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Arriving into Hanoi at 4.30am I head for a hostel, a place recommended by my hostel in Hue. When I arrive, of course they have no record of the booking, and of course, being New Years eve/day, they are fully booked. However, no panic, the young guy watching the door for the night let’s me ‘rest’ in his cupboard of a room, perfect. I pull a couple of blankets over the sheets and pillow and close my eyes for two hours, only to be woken to the most ugly scene ever. I am ashamed to be witness to this – an aggressive drunk little man – using the most foul language ever is accusing the night watchman of coming into his room and stealing his credit cards and money while he was in the shower. He claims the young night watchman came into his room and stole his pants with the cards and 4m dong. As well as verbally assaulting the young guy, he physically assaulted him, beating him. aggression is just not part of the Asian culture, they are gentle people. This was the worst sight I have ever seen, all at 7am. The middle-aged man – a New Zealander – continues to shout and scream like a lunatic. Pushing and shoving the defenceless Vietnamese boy. One hour later, I come back and he’s still ranting and raving at the manager, who has arrived and takes the side of his employee. I witness the second most amazing scene of the morning, the stupid, aggressive drunk, after all his ranting and raving comes back to reception to apologise – he found the pants, money and credit cards in his room. They were there all along. I’m amazed and stunned to witness all this violence before 10am New Years day!
Hanoi is a very busy place, the Old Quarter is beautiful, with little side streets merging into one another. It’s a lot cooler here, time for boots, jacket and I have to buy a wooly hat, as it’s raining – the first real rain I’ve seen on my travels. I wander around the Old Quarter area, which is the heart of the city, for a few hours.
The city is officially 1,000 years old in 2010, and being New Years day, many Vietnamese families are out for the day. The centre of the city is closed to traffic and many collect around the Hoan Kiem Lake. The legend has it that in the mid 15th century, heaven gave emprorer Ly Thai To a magical sword that he used to drive the Chinese out of Vietnam. One day after the war, while out boating, he came upon a giant golden tortoise; the creature grabbed the sword and disappeared into the depths of the lake. Something of a Lough Ness tale. The city is simple to navigate, with most of the streets sign posted. The city is certainly prepared to celebrate its 1000th birthday, visitors are under no illusions, with plenty of signage and street art. It’s a busy and noisy place, but very pretty. My time here is short, but never the less, I get a feel for the place.
For my final destination in Vietnam, I take the overnight train to Sapa. Finally getting to the mountains!
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