Hanoi - Motos, pho and bia hoi

Arriving at night in Hanoi was not the easiest introduction to the city. As we approach the urban lights, we see a local woman running wildly by our bus trying to get the driver's attention. Next thing we know, she's greeting us and enticing us with a taxi to her guest house. We knew the Vietnamese were persistent, but this was over the top. In the end, she (her name is Rose) turned out to be very nice person and we're actually staying at her guest house now. After a few days at another place we reserved that wasn't as hospitable, we ended up here. Celebrating its 1000th year, Hanoi is not a city to be missed on any tour of Vietnam. It is certainly a shock to the senses after visiting a country that in its entirety has the same population as this city. The first night, we ate in children's plastic chairs at a street stall set up at the entrance to a bank after it closed. We savoured our pho (noodle soup) with our knees to our chests, just like the locals. Much of our eating experiences mirror that, with lots of rice on the menu and many interesting locales that add to the authenticity of our experience here. Drinking warm beer on the rocks is certainly an adjustment for Aki, but at $1 a pop, what's a man to do? Bia Hoi is the Vietnamese term for draught beer and it's lauded as the cheapest beer in the world. What a title! If Aki has a say, Beer Lao is still king of SE Asian beers. Playing Atari video games 20 years ago - notably that classic, "Frogger" - has finally paid off by helping us survive the motorcycle-laden streets of Hanoi. The trick is to just walk at a steady pace to cross the street while your heart races and wants to jump out of your chest as motos, cars, bikes and buses whiz by, just barely missing your precious toes. Though it's much better than Cairo, Aki and I both agree. In spite of making sure we have our wits about us when we're wandering the alleys, we really love the vibe this city gives off. We've been to the Temple of Literature, which is a Confucian sanctuary and toted as Vietnam's first university (built in the 11th century). Last evening, we went to a traditional Vietnamese water puppetry performance, very entertaining and very Asian in the live music, colour and themes. Tomorrow, we head to Halong Bay for a two-day boat tour of the spectacular limestone formations. Who knows where our plans will take us next. Wherever it is, we expect the unexpected.