I was asked to share my impressions of Vietnam, therefore I will try to do it. Of course, a day in Hanoi is too little to draw any conclusions, especially North Vietnam, they say quite different from the south and you need to go to both. However, Hanoi is in no way the capital, that is, the indicative city, and you can understand something for yourself anyway, especially if you don’t once already been to Southeast Asia.
I must say, I didn’t want to travel this time, too much work has been accumulated, plus we are just moved to Hua Hin and did not have time to settle down properly, but to go I had to, since the visa was over and I needed a new one stamp.
The content of the article
- 1 Walking in Hanoi
- 1.1 Bikes and traffic in the city
- 1.2 Street cafes
- 1.3 Architecture
- 1.4 Sidewalks
- 1.5 Weather
- 1.6 Internet
- 1.7 Tour quarter and trade
- 1.8 People
Contents
Walking through Hanoi
Since I was not very determined to travel, I decided to stay in Vietnam all day, look the city and quickly return to Thailand. Looking ahead, I want to say that someday it will be necessary come for at least a couple of weeks to take a slow ride country. Liked.
But I did not like it in terms of life, that is, to live / pose there was no desire, but to try it, yes. I’m right away remembered his first trip to Asia and his feelings of singularity seen No, Vietnam is not very different from the same Thailand (SEA after all), but differs greatly. Fuss bikes on the road, quite a few people, the architecture of the low 3-5 storey houses, but extremely narrow, lack of skyscrapers and generally low building up as a whole. For some reason Hanoi reminded me more China, not Thailand. By China, I mean Hainan Island because this is the only place where I was in China, they say Mainland China is completely different. It seems to be partially described fits and under Bangkok, but you need to come to Hanoi and see that this is not true.
Bikes and traffic in the city
Probably the first thing that catches your eye is the number of bikes. on the road, they are many times more cars. It seems like there is some kind of motor tax, so it can not afford everything. And the bikes ride there with the slightest observance of the rules of the road movement, that is, on an opposite, on the red, and most importantly – not pass pedestrians. At all! They don’t even slow down, but instead this go around. The question is, why did they draw a zebra on the road? It is necessary to cross the road slowly and confidently, to cross straight through this endless stream of bikes and cars. This task It may be difficult, but I quickly got used to it. And for sure they also carry everything they can on a bike and even walk dogs
Splashy stream of bikes on the streets of Hanoi
If there is no traffic light at the intersection, then chaos is going on.
Repeatedly met these electric mopeds
Dog walking on a bike
Street Cafe
The second thing that surprises is the small street cafes. Surprised by how do they look. Represent several toy chairs and stools on the sidewalk, and often without tables. It is precisely small ones, I would say nurseries, maybe because such is the cheapest furniture? And the food vendor is actually sitting almost on a floor near a stone pot of coal, where it warms up food and cooks “on the knee”. Moreover, there may be a garbage bin, a bike workshop, but it does not confuse anyone. Doubtful pleasure so i He didn’t eat at such people, he chose more civilized cafes. In my case it is still difficult that I will not eat everything, but there are such small cafes, no menu, no choice. In general, I noticed that all food is mostly meat, I need seafood.
Street cafe in Vietnam, Haina
More trashy cafe, Hajny
Portable kitchen, almost a macashin
A civilian cafe near the Lake of the Returned Sword
But coffee lovers and sandwiches (baguettes) in Vietnam should like, you can buy them on every corner, which I did. True, I do not understand coffee at all, I do not know how he (it?) should be some kind of bitter and bitter if taken without concentrated milk, I mean condensed milk. By the way, while walking, I did not see one supermarket.
Baguette sandwiches in Hanoi from 20,000 dong
Coffee and ice cream in a pleasant coffee shop
Architecture
As I said, Hanoi is a low city. While we drove through him on the shuttle bus to the airport, I counted just a few high rises The rest is 3-5-storey buildings close to each other. to a friend, with a variety of tidy quarters, poked where possible, and where it is impossible. In the center of Hanoi there are quite unusual and interesting houses, however, often in depressing shabby, covered with gray mold and with old roof, walked all day and looked at them. Also in the center there the French Quarter with neat buildings and by the way there The center has a Catholic cathedral, an analogue of Notre-Dame de Paris. Closer to outskirts building more new, but at the same time more impersonal or something like that, ordinary business houses (townhouses) are all the same.
