The streets of Hanoi

We arrived in Hanoi at 5am this morning via overnight train from Sapa. (I swear I woke up a dozen times thinking that the train sounded and felt like it was hurling itself off the edge of the Earth. But that is another story.)

There is a lot of history and culture to see in Hanoi... I will save that for another post.

For now, I'll just share some sights from our time wandering the streets. I swear that there are 10,000 motorbikes in this city for every 1000 people... it is unreal. The motorbikes are everywhere, all the time. Crossing the street is like playing a real-live game of Frogger and you have to high-five each other and breathe a sigh of relief just for making it across without getting killed.

Also, there is just a ton of random stuff in this town. The architecture is cool - a mix between Asian and French (the French occupied until the 50s) with a smattering of everything else in between.



Our overnight train from Sapa



One of the best things I've ever tasted!!! The drink on the far left was mine...
iced coffee with cocoa and plain yogurt in it!! Sounds bizarre, tasted incredible, I ordered two.



An entire store devoted to old propaganda posters?

street produce. Ever so sanitary, I'm sure.



street meat. Even more sanitary than the street produce I reckon.



notice the ad on the right...."Western sizes, Vietnamese prices". So subtle. I get it - we are large.



Fire hazard anyone? This is how Asia does all of their electrical, cable, and phone wires
(I guess?)... giant rats nests hanging in the street.



Birds hanging from street signs... naturally.



This guy either really has the hots for someone or is majorly in the doghouse...
how does he even see the road to drive behind that ginormous bouquet??



We liked this lady. Matt bought a "half bunch" of bananas from her...
and pulled the old "you cut it in half and I pick which half I want" trick.



Motorbike = an appropriate vehicle for a family of 4? Why yes, of course. Please notice the small child in front, and the second small child standing on the seat in between mom and dad... as they drove down the highway at ~50 mph. Not to mention mom's leather pants and heels. Glad Dad gets a helmet to wear... kiddos, hang on tight!