First touch in Hanoi

First impressions of Vietnam as I stepped out of the airport: lots of car-horning / motorbike horning that makes you really feel you are in SE Asia. We were quickly whizzed into a van where I was put in the front with the driver. From then on, it was a bit of a wonder seeing our driver hogging the centre of the huge lane and weaving through motorbikes. Over here, there ain't rules about sticking to your lanes. The driver was also proudly pointing out to me motorbikes where a family of 4 would ride on a bike.

We met a few Vietnamese friends who took us to the night market as it was only open on a Sunday night. However, I was a bit disappointed that the night market was on the verge of closing cos we reached rather late (10pm?!?) and for some reason, I have come to compare all night markets to that of the Taiwanese 夜市 (aka good food!!!) Sadly there wasn't much food around, it was more of people peddling their wares and our Vietnamese friends advised us not to eat there.

Fortunately, we were brought to a place near our hotel that had really good food. Intro the sticky rice or glutinous rice. While some of my peers did not really enjoy it, I thought it was rather flavourful and appetising.

Behold the sticky rice

And a chance to down Hanoi beer. It was surprisingly light and refreshing

Woke up next morning to slowly take in the sights of Hanoi while waiting for the transport to Halong Bay. Some sights along the way:

This nice lady gamely posed for the camera

2 things common in Vietnam. Motorbikes and more motorbikes. The second is actually the sight of people sitting on these very short stools by the roadside having their meals

A mess of wires cluttered in the Old Quarter

For now it's off to Halong Bay before re-visiting the city!