Marilyn's Odyssey: Hanoi

We arrived in Hanoi by air and landed at their beautiful new airport, open less than a month,with everything shiny and bright. Our trip into the city started out on beautiful new highway with large farms on either side busy with workers in the fields. Then we reached the city limits and what appeared to be total mayhem. This city of six million people boasts 3.5 million scooters and they weave in and out of traffic with as many as four people on one small scooter. They are also used for transport and it often looks like the goods weigh more than the scooter itself. Even saw women with make shift snuggles . Scary.

The city itself is much more low rise with ramshackle buildings housing small businesses on the main floor with multiple families in the floors above. The massive huddles of wires leading to the buildings would be a fire inspectors nightmare at home.

We visited the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. This is a very reverend place for the locals and the number of guards was incredible. A visit to the Hanoi Hilton was very interesting. Over here they call it the American War and there certainly is a fair bit of propaganda still preached. The Temple of Literature is Vietnam's oldest university built in 1060 and used until the 1800's. The pagodas and Buddhist Temple were fascinating.

After a delicious lunch of local delicacies we went on a rickshaw ride through the old quarter. It was an experience of a lifetime. With scooters and cars whipping around us we were able to take in all the sights, sounds and smells of this bustling area of sensory overload. The streets and sidewalks are crowded with locals visiting, sitting on the sidewalk eating dinner or playing games or selling their wares and food. A walk through the massive market with aisles about two feet wide was unbelievable. We finished off the evening with a water puppet show. The puppeteers where unseen until they took their bow. It is a dying art and the puppeteers come from a small village outside of Hanoi.

This city is such an assault on the senses that it is impossible to put into words. We feel very lucky to have gotten the chance to experience a small part of it.