We flew in to this crazy city totally unprepared for the controlled(??) chaos that is the roads, lanes and goat tracks that make up old Hanoi. There seemed to be no traffic lights, no police, no indicators and no system! But of course there is- you go with the flow, use your horn constantly and everyone accommodates to the situation. Its very Buddhist, I think. In Melbourne, there would be a bingle every 5 minutes as we need to protect our 'space'. And when a truck comes blaring at you on the wrong side of the road..... don't worry, he will swing back just in time.
And when you need a rest, just pull up onto the footpath and have a nap!
It was usually easier to walk on the sides of the road rather than pick your way through the clutter of cooking, motorbikes and people sitting on their little chairs to eat.We were offered the services of a young university student as a city guide. Tranh (I think!) was a great ambassador for her city. She is studying Tourism, a very popular course it seems, and her English skills were crucial to her success. She spent almost 7 hours with us, took us to Uncle Ho's Museum, the Temple of Literature (one of the oldest universities in the world) and various other sights in the Old Town. Here are the girls opposite the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.
The Vietnamese still revere Uncle Ho after more than 40 years since his death. Even the younger generation seem to be under his spell! He certainly left his mark on his country, helping to defeat the French in 1954, and not quite living to see the back of the Americans in 1975. People queue up every day to file past in total silence, no shoes, no hats, no conversation! It can take up to 2 or 3 hours to spend a few minutes gazing on his preserved body. (Every year during the hot season he is sent to Moscow for a freshen-up.) We happened to be there on Reunification Day, the high point of the year! The queues were kilometres long, so needless to say we didn't join in. Surprisingly, the Ho Chi Minh museum next door was almost empty.
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