Not So Hanoi-ing Behaviour

Vietnam is a country with two capitals.  Much like Sydney takes the limelight away from Canberra, Istanbul does likewise to Ankara, and London suffers because of the glitz of Manchester, the Vietnamese city of Hanoi seems to play second fiddle to Ho Chi Minh City.  It hasn't helped its cause that most international flights arrive at its southern sister and, therefore, allows it to become the enduring image people have of Vietnam.  When you finally make it to Hanoi, though, what you find is a city every bit as cosmopolitan and trendy.  Stylish cafes and restaurants line the streets and its citizens dress fashionably by any standards.  Hanoi is the business and political centre of the country and its former colonisation by the French is still evident in the architecture.  What sets Hanoi apart from its rival is the number of lakes, parks and general greenery that the city is built upon.  Finding a shady spot to sit and get away from the hustle and bustle of city life couldn't be easier.

By the time I arrived in Hanoi at the start of my trip it was getting pretty late and I was itching to find a place to dump my belongings, get some dinner and get an early night.  I stumbled along the streets in search of the Old Quarter and a cheap bed for the night.  The first place I turned in to was full of very young guys and girls weighed down with rucksacks and chatting excitedly.  My brain wasn't yet ready to deal with these eager backpackers so I turned around and exited.  The next place I came across had dorm beds for $4, which seemed reasonable for what turned out to be a really nice establishment and, thankfully, quieter.  I have nothing against backpackers, after all I am one, but I find that it takes a few brain stretches before I'm ready to deal with some of them.  After locking my luggage away and ensuring I made a note of the hotel's name and address (my Vietnamese being almost non-existent and my notoriously bad memory can make things a little tricky should I lose my way and not know how to get back) and threw myself into the wonderful chaos that is street life in Asia.  Ducking down a few alleyways I managed to come across a little pho (noodle soup with chicken or beef) stall.  Seeing as Hanoi is the home of the dish I was expecting some good things and I have to say that I wasn't disappointed.  Pretty tasty and only $1.

The next day I decided to really get under the skin of the city and find out why a number of people I had spoken to were so negative about it.  The Old Quarter is a maze of streets, zigzagging in ways that appear at first to have no rhyme nor reason.  However, each street serves its own purpose and conform to an easy pattern.  Each street specialises in one kind of thing, whether it's 'Toy Street,' 'Blacksmith Road,' 'Flower Avenue' or 'Tacky Tourist Tat Boulevard.'  Averting your eyes from ground level and focusing on the old French flavour of the buildings and listening to the din of the vendors and merchants you can really feel how life has been on these streets for the last hundred years since the days of French Indochina.  The most notable difference between then and now is the number of vehicles.  The roar of engines from motorbikes and cars fill the air and leave countless numbers of people stranded at the side of the road waiting to cross.  I usually find the 'look straight ahead and walk without hesitation' method works a treat.  Failing that, find the first old woman and walk alongside her.  If the motorist doesn't stop for her then he isn't going to stop for anyone!

Like most other cities in the world, Hanoi also has its annoyances and dangers.  Being a 'communist' country, the Vietnamese government like to hold the reins pretty tightly.  Anything 'popular' and beyond their control tends to be given short shrift, much like their neighbours to the north, China.  No better example can be offered than the way they block websites such as Facebook.  The 'no-fun' police in Hanoi decreed that the city would have a curfew at 12am.  This restricts the cities ability to compete with HCMC on another level as the lack of late-night entertainment means most people are in bed fairly early.  Not something your average tourist looks for in a holiday destination.  As well as the irritation of finding things to do after hours, scams are pretty varied - some well executed and some clumsy at best.  The most common one that I encountered involved an attractive girl approaching and introducing herself as a student.  Before long, a suggestion is made that perhaps you'd like to go for something to drink and, luckily, the girl knows a place nearby.  At the end of the 'date' a hefty bill is presented and it's made clear that you have no choice but to pay it.  Fortunately for me, this scam is fairly common in other countries too and I'm naturally cynical of approaches such as these.  After I politely declined, I looked back over my shoulder to see the 'student' in conversation with a shady guy on a motorbike, who had previously been nowhere to be seen.

Regardless of the pollution, the traffic and the curfew, I enjoyed my brief stay in the capital.  Hanoi might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is greatly underrated.  It wouldn't be a place where I would opt to live, but as a starting point to my trip around the north it could have been a lot worse.