First Couple Of Days In Vietnam And Hanoi

We arrived safely after a trip of about 18 hours in total. No one got a lot of sleep on the flight so we all went about 36 hours with only a couple of hour long kips each. We had to purchase a landing visa when we arrived in Vietnam which took about 1.5 hours to organise plus $225 USD.

Unfortunately we had landed in Ho Chi Minh City and had a connecting flight to Hanoi which we only made with about half an hour to spare after also changing terminals and airlines.

Lachie had suffered from a bit of travel sickness so I told him I could take him to the local hospital but due to the language difficulties, he might end up with a new set of boobs.

The traffic in Hanoi has to be seen to be believed. Still photos don't do it justice as you can't get an idea of the interaction between the trucks, buses, cars, scooters, bicycles, pedestrians and animals which all share the same space on the road but milliseconds apart.

Lanes and road rules are optional with people going against the traffic on the wrong side of the road constantly. Horns aren't used to chastise but to warn others of your proximity to them or that you are coming through.

Crossing the road is a skill we have all had to re-learn. You just walk out onto the road and allow the traffic to pick if they will pass in front or behind you. If you are a bit nervous about it, you can hold your hand up to let the road users know you are on the road.

After booking into our hotel, we had a quick walk and dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant our guide Tranh (pronounced Tang) had recommended. We all crashed out and caught up on some much needed sleep.

Day 2 was a guided tour of Hanoi starting with the Ethnology Museum. Vietnam has 54 different ethnic groups recognised within it's culture. They all have very different housing, clothing, rituals and beliefs, and this museum has examples of this.

Lunch was traditional Vietnamese cusine eaten at a lovely restaurant overlooking the Red River. It included noodle soup, cucumber salad, fried pork, pumpkin soup, prawns, squid, rice, chicken, vegetables and fruit.