Hanoi - City of 1 Million Motorbikes!

August 13, 2009

Laura and Eric eating shrimp fried rice in a street cafe, taking a picture with some local kids.

We didnt quite know what to expect from Vietnam, but it turns out to be really awsome. the people were nice and full of smiles, while the country itself was interesting and picturesque. The cities are full of life, and we had a great time just walking around and soaking up the local life.

We landed in Hanoi at about 10 PM. Our taxi driver, supplied by the hotel, gave us a bit of a shock when he dropped us off at “Eden Plaza Hotel.” This was strange because we had made reservations at “Love Planet 1.” With alarm bells going off in our heads, we were remembering all that we had read about scams and fake hotels in this city. We were finally sated once we saw that all of our emails from Love Planet 1 had come from the Eden Plaza email address.

The Old quarter of Hanoi is pretty wild, with tons of motorbikes, walkers, cyclos (bicycle-rickshaws), hawkers, and tourists abound. There are no traffic lights or stop signs. Everyone just drives between each other, albeit at a slow pace. To cross the street, you walk right into/through traffic. Whereas in Rome, the traffic stopped to let you cross, here, you just have at it! However, in Vietnam, traffic drives around you. With all the motorbikes, crossing the street can seem dangerous at times, but traffic moves slower than in most places, so it is manageable and almost fun. We spent a lot of our nights like we spent the days, wandering around the city into various restaurants, temples, and exploring the streets. We had some really great tasting and cheap food, which was great.

The Vietnamese people are also very friendly and courteous. Their English is good, and they can be bargained with easily. They are also eager to help and please, which makes this an easy country to visit. The only complaint is that the taxi drivers REALLY try to overcharge. Some have doctored meters, some just name an extremely high price. It takes a lot of haggling and threats to leave the cab sometimes to get the correct price. One time, we disagreed with the driver and he went so far as to cry to try to embarrass us into paying an exorbitant fee. Most of the time, we ended up walking to save the hassle.

Our sightseeing around town included a visit to the Temple of Literature, which is a university founded in 1070. There are large stone tablets with lists of the names of those who received doctoral degrees from the 1400’s and on. This was rather interesting to see, and was filled with some neat buildings. Eric had a conversation with a Buddhist monk, who told him that “All Americans are liars.” which kind of ended the conversation.

Really, we had a great time in Hanoi, and are excited about seeing the rest of Vietnam. Enjoy the pictures!