Flat out in Hanoi

If this Internet connection was a bit quicker, there would be a fantastic picture of a horde of motorbikes and bicycles swerving madly around each other at a four-way intersection without lights. But it isn't - so you'll just have to imagine it.

As to the flights - five in a row is not to be recommended. We had dinner twice and breakfast twice, so we thought we could give lunch a miss once we got here :)

The taxi in from the airport was an experience - the driver just rode the bumper of the car in front, honking and flashing his lights until it moved out of the way a bit, and as soon as there was a gap big enough to squeeze through, he hooned through it and right up to the bumper of the next car. And every now and then you'd meet something coming towards us - on the wrong side of the median barrier!

We flew in over jagged hills covered in mist that looked just like what you'd expect Vietnam to look like, and all the way in from the airport there were rice paddies with people in conical straw hats working in them. All over Hanoi women walk about with those two baskets suspended on a pole over one shoulder as well - didn't expect to see that.

Yesterday we met up with another girl on our trip, Frances, and walked in to Hoan Kiem Lake (the lake of the restored sword - think King Arthur and Excalibur, with a helpful tortoise thrown in to take the sword back to the Gods). It looked from the map as though it was in a park, but actually it was in a big roundabout. Learning to cross the road was a bit freaky - we knew the theory, that you just walk out slowly and steadily and let the traffic swerve around you - but it's hard to put in practice.

For dinner we consulted the noticeboard in the reception of the hotel for suggestions. Everything was ranked from 1 to 4 stars depending on price so we thought we'd go middle of the road and try 2 stars. But they were all miles away so we opted for the Bun Cha, just around the corner and 1 star. Turned out to be a narrow concrete room with about four tables. In the dark, out the back beyond the eldery fridge, someone was squatting down washing dishes in a bucket.
There wasn't a choice of what you had, which was vermicelli noodles and a soup with pork patties and bits of grilled pork and vegies. It was really tasty and the bill for the 3 of us was 30,000 dong ($2US or just under). So no cause for complaint.

Today we went to see the Temple of Literature, which is known for traditional Vietnamese architecture and nice gardens with ponds, and then the West Lake, which is a real, big lake with boats. We had lunch at a french bakery place where I had chocolate and banana waffles (true to form) and the others had a sensible Vietnamese lunch involving vegetables. We had a brief look at one of the markets but it was really crowded and full of things we didn't want to buy. Nice bags and shoes, silk and embroidered, though.

Tomorrow we're off to Halong Bay.