Hanoi; at first glance.

Well, here I am. Arrived. Lets keep this low-down short; the smells of noodle soup are calling me from this hotel room to the street...

This place is kind of like Italy. Or perhaps France. (But with a 13 hour plane journey rather than a quick hop across the channel, lots of jet-lag involved and pretty crappy coffee). With lots of coloured shutters and vespa’s and attempts at French bread. note: I have yet to try the french bread; I am purely making an assumption it won't come close to the real McCoy. 

 I have found the people to be, well, not polite for sure. Motorbikes rule here...I have nearly been run over a trillion times and pavements don't actually exist on most newer roads. And you know how green man means go? Well in NO way does this apply here. Green man means red man. In other words, don't bother crossing the road. Ever. Stick to your side of the street; think of the other side as another world if you like. But not a destination you are able to get to. Unless you want to be dead.

Don't trust taxi drivers. They have a little foot thing that they rig to boost the meter. So today we travelled about 800yrds and were charged 119,000VND (about £4)! 

Cheeky bugger.

 So, there is no sort of zoning or shop regulation here. Like when you play lego; everything plopped here and there. Some guy fixing metal, next to a really fancy clothes designer, next to some children cracking open snails whilst eating what looked like pumkin seeds, next to a lady selling every make of cigarettes you can think of from a massive basket on her hip, next to some men, hm, gambling?

I dont play Lego...anymore, I promise.

   

 But all things aside, I did see this mint 
big-ass mausoleum today which holds the body of Ho Chi Minh; he lies there, quite grey and mouldy, but still very much preserved. Pretty cool gross. Had men in white suits frog marching in front of it and everything.

So here is where I will sign off; lets end with an old man sitting? Just sitting, that's all. Watching the world.