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Hanoi, Viet Nam
21° 1' N 105° 50' E
Oct 28, 2006 10:00
Distance 541km

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Other entries in Hanoi

Capital City

Text written in: English (UK)

You can tell that Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam as soon as you leave the airport.  Giant bill-boards greet you advertising every Oriental blue-chip company you can possibly think of and a few that you can't.

After checking into the hotel we went for a walk around the city.  It's just as crazy here as in Saigon with regards to driving but somehow we both agree that we like it more.  I think it's the small, narrow roads which are jam-packed with shops, stalls, bars and restaurants.  Chester is scared to cross the busier roads.  I tell him to do what I'm doing.  I'm just walking over and hoping the mopeds miss me.  You have to do this as if you try to wait until someone stops to let you go, you'll never cross the bloody road!  It was a bit like France in that sense, just with more bikes.  As affective as this was, I must say you can get quite a fright when stood in the middle of the road with 50 mopeds coming at you from both directions.  I was always waiting for Chester on the other side.

After food we found some "street bars" selling the local "Hoi" beer.  It was rather strange to be actually sat in the road on chairs that you would expect to find in a nursery, but enjoyable all the same.  When we realised the cost of a beer - 2000 Dong a cup, about 6.5 pence - we were sorted for the night!