I got the overnight bus to Hanoi last night. It was a long trip and I didn’t get much sleep. I was thinking about taking the train and getting a sleeper bed, but the tour buses pick you up and drop you off at a hotel, making them pretty convenient and they are also much cheaper.
One of the first things which stuck in my mind coming into Hanoi, were what looked like skinned dogs lined up for sale. “Pork?”, the girl beside me asked, “looks more like dog to me”, I said. Her face then turned a slightly different shade of colour.
I am staying in the so called “Old Quarter” of Hanoi. The Old Quarter is a labyrinth of tiny roads and alleys, with shops, restaurants and small hotels. The architecture is a mixture of French colonial and traditional Chinese.
I am planning to spend a bit of time here, with a couple of side trips to Sapa and Halong Bay.
