Like many cities, Hanoi was built on the banks of river and in Hanoi’s case this is the extremely wide Red River, The old town is built on the west bank but the city has now spread eastwards across the river. Tourists naturally gravitate to the old town which features many small well run hotels offering accommodation in the thick of the hustle and bustle of regular Hanoi daily life.The streets are lined with old Chinese style shop houses punctuated here and there by ancient temples. Many of the streets appear to be dedicated to selling and even manufacture of certain items. There are streets selling haberdashery, paper products, biscuits, clothing, silks, fake DVDs and streets manufacturing sheet metal items, blacksmiths pounding away at iron products and motorbike shops repairing and repainting all manner of scooters and motorbikes.

The Vietnamese work, sit, eat and play on the streets to such an extent that there is rarely space to walk on the pavements especially as any space large enough is invariably taken by a parked motorbike or scooter. There is nothing for it bit to take one’s chance on the road amongst the thousands of bikes and scooters hurtling around the place. They travel around Hanoi like a shoal of fish absorbing and disgorging some of their number at each side street and main intersection. Crossing the road appears hazardous but the bikes are adept at missing the pedestrians who walk slowly and determinedly across the road watching for the slight changes of direction that indicate that a bike is going to go either in front or behind you.

The old town is really fascinating and is encircled by a ring road, beyond which on one side is the Red River and on the other the wide boulevards and mansions now populated by the embassies but which is undoubtedly the legacy of the French.Hanoi is also famous for it’s lakes of which there are many. They are obviously enjoyed by the Vietnamese who sit, pedalo, relax and parade around the lake gardens depending on the day. The many markets provide a fascinating insight into Vietnamese life. Vegetables, meat, fish, clothes, household items and even souvenirs battle for selling space. The live fish stalls, incredibly varied vegetable stalls are particularly intriguing as are the meat stalls some selling a local delicacy - dog.Beyond the old town, Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum and the Presidential Palace offer a more conservative form of site seeing. In the same area, the streets are filled with French colonial architecture, Catholic churches and many reminders of Vietnam’s colonial past.For us, the heart of Hanoi is the Old Quarter as it is known. A vibrant, fascinating area where life goes on much as it always did except that the motor bikes have now replaced the bicycles.Visit my web site for photographs of vibrant Hanoi.

Kevin Hellon
http://kevinhellon.googlepages.com/home