Hanoi

Hanoi is one crazy city!  We flew in on a Saturday night and were greeted with a multitude of scooters, bikes and cars whizzing through the streets... and a million and one people sitting on the roadside tucking into various local delicacies.  It was a lot to take in.

Thankfully, though, we survived the night (with help from navigator extraordinaire, Sally) and then were able to properly get our bearings during the daylight hours.  Here are a few shots taken whilst we wondered around yesterday.

Before you continue reading, a small word of warning - we seemed to spend the whole day just lurching from one meal to the next.  I am still full and have skipped breakfast this morning!

The streets are crazy and, literally, anything goes.  It is quite amazing to watch and seems to work even though sometimes I can't figure out how.  For those of you who have given us hints and tips re: crossing the road - thank you!  It is hard to imagine the chaos until you are amongst it but we think we've got it pretty sussed now.  :)
 

Craig found a bakery and with a custard cone for about 45c he couldn't resist.  He was a little shocked to find that it wasn't vanilla flavoured - but coconut.

The fresh produce market stalls here are amazing (even if the photography isn't so much).  I sometimes wish I had cooking facilities to use so we could buy up big and experiment.  We'll have to make do with a cooking class in Laos instead.

For lunch we found a little cafe on the 5th floor, over-looking Hoan Kiem Lake.  As one of the few "green" places in Hanoi it was definitely worth the walk and seemed to be a popular place with locals enjoying their Sunday afternoon with an ice cream.  It was pretty spectacular scenery, though the amount of smog did put a slight dampener on it all.

After lunch we just wondered around the shopping district and I got my craft-on visiting a few embroidery stores and the like.  Some of the things they can do with a needle and thread are amazing!

Craig finally couldn't resist and had to have a pork skewer in a roll from one of the many, many street-side vendors.  It was delicious and as I type this Craig is drooling down my back looking at the pics.  I suspect we might be stopping at another stall sometime today.

As day started turning into night the streets started to really rev up again with people flocking out for a feed...

We thought we'd join in the fun and enjoy a few drinks...

And, as it so often does, a few drinks turned into a big night and before we knew it...

... I was scoffing a doner kebab - Vietnam-style. Yum!!

Today will no doubt be more of the same and then tomorrow (Tuesday) we'll be heading out to Halong Bay for 3 days of spectacular sights, kayaking, swimming, trekking - and possibly more eating and drinking. Ahh it's a tough life. ;)

E.