Hainoya Streets
The wires go to the ground in such housings.
How it all stumbled in Hanoi!
With wires the same trouble as in Thailand
Beautiful tree, part of the street wall
Peninsula with the Temple of the Turtle
Inside the Temple of the Turtle
To keep walls from falling
The most beautiful and civilized tracks near the lake
Some streets in Vietnam are very narrow.
Here is another one, the center of Hanoi
Russian vodka and got here
The playground in Hanoi is just a playground.
In the French Quarter, the buildings are new and pretty.
St. Joseph’s Cathedral, local Notre-Dame de Paris
Building on the outskirts and in the area, photo from Haynoa airport
Just street in hanoi
House numbers are sometimes duplicated on trees.
Street in the center of Hanoi, where several times a train passes by
Where are the Communists without Lenin
Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum in Hanoi
Turtle Tower on the Lake of the Returned Sword
Sidewalks
Sidewalks in Hanoi are only on major streets, but the problem same as other Southeast Asian countries – they are all made up of bikes and cafes. Only at night the sidewalks are empty (all inside houses are cleaned) and the streets look amazingly spacious. Also under the evening in Hain becomes very dirty, especially where it was conducted brisk trade: packages, bottles, paper and slop. Sometimes passed Straight mountains of garbage and even plunged into dog shit. Honestly, in the evening I wanted to change the sandals to sneakers to bare kicks do not get anywhere.
Street in Hanoi in the afternoon
Same street in the evening
On most streets you have to walk in traffic
Late evening, the epicenter of the mud
Weather
When I had the choice to fly to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh, I decided fly all the same to Hanoi. In addition to lower air ticket prices, the reason was the weather. After a few months in Tae, I already tired of the heat, and in the capital of Vietnam was expected only 20-23 degrees (at night 15). Despite the overcast weather and drizzling rain, It was great to take a walk in pants and a hoodie for a change, not hiding from the scorching sun under the flow of air conditioners. Probably, if I chose the climate, I would choose the one in the north Vietnam, when there are cool months. To me in due time this one liked Hainan, everything seems to be there.
the Internet
I stayed at the Urban Alley Hotel (my hotel review) close by from the Lake of the Returned Sword and from the tourist area, about 10 minutes to go was up to them. But it may well be that for the first time worth it and right in the tour quarter live. So it struck that Internet in a cheap hotel was better than in all apartments / houses where we lived in Thailand. Yes, what to say about the hotel, in cafes, coffee shops the internet was faster. Like the next the country, just as the wires are all tangled on the pillars, and the Internet faster and more symmetrical. Why?
Tour quarter and trade
The tourist quarter is a few streets filled with merchants of various stripes. They sell scarves and pants with patterns, silver and gold, various souvenirs made of wood, all sorts of cups, hiking clothes and backpacks, sim cards and phones, and a bunch of other stuff. Pedicabs plied the streets and they called for a ride, bread marketers are constantly offered me free to try one for free, annoying shoemakers stubbornly wanted to clean my sandals. If you not love the crowd, you shouldn’t be here. But I was pleased to plunge for a time in the atmosphere of a tourist mecca.
Tour quarter of Hanoi, the streets are filled with merchants
Balls of flour, I do not know how they are called
Pedicabs in Hanoi
Vietnamese dongs are plastic and contain many zeros
People
People seemed about as benevolent as in Thailand, but they smile much less that a Russian person can to be more familiar. I can’t say more because I’ve been too little. In general, I felt safe if we talk about walking in the dark nooks with a camera, no one paid attention to me.
Did not like the need to bargain. Well, I do not like I have this business, but here you have to do it, even if you want to go to public toilet, prices cheat on everything, you have to be alert and know the prices. For example, the toilet in the center is 2000-3000 dong, and with I wanted to slap in one place 5000 dong. Let a trifle, but unpleasant, given that this toilet was so seedy that most likely all cost 1000 dong. Well, that in many Cafes have a menu and prices are fixed.
Manicure in Hanoi
Loved the frame
I do not know local or not, but the clothes are unusual
Around the Lake of the Returned Sword are many photo shoots
Quite a typical picture, uncomfortable to sit like that
There are plenty of foreigners, including those who live here permanently
Such a sad look—
P.S. I do not pretend to know Vietnamese at all and in some ways I can wrong, so I will be glad to your additions, comments. I know many have already been there for a long time, wintered.
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