Good bye West - Hello East

June 5

Hanoi

Flight days are usually exhausting days. With many hours in Darwin airport last night and arriving in Kuala Lampur at 7:30 this AM and then the final leg to Hanoi landing at 1:00PM. This time we were prepared with the visas! Jack had all paperwork ready for the visa desk at Hanoi airport. The process went smoothly.

Waiting in KL airport.

The temperature was 40C. The airport was not crazy busy like I was anticipating, and for the first time ever I had a car from the hotel pick us up at the airport. There was our guy holding a sign with our name on it. Perfect! The drive to the hotel was safe. I was amazed at how I had over estimated everything.

We have arrived at Hanoi airport.

We are staying the Old Quarter. It is the cultural, historical and vibrant neighborhood of Hanoi. Most things a visitor would want to see are within walking distance. Throngs of people scooter, walk, drive, nad sit on streets and sidewalks. Fantastic!
Martin, the manager of the hotel educated us on how to cross the streets. It appears daunting, but with his tutorage, all went well. His words were; walk at an even pace into traffic and the motorbikes will veer around you. Stop for cars as they do not have the room to maneuver and you will be hit. Seems to be a workable system and we have survived day 1.

Marten was eager to plan our entire stay in Vietnam. The boys were fading as he proceeded to describe each and every activity we could do in Hanoi and Ha Long Bay. After his lengthy welcome and refreshments, we were escorted up to our room. The boys' feet smelled so bad; toxic is the only word that comes to mind. In this heat and flip flops it is no wonder.

Our neighborhood. Definitely busier and more lively than that of quiet Darwin.

Every nook and cranny or alleyway can produce hot cooked meals that smell delicious. This noodle stand was on the end of out street. The make-do-ness of these restauranteers amazes me. The dishes were washed on the street in plastic tubs, the food was cooked on the other outside corner on a open BBQ and the cook inside had hot woks going to fry noodles and rice.

We will see how our stomachs feel tomorrow!

Nate thought this was the best experience ever. He was getting more adept at using chopsticks.

Levi has not warmed up (pun intended?) to Hanoi or the street food. Could be that he saw a cat in a cage outside the restaurant and was wondering what was in his soup. I have never seen a cat pant. It was horrible.

My dish of fried noodles and chicken. Quite a change in value for money when $10 can buy supper and drinks for a family of 5.

These are so tasty, the uglier, the better.  Bought some mangoes and the dragon fruit went over well too.

The currency is dong. The number of zeros makes it ridiculous. 20000 dong = $1.20 Canadian.

Rain is predicted for tonight. I hope to run around  Hoan Kiem lake tomorrow so will see if I can slug out the humidity.

My first impression of Hanoi is FANTASTIC! I do not feel as overwhelmed as I thought I would. Will see what feeling tomorrow brings.