Hanoi

The first day in Hanoi we went to explore the city by foot. Right nearby our guesthouse was the famous cathedral with an exterior of remarkable similarity to Notre Dame de Paris.

Aside from clusters of food stalls, markets and souvenir shops, there are also individual artists engaged in their crafts.

In the heart of the old quarter lies a picturesque lake. The bridge to a tiny island on the lake is a staple of Hanoi, featured on postcards and calendars.

 The busy streets of Hanoi are filled with people interested in both selling and buying. You often stumble upon ladies with large flat baskets selling fruits or donuts (the ones with donuts are particularly in your insistent). In the spirit of trying new things, we had a taste of our new favorite fruit -  the vietnamese apple. It is slightly sour and with a hard seed in the middle, similar to a plum.

Yet again we witnessed the streetfood making process. We watched a young man prepare the dough for rice noodles. In this conveyor he kept thinning the dough to a finer and finer roll. 

We even found "matreshkas" in one of the stores, a classic memory from childhood. Slava had one with green eyes when he was little :)

 Crossing the street in Hanoi is an experience on its own. Traffic lights don't mean much, and when you have to cross, you just GO...

Talking about keeping a good posture!

Excited with the success of lovely vietnamese apples, we decided to try the Durian fruit. It looked as well as tasted very "interesting".... we didn't like it much.

 Corner barber shop. Anna was fascinated by the setup, and was wondering how does one get a permit to do the same in Cambridge ?

Night in Hanoi. The city lights up in flashing LEDs and seems to become even more alive.

 Heading to a show, we had a little snack - delicious papaya salad.

 Part of the cultural heritage of Hanoi is a water puppet show. The show consisted of small enacted narratives under the musical accompaniment of a traditional ensemble. The melodies and singing were nothing like we've heard before, enchanting us with their sounds and enhancing the performance.

 The puppeteers hide behind the curtains while the wooden puppets emerge from the water.

 After the show we stumbled upon a cafe looking place busy with lots of local people. Nobody spoke any english and there was no description of what it was, but it looked like dessert, so we gave it a shot. There were two bowls: one consisting of pudding and jello fruit like pieces covered with strawberry syrup  and the other one with crushed ice. We were spying on the locals who were mixing the ice into the pudding plate and followed their example. We liked it a LOT.

 We were lucky to be in Hanoi on the weekend, as it was a festive experience. These were the streets open only for pedestrians for the evening.

To better see a street performance, Anna took a better strategic vantage point - Slava's shoulders.

 For a brief moment our acrobatic performance took away people's attention from the actual show.

Freshly squeezed sugar cane juice.

It might be a strange picture to share, but we couldn't help it - look at the massiveness of this rooster's legs!

A common sight in Hanoi - a little lady serving hot strong green tea on the sidewalk.

 A portable barber station.

A popular tourist destination in Hanoi is the Literature Temple. Dragons hugging a large bowl with inscent sticks.

 Buddha's fingers fruit was one of many givings inside of the temple.

In the temple you can find numerous statues of long slender storks standing on turtles. In Vietnamese culture, the turtle and crane each symbolize enduring power and longevity. The two, standing together, represent a healthy long life of happiness.

We also happened to witness a photoshoot of  a traditionally dressed model. The hairdo was very elaborate.

 The path snaking around the temple.

 If you're short on time, here's the vietnamese way to walk the dog.

 Short stop at the Ho Chi Ming Mausoleum.

 It's all about the viewpoint :)

 A lake north of the old quarter.

The beautiful chùa Trấn Quốc pagoda on the