I have been racking my brain to find something positive about my time in Hanoi! I mean, this is a 1000-year-old bustling city filled with historic landmarks, Pagodas, Citadel and Markets, what’s not to love about it? For me, it’s the dirt and noise pollution that I struggle with and probably makes me one of the few foreigners that don’t enjoy the city!  The streets are chaotic, most of the time, you are unable to walk on the sidewalk safely due to all the scooters parked blocking the path along with numerous food vendors camped out on the pavements,  cooking over charcoal grills and massive pots.  The vendors serve street food to patrons sitting on tiny plastic stools, enjoying their meal outdoors in the heavy smog.  Hanoi is a complete sensory overload for me, sight, smell and sound.

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Regardless that Hanoi is not my favourite place. Every trip to the city is an adventure in itself.  It still amazes me how many lanes can emerge from a 3 Lane road; You can’t even make out the individual lanes as hundreds of bikes squeeze in-between the cars, trucks and busses.  Complete organised mayhem! Everyone seems confident in what they are attempting to do, switching lanes, making a U-Turn into oncoming traffic whilst blocking the road behind. Everyone seems calm, with no visible road rage!  Tooting the car horn is a warning rather than an aggressive gesture.  We have driven with drivers who seem to have their hand always on the horn as they weave in and out of traffic, catching every gap where possible. The intersections without traffic lights are the best.  I could sit for hours just watching how they weave through the interception as everyone heads in different directions and miraculously makes it safely across. 

The streets are not for the faint-hearted, and when I think I have seen it all, I witness something next level that leaves my mouth hanging on the floor.   There are many streets with a sole purpose of stocking a specific line like The Paper street or correctly, named Hàng Mã street in Hanoi’s Old Quarter where you will find shops upon shops selling the seasons decorations or cardboard gifts like scooters,  mini houses, sofas, money, computers or cars etc. which the locals buy to burn on the anniversary of their loved one’s death, sending them anything they could need or desire, an offering to their ancestors. You can find a street just selling lights, or street selling sports gear or jackets, whatever you need you will find a street with many shops selling pretty much the same thing. 

Crossing a road was something we had to become accustomed to!  It is an adrenaline-rushing experience, you have to wait for a gap and don’t hesitate, whilst you bravely start walking into the traffic and have faith that the drivers will zig-zag around to avoid hitting you.  The key is once you start walking, don’t turn back, commit, don’t change speed or direction, giving drivers time to anticipate your move and avoid impact.  It works surprisingly well. If you are in the city on the weekends and don’t want to worry about busy streets, head over to the pedestrian streets around Hoan Kiem Lake. Thanks to the government, they close the roads around the lake, making it pleasant to stroll and enjoy the area, shops and restaurants without worrying about vehicles bumping into you.

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Let me add I don’t hate Hanoi; it’s just doesn’t get me excited, unlike all the other beautiful parts of Vietnam that we have been fortunate to visit.  If we didn’t live on the city’s outskirts, I would skip entirely and spend my time in places like Sapa, Ha Long, Ba Vi, Ninh Binh, Da Nang, Hoi An.  Vietnam has so much to offer and so many beautiful places to explore, the locals are friendly, and I have never felt unwelcomed wherever we have travelled.