Greetings from Hanoi Vietnam:

An old man hanging a dozen bird cages and their noisy inhabitants above a sidewalk cafe; a flurry of motor scooters weaving in and out of a changing crowd of dashing people; smells of exotic foods simmering in enormous pots and woks visible from the street; a constant clammier of coworkers on their way home after work sharing details of the day's important events amidst the thundering roar of chaotic rush hour traffic; ladies in conical straw hats rhythmically bouncing big uncovered loads of strange looking cooked foods in baskets hanging from shoulder poles while more elegantly dressed women stroll along casually window shopping; a hunched over trash collector in badly soiled "pajamas" struggling with his overloaded push cart; a squatting electric motor repairman with piles of disassembled parts scattered around him marking his cramped work space on the bare asphalt; barking dogs yapping at nothing and everything; bright blue plastic tables and chairs designed for children occupied by full grown adults slurping noodles and soup oblivious of the pedestrian traffic swirling about them as if they were in the most intimate privacy of their home; sidewalks almost never used for walking serving as motorbike parking lots or impromptu picnics or social gab fests; slow moving overloaded motorbike carrying so many huge bundles the rider is hidden behind the cargo while another passes with a fluttering bunch of bright helium filled balloons so voluminous they dwarf the person at the handlebars; dimly lit alleyways scrambling off narrow streets overflowing with frenetic rolling traffic; store fronts of every description offering flowers or cutlery or paint or noodles while also serving as the living quarters and motorbike garages for the store owners: that is downtown Hanoi... near the Old Quarter.

Hanoi is a very old city. October 2010 officially marked 1000 years since the formal establishment of the city, but the legendary history of the region goes back much further. The spectacular four kilometer long Mosaic Mural Wall along the city's dyke commemorates the millennial celebration. In more recent times "founding father" Ho Chi Minh looms bigger than life and continues to be lovingly referred to as "Uncle Ho." What Americans know as the Vietnam War, to the Vietnamese people is the Patriotic War or the American War, something only discussed as an historical reality like we discuss the American Civil War, one young man told me.

I have been a lot of places in my endless wandering, but rarely have I seen so much distraction crammed into so little space. Hanoi is unique. At the moment it is also relatively inexpensive for visitors from the more developed countries. For local people the situation is different I am told: wages are low and prices high. But despite that reality, most people appear to be living relatively contented lives. During the month I have spent in the country I saw only one disagreement, a shouting match moderated by the crowd of onlookers watching the "combatants." The confrontation ended without ever coming to blows.

But, I've jumped ahead with my story. After three weeks enjoying the unique geology of Halong Bay some 170 kilometers to the east of Hanoi, I returned to the capital city to arrange a visa for the People's Republic of China. I have been in China many times and have wanted to return to the south eastern Yunnan Provence since my previous visit in 1994. The remarkable Karst geological formations, so prominent in Halong Bay, also are dominant features of the area around Guilin as well.

The bus from Halong Bay arrived at the terminal near the Red River around 14:00 Sunday so I had plenty of time to find a hotel before dark... I thought. However, I first wanted to visit the Chinese Embassy to check on service hours for the consulate and to learn whatever I could about border crossing formalities. The embassy security staff I encountered all spoke only Vietnamese and could provide little information. Wanting to stay in a convenient hotel near the embassy, I started walking in a direction I thought would get me into the vicinity of some good hotels: south. That turned out to be the wrong direction. As darkness approached and still without a hotel I spotted a cell phone store full of young people and assumed some of those technology savvy kids might know enough English to be of help.

After my questions they went into a huddle and finally came up with a consensus suggestion: the Kim Lien Hotel (thought by the group to be a "four star" hotel). They assured me it was not much further along the way I'd been walking. It turned out to just barely meet my minimum standards, but tired and thirsty I decided to take a room anyway. Even a bad solution is sometimes better than no solution.

The Kim Lien Hotel, uses a re-purposed portion of a huge Soviet era structure a couple kilometers south of the Old Quarter. It is memorable as an exception to my usual good luck with finding first night hotels. A bas relief depicting a tangle of struggling bodies hangs over the reception desk and reminds me of the interactions I had with the disoriented staff. All the available receptionists spoke only poor English.

The next morning limited and unimaginative offerings at the breakfast buffet shouted: "Get out of this place fast!" Immediately after wolfing down some tasteless nourishment I dashed out to find more promising possibilities closer to the Chinese Embassy. A few minute bus ride north got me to the southern boundaries of the Old Quarter where I hopped out and started my usual hike of exploration.

Stumbling on the $40 Hanoi Sky Hotel, it looked like Saint Serendipity had finally come through for me again. However, the forty room hotel was fully booked the day I arrived... but with available rooms starting the following night. The helpful receptionist noted, almost as an afterthought, that they had an affiliated hotel nearby that could put me up for one night and then I could move over to their more elegant house the next morning where I also could have breakfast.

So, I stayed in the suggested Hanoi Street Hotel for my second night in the city. Both places are near the Chinese Embassy and literally just around the corner from each other. The tiny twelve room Hanoi Street Hotel at $36 is an excellent value and the staff is most hospitable, treating me more like family than guest! It would be a good choice for anyone on a budget wanting to explore the nearby Old Quarter.

City buses run everywhere and fares cost around fifty cents. Every time I get on one to reach some distant walking venue, young people compete with one another to see who can vacate their seat first for the decrepit old foreigner who has just boarded. Without exaggeration, every bus I entered with all seats occupied, people actually pleaded with me to take their seat! To be fair, the conductor seems to play an active role in rousting youngsters from their seats in the presence of oldsters, but the training obviously has worked.

Another unusual custom seems to follow from the reluctance of many Vietnamese to walk even a short distance. Where I relish long walks, it appears young and old Vietnamese prefer to ride whenever possible. At nearly every bus stop one sees "motos" (motorbike taxis) eagerly competing with one another for taxi fares. People willingly pay for motor scooter rides to their destination off the immediate bus route.

October 10th is the Vietnamese equivalent of the American Independence Day. Judging by all the national flags displayed at houses and businesses throughout the city, the Vietnamese are giving this sixtieth anniversary special attention. I later learned the city is continuing with its millennial celebration of the founding of the city and displaying the flag is a part of the commemoration. There is such widespread display of the single five-pointed yellow star on the red background flags I assume someone must be handing them out free. Even the KFC restaurant buildings show the red and yellow, something I know from my frequent visits to that little bit of home away from home.

During my walk through the main shopping area of the Old Quarter I heard an angelic chorus singing Christian hymns. The nondenominational church building appeared to be quite modern and the voices near professional. It seemed an odd juxtaposition: the wild tourist frenzy of the main Old Quarter shopping street and a Christian service in progress during a weekday afternoon.

The Vietnamese language mainly is composed of monosyllabic words. Hardly any of their words appear to have more than one syllable! That makes for some pretty staccato speech giving the language one of its unique characteristics.

Motorbike riders regularly violate both law and common courtesy, not to mention common sense. Everyone seems to follow one rule: just don't hit anything! Everything else is permissible. Streets designated "One Way" regularly see motorbike riders speeding the wrong direction next to the curb where anyone foolish enough to be walking would need to be... like me! Walking means looking both ways as well as making split second timing decisions at every intersection. Apparently the "One Way" designation is more of a suggestion than a rule. Even automobiles, especially taxicabs can be seen ploughing down the road in the wrong direction. Official statistics show traffic accidents to be a leading cause of death in Vietnam. That there are not more accidents is a testament to human survival instincts.

For a while it looked like people parked their motor scooters anywhere they could find an unoccupied surface. Then I noticed everywhere clusters of bikes were parked there was a fellow in a blue uniform hustling around handing out slips of paper. These parking attendants are everywhere and must be employed by the city as they all wear identical uniforms. Every morning at breakfast while in the Hanoi Sky Hotel I watched as the blue uniform directed riders to park in specific places. So, parking is not as chaotic as it appears.

In that same area are a couple small cafes with trees out front. As dawn breaks each morning an elderly fellow wearing a white tank top starts his routine of hanging a couple dozen bird cages from the tree limbs and then periodically, moving them from one perch to another throughout the day. He clearly takes his "work" seriously, though his movements are quite casual. From previous questioning about the song birds in China I know this is done to keep the feathered friends "happy." I guess that is as good a way to spend your twilight years as any.

The Hanoi Street Hotel building is a typical example of an architectural strategy used throughout Vietnam. I assume a national building code must set the width of all buildings at multiples of four meters because they all appear to conform to such a standard: four, eight or twelve meters wide. Floor height does seem to vary anywhere from a little over three to about four meters and the number of stories mostly falling in the two to five range, though I've seen some even taller. Until getting a look at the inside of one of these skinny buildings I imagined interiors would be unbearably cramped... and probably without elevators.

Neither is the case. The elevator shaft in the middle of the building is surrounded by a spiral staircase. Each floor contains only two rooms, each with windows facing out the ends of the building and no side windows on either side of the building; compact and efficient. The interior actually feels spacious, even though only about four meters wide! Such a long skinny design must demand some particularly creative interior decorating for comfortable living space. I'm reminded of the Japanese custom of designing houses so rooms have some multiple of standard Tatami mat dimensions.

There must be a lot of sugarcane fields around here, because I see countless people peeling, cutting into bite size pieces and extracting juice from the stalks along any street examined. On multiple occasions I have been approached by men on motorbikes who follow up the opening question: "Moto?" with the obnoxious one: "Boom, boom?" I just give them a dirty look and walk on.

Peace,

Fred L Bellomy

Hanoi Vietnam 2014: City map. Click on the map for a larger version.

Hanoi Vietnam 2014: This is the entrance to the 40 room Hanoi Sky Hotel where I stayed while waiting for my Chinese visa. The breakfast dining room is located in the upper right of the picture and overlooks the alleyway running past the hotel. The old guy in the tank top is the birdman who can be seen each morning hanging the birdcages in front of the small cafe across from the hotel.

Hanoi Vietnam 2014: Major monument honoring Ho Chi Minh's father sitting in its own plaza within a formal park seen on my second day in the city while locating the Chinese Embassy.

Hanoi Vietnam 2014: Food preparation seen on the sidewalks of the Old Quarter. An informant tells me it is minced pork on a lemon grass stem ready for broiling.

Hanoi Vietnam 2014: "I wonder what is keeping the kids this time. Everyday it is the same old routine. You would think the school authorities could think about all the mothers standing around out here in the traffic and let the kids out on time!"

Hanoi Vietnam 2014: "Mommy, mommy! Where are you?" School day has ended and the students rush out to meet parents waiting on their motor scooters. Some gang up and dash this way and that shouting something in unison. It is Bedlam for everyone, including the people in passing traffic who maneuver wildly to avoid collisions with the mad scramble.

Hanoi Vietnam 2014: These are the two breakfast staff members who made sure I enjoyed my breakfast time in the Hanoi Sky Hotel.  Tra, aka Tina on the left jumped at the chance to show me she knew how to make a proper cup of coffee after my casual question about the strange tasting stuff labeled "coffee" during my breakfast the first day.  Each day she would brew as many cups of her special formula as my research with the Android tablet demanded... without prompting! The hotel is fortunate to have two such competent and socially adept people on their staff.

Hanoi Vietnam 2014: View of the early morning street activity visible from the hotel breakfast dining room "corner table" which I grabbed as soon as a previous diner had finished. I tried to arrive after tour bus crowd to avoid all the noise and commotion.

Hanoi Vietnam 2014: The warren of streets crammed together in the compact 6X6 blocks of the Old Quarter are home to thousands of small shops like these offering every imaginable product of even the most remote interest to the foreign tourists who mingle with noisy motorbikes. Many of the backpacker's hostels are to be found in this jumble.

Hanoi Vietnam 2014: View of the early morning street activity visible from the hotel breakfast dining room "corner table" which I grabbed as soon as a previous diner had finished. I tried to arrive after tour bus crowd to avoid all the noise and commotion.

Hanoi Vietnam 2014: Street map on the back of the Hanoi Sky Hotel brochure.