Hanoi 1-5 December 2006

Hanoi, North Vietnam: The Land of Motorcycles and Honking

Season: Winter

Because Hanoi is still developing, you could see a lot of rice/maize/vegetable fields. Away from the main city area, the land stretches from field to field, with farmers ploughing the soil and buffalos and cows chomping on grass.

Definitely not a place for shopping, it is for people who want to go back to the time of our grand/great-grand-parents and savour life slowly. I spent about 428,000 VND = $40 in total on food, tips, and a wooden Wuong recorder. My father paid the package price of $700 per pax.

Some things I learned / noticed:

1. Hanoi ladies are generally pretty. Prettier than Singaporeans, I would say.
2. Hanoi ladies are slim. No overweight, fat, chubby women. They are not well-off, so they don't eat much. Plus, food is not easily accessible.
3. Hanoi ladies wear jeans or pants because they cycle or ride motorcycles.
4. Hanoions rarely wear spectacles. 1 in 50, maybe.

About the traffic ... ...

1. Traffic is either horrible or amazing, depending on how you see it. Motorcycles are a majority, and they use their horns freely. Noisy!
2. Even though there are arrows on the roads indicating the correct directions, you can ignore them and ride in any direction you want to. No problem. Motorists would be more obedient only when the traffic police is around. In all my 5 days, I only saw 1 traffic policeman directing traffic. You can overtake, you can ride 90 degrees against the traffic, you can knock into one another and not worry about being middle-fingered at. Some cross junctions have no traffic lights. Pedestrians and motorists go in all directions. Anything is possible.
3. Pedestrians do not have to cross at traffic light junctions because there are very few. Everyone jaywalks, everywhere. Motorists know how to swerve around you. They gauge your walking speed and either slow down or go around you. You got to be very cool when you cross, and you can't stop suddenly, backtrack or appear undecided because you would confuse the motorists.
4. The guide told me you could get away with a traffic offence if you offer something else under your license when you hand them together over to the traffic policeman.
5. Some motorists ride with only 1 hand. The other is tucked into a pocket. I guess it is to keep warm.

About the (lack of) service and shopping and food ... ...

1. Hanoions are not very service-oriented. Quite passive, in fact. A clothes shop lady and a cake shop lady could not be bothered to ask what I wanted.
2. I would say it is difficult to bargain.
3. Tourist prices are high. Yes, maybe you would think that it is like that for most countries, but in Hanoi, I believe that the prices are ridiculously jacked up. Don't bother buying something from Old Quarter, because the people there most probably do not understand English and even if they do, when they hear you speaking a different language, they take the opportunity to overcharge you.
4. There are no supermarkets, no shopping malls, no Giordanos.
5. There are no fast-food restaurants, no MacDonalds, no KFCs.
6. Food range is limited. No 7-11 or 24-hour convenience shops to fill your empty stomach.

Other interesting points:

• There are no skyscrapers. Narrow houses are about 2 to 5 storeys high. Only newer hotels may go up to 18 storeys.
• Hanoions sit on short stools and eat from short tables.
• Hanoions value the US dollar to the VN dong. They are very happy to receive US dollars.
• Drug smuggling offence -> Death sentence
• 1 stalk of rose costs 500 VND -> 5 cents
• 1 USD could buy 3 kg of corn. What do we pay at Mac?