Hanoi and Halong Bay: The Highlights of Vietnam!

Ciara the fruit seller

We returned to Vietnam for about a week on 23rdMarch to explore the northern capitol Hanoi and visit the magical Halong Bay. Boy were we in for a treat! Hanoi is the capitol city of Vietnam and returning there after the protected peaceful retreat in Luang Prabang was a shock to the system initially. It is a very busy place but the thing to note was the traffic. This was something to behold in the southern city of Saigon too but everything seemed amplified in good old Hanoi. I haven’t mentioned the traffic too much so far but here was on the extreme end.

Basically the “rules” are the biggest vehicle on the road has right away. This is all good if you are a massive lorry or even a coach but the problem begins when there are more motorbikes in the city than I would guess than in Ireland! Then you have the cyclists, pedestrians, cars, cyclos (adult prams). Walking along the tiny side streets it’s just constant beeps, quick thinking manoeuvres and extreme caution by pedestrians. You never really know what the driver or cyclist will do.