Friday 4 November 2011-
Up to catch the plane to Hanoi. When we were called to board the flight, there was the guy with the motorbike boots boarding the plane before every one else, no matter that his seat number had not been called. We were scheduled to leave Changi at 9.50am but were in a plane queue on the runway and didn't hit the runway till 11.0am.
Piece of cake going through customs at Hanoi, our guy with the motorbike boots had got his bag and was gone, no waiting for the new friends that he was going to be spending the next 3 weeks with. He had gone out to meet up with Mike and Angela, from Britton Adventure tours that would be leading our tour, he already knew them, as had done other bike trips with them in New Zealand. We got through and out there to meet them all, Mike and Angela and Robert, a lawyer from Wellington.
First on the agenda was to change some money from American dollars into Vietnamese dong. We'll get 4million dong, sounds an awful lot of money but it was only $200US, then counting out all the notes to make sure we had the right amount. Next job was to buy a Vietnam SIM cards for our cell phones as it is cheaper to use their system than ours over there. Lucky the guy behind the counter could set up the new SIM in the phone, even when it came to topping up it was easiest to get them to do it.
Drove into Hanoi to the Army Hotel in the old French Quarter. Settled into our room then Mike and Angela took us out for our first encounter with the traffic, scooters, people, markets etc. First up was lunch in a street cafe, such yummy food, think we had some sort of seafood stirfy. Walked right round the lake in the city, stopped for drinks, stopped at another place for icecream. Back to the Hotel for a swim in the pool.
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| Even the Hilton Hotel |
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It is popular in Vietnam to have your wedding photos taken days or weeks before the big event |
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check out all the power wires |
At 7.30 that night, went by taxi to dinner at Cha Ca, Vietnamese style. This cafe has only one dish on the menu, it is a fish dish that is cooked on the table in front of you. Then to eat it you add fresh herbs and rice and sauces with chillie, limes etc. Vietnam restaurant, chop sticks, only thing to eat your food with, perserverence, perserverence, or starvation. Sort of got the knack, then the dam things wouldn't hold the food.
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| Angela, Robert, Mike, Scott, Alison
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Then it was more walking around the streets of Hanoi. The city is located on the right banks of the Red River., and has many lakes inlcuding Hoan Kiem lake
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| Young people cruising the streets at night |
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| Hoan Kiem lake which we walked around, many times I think A city between the rivers, built from lowland, Hanoi has many scenic lakes and it is sometimes called "city of lakes". Among its lakes, the most famous are Hoan Kiem Lake, West Lake, Halais Lake (Hồ Thiền Quang in Vietnamese), and Bay Mau Lake. Hoan Kiem Lake, also known as Sword Lake, is the historical and cultural center of Hanoi, and is linked to the legend of the magic sword. West Lake (Hồ Tây) is a popular place for people to spend time. It is the largest lake in Hanoi and there are many temples in the area. There are small boats for hire and a floating restaurant.      
The Old Quarter, near Hoan Kiem lake, has the original street layout and architecture of old Hanoi. At the beginning of the 20th century the city consisted of only about 36 streets, most of which are now part of the old quarter. Each street then had merchants and households specialized in a particular trade, such as silk traders, jewellery, etc. The street names nowadays still reflect these specializations, although few of them remain exclusively in their original commerce
The Vietnamese love their birds.
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