We arrived in Hanoi today after a short flight from Ho Chi Minh City. On our last day there we explored some more of the area near our hotel and found a local market and small supermarket type shops. We also walked down by the waterfront and were drenched with perspiration by the time we got back.
In Hanoi we are staying at a small hotel called the Hanoi Old Centre which is very close to Hoan Kiem Lake and we have a view of this from our room which is very large and is costing us $55 per night. We're here for three nights before heading out on some trips.
After checking in and sorting out our trips we went for a walk around the lake and were thrilled with how close it is. Being Sunday the area was teeming with people sitting and walking. We were surprised to see the coffee shop that we remember from 6 years ago. It was the moon festival and we were in the coffee shop on the first floor looking at what seemed to be thousands of motorbikes going around the round-about just outside - we loved the craziness of the traffic!
We sat and watched the traffic for a while as well as watching the local police confiscate food from a vendor selling donuts from a basket. For us it seems ironical that the police were confiscating donuts!
It looks like the street and area we are in will be quite lovely which will be fun. In a while we'll head out and try some
Hanoi food.