Two and a half days was a little short so we tended to stick to the more touristy areas around Hoan Kiem lake. Thankfully there is plenty to see there, and even though it is fairly touristy it remains a functioning neighbourhood. I instantly fell in love with the streets and café (cà phê) culture.
1. Next to every building in the older parts of town looks like this - tall, long and narrow. Our hotel in the Old Quarter had all the rooms aligned behind each other connected by a long corridor, with no windows.
2. Hanoi traffic. Given the Hanoians' love affair with honking, maybe the absence of windows is a blessing after all.
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4. This trip made me reconsider the amount and nature of what can be hauled on a scooter
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7. Hoan Kiem is the medium-sized lake (for the city - there are a bunch of others, some quite a bit larger) which anchors the Old (north) and French (south) Quarters. It did feel oddly European - or an Asian take on Europe, maybe.
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(yes, dude is carrying a homebrew rocket of some kind)
11. The Old Quarter
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40. If you've been to Paris, this may look familiar
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50. This is one of a few places that really reminded me of downtown Papeete
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52. These guys were shooting a movie in a downtown park
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72. When I remarked I'd rather read Engrish than Comic Sans, the girlfriend called me a font snob
73. These tracks are active and cut through a very central neighbourhood, on the way to the main station
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76. Modern Hanoi is rising on the periphery
77. Not always in the greatest taste
78. These guys were everywhere, must be quite popular. Probably have been for a few decades too, judging by the haircuts.
79. Those orderly signs are pretty amusing considering we passed a scooter carrying a family of four salmoning through traffic not 5 minutes before (sadly, I was too slow with the camera).
On a related note, there are many traffic cops in Hanoi, but I haven't figured out what you have to do to get stopped.
80. The infamous "Hanoi Hilton", now improved with condo towers
81. Time to leave already. Thanks for watching!
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We spent the rest of our stay in more rural parts of Vietnam, so I probably won't post anymore threads around here. If you liked Hanoi you should go check the most excellent Vientiane and Kuala Lumpur threads by AX and Kilgore, southeast Asia is taking SSP by storm these days!
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