Hanoi- Chaos, Coffee, Puppets and Train Street

 Hanoi is a very lively and fun city chock full of scooters and tourists. It is, in my opinion, a city that is enjoyed more for its sensory experiences and frenetic atmosphere than for its marquee sites.  But it does have a pretty lake in the middle of the city-

It is known for its millions of scooters (7 million) and chaotic traffic.  You feel as if you are taking your life in your hands as you walk about the streets, dodging by inches all sorts of vehicles- 

To cross any street you just have to take the plunge and assume that all the scooters and other vehicles roaring right at you will not run you over.  Sidewalks are reserved for scooter parking so out in the street you go…

The city is  crazy about coffee with salt, coconut, egg and a myriad of other delicious coffees on offer, with coffee shops, as well as little beer cafes, everywhere- 

There are all sorts of shops with many featuring famous outdoor brands like Patagonia, The North Face, and Gortex  In fact, you have to think about half their sales come from Hanoi alone given the surfeit of shops selling the stuff, tho all this premium gear seems strangely deeply discounted 

This store reminded of the old saying about the Holy Roman Empire (neither holy nor Roman nor an empire)-

With the gear being neither original nor made in Vietnam  nor sold in an authentic factory outlet   Regardless, you bargain for everything and it was fun watching a canny Viet shop owner haggle with some penniless backpackers with no sincerity on either side  

Hanoi is famous for its water puppet theatre-

It also has a steer called Train Steel where tourists- like myself- go by the hundreds to sit in a cafe just a foot or so from the train tracks and await the next train in a bizarre carnival like atmosphere- 

It was zany- you squeezed yourself against the cafe wall and could literally touch the train as it chugged past.  

Two minutes later, the street was empty as everyone disdained the exorbitantly priced $2 beer of Train Street and headed around the corner for the regular $1 beer  

Strange as it seems to one who grew up during the Vietnam War (naturally called the American war here), Hanoi is a very lively, friendly and fun place, with my kind of spa-