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Tired, a little sweaty and somewhat relieved that Aeroflot delivered us safely, we stepped off in Hanoi, into a wall of heat and a taxi journy like no other!! Screaming in and out of the morning traffic, we passed temples, tiny houses, gargantuan electronics factories and several small motorcycle accidents - Hanoi is alive!
After dropping our worldy possessions at the rather delightful Little Hanoi Hostel, our home for next three days, we ventured out into the unknown chaos! My first experience of a large Asian city (Joeys second), we were completely blown away with the energy and movement! Thousands upon thousands of tiny scooters weave their way through the waren of streets, carrying all manner of goods. Children, chickens, gas bottles, water..........snakes! We stepped in to eat traditional noodles at a crazy bar, where no money seems to change hands until you are fired out of the door by the crowd! The bar served just one type of beef and vegetable dish which was quite delicious! No idea about language at this stage, we manage 'Kam on' (please) and 'Chaoi" (See you)!! We pushed on into the old quarter, taking in all that we could (falling victim to one particular souvenir seller - we are now the proud owner of several traditional hats...)!! Spent a lot of time at the beautiful 'Lake of Lost Swords', sipped local beer, watched the renowned water puppet theatre and spent the twighlight looking over the city, watching the swirling crowds celebrate independance day!
First impressions: A beautiful, mysetrious city set against a backdrop of a thousand years of history. Crazy, frenetic and full of two stroke oil!! More than living up to expectations, Hanoi is everything we wanted it to be. Off to see Ho Chi Minh today, more craziness expected!!
Love to you all - Andy and Joey xx
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