Hanoi Lenora Pt. 1

Hello all! Here I am in Hanoi crashing with world traveler and former fellow budget-foodie Mikka.

This trip is a series of firsts for me, first time in Asia, first time on the back of a motorbike, first communist country. The flight was long and slightly surreal. Crossing the International Dateline means that I lost an entire day, last Thursday to be exact so I spent the first 2 days feeling pretty disoriented. Conversely when I go back I will leave at 11:20 pm on Sunday, and arrive in L.A. at 9:20 pm, also on Sunday. I learned about this way back in elementary school, but I still feel that this should violate some kind of law of physics.

When I arrived I was immediately accosted by a group of teenagers who wanted to take a picture with me. Somewhere in this city a bunch of fresh-faced Vietnamese kids are laughing at the panicked sweaty frizzy-haired American clutching at her bags. Mikka informs me that this is pretty common as foreigners still attract a lot of attention. This is also why they stare a lot. Once you get accustomed to it, it's fairly easy to ignore it.

The first thing that struck me about Hanoi was how completely moterbikes outnumber cars as the primary form of transportation. I could probably devote a lot of blog space to motorbike culture here since it's so much a part of getting used to the rhythm of the city. They've even replaced cyclos, which are now mostly a tourist attraction'

The second thing that struck me is how young people are. Walking or riding around it seems that most of the people out and about are between the ages 0f 17 and 25 zipping along on vespas and bikes, managing cafes, out in front of shops, eating bowls of pha. It gives the city a kind of bouncy high energy feel. The guidebook says that this is sort of a commercial renaissance period for Vietnam and also the longest sustained period of peace since the 80's. That may be oversimplifying things a bit, but the atmosphere is definitely upbeat. There's a lot of commercial activity and a lot of construction.

It's pretty hot and humid but no worse than Chicago or New York in the summers. After it rains the air is fresh and cool for several hours which is wonderful after a long day of picking your way through narrow streets looking at silk and silver and baskets of dragonfruit.

We spent Friday and Saturday exploring the Old Quarter before heading out to Halong Bay on Sunday. More about this later when I can post pictures and video.

TBC...