoes for the sounds they make... cause that's not weird or anything) are truly Aussie thongs... made for a drought... they did not like the wet pavement one tiny little bit... I nearly went ass-up at least 15 times, and every time I did I would elbow Emily. I think it may be time to give these bad boys the flick... I know I said that I am an eternal optimist, and as such I should keep them for drier times... however in the here and now, these puppies are dangerous, so they have to go. There is no room for optimism in my slippery thong...    

Arrival Notes

I'm going to gloss over the details of how I got here, but I am in Hanoi and it is raining.  It's still humid, but now everyone is wearing ponchos.  I've just seen a woman drive by with 1700 water bottles strapped to the back of her motorbike.  


My first impressions of the city were overshadowed by the fact I almost died several times travelling from the airport to my hotel in a taxi.  The only rule of the road seems to be that there are no rules when it comes to driving...this has taken some getting used to.  But thanks to my Grandma Anderson, I have accepted the norm of walking straight into oncoming traffic with the hope that the never-ending stream of vespas and motorbikes will swerve out of my way.  Very tempted to rent a bike and try out the roads for myself, though I have a feeling that it would be a terrible idea.   Especially because I have no idea how to drive one.

Yikes. So many bikes.

Yesterday we had a proper walk through the old quarter and it was quite lovely.  The buildings are thin and tall with little balconies jutting out everywhere.  In some places the sidewalks are totally covered with rental bikes, etc.  By etc I mean everything.  Streets feel really cluttered but cosy, complete with massive old growth trees with roots grown into the pavement.

  

Tortoise Tower

Hoan Kiem Lake, a small lake south of the city centre, was an oasis of calm (despite the constant traffic noise in the background).  I liked it because there was a cool breeze.

Bridge to Ngoc Son Temple  

So far we've only managed to spend 26.83 AUD - but $8.30 was scammed from us.  Firstly, a crazy man who tried to tell us he was a Red Cross ESL teacher that sold toothpicks to benefit needy country children.  We should have been tipped off by his piss poor English.  He wanted 20.00 USD from each of us, but in the end we gave him 50, 000 VND to leave us be.  Second came later in the form of a youngish woman who put 2 sacks of chopped pineapple in my lap and said "Baby" whilst gesturing to her belly.  Against Phil's better judgement, I gave her 50, 000 for 1 bag (AHHHH OVERPRICED) and got an upset stomach for my charity.  Dammit!  Probably the best pineapple either of us had ever tasted, though.  


We were thinking of busing to Halong Bay tomorrow, but the forecast literally says 'torrential rain', so maybe on Thursday.


- milly