I’ve a free day to explore Hanoi as I’ve decided to take a full day tour tomorrow to Ninh Binh so here’s what I got up to….

At 8am I set out into the bustle of Old Town Hanoi looking for Train Street. First impressions: lots of trees, beeping scooters, locals setting up for their day, basically organized chaos. It’s a bit frenetic but not overwhelming. I think I like it….

This Train Street is more a cafe train street rather than an active market like Bangkok’s. It’s apparently quite popular as a Instagram photo op but it was rather chill this early in the morning. For the price of a drink one gets a front row seat to see the train pass by at zero quarters. I literally had to turn my seat sideways when the train came, I was that close!

Next I walked to the Temple of Literature, a thousand year old temple dedicated to the teachings of Confucius. It later became an exclusive learning center for aristocrats, and eventually evolved into Vietnam’s first university. Lots of people, lots of selfies and lots of photo shoots.

Next a long walk back, taking street photos and dodging traffic. There are some traffic lights, which marginally helps crossing the road, but basically you have to look for an easing in the flow and just set out walking steadily across assuming the vehicles will flow around you. You can only use your peripheral vision because if you make eye contact it’s over: you’ll freeze in indecision, they’ll swerve the wrong way and….. luckily I never had to find out what happens next.

A Happy Meal at McDonald’s made my sore feet happy to rest for a bit then I went around the corner to see the Women’s Museum. Very well done, it documents the life & role of women in marriage, family, customs, style, ceremonies, war, etc.

I finished with a walk around Hoàn Kiém lake. So many young ladies with photogs! I asked one why and why all in pink but this was beyond her grasp of English. Thanks to Google Translate I understood it was because Tet (New Year) was coming up and pink because it was a “gentle” color.

It ended up being a lovely day weather wise. The heavy smog did give a murky look to all my photos but I never needed my mask 😷.

At sundown, the Old Town is like Luang Prubang on heroin: neon signs, bright lanterns, shops and cafes galore. Music, blaring horns, the ring-a-ding of pedicab drivers, the revving of scooters = magic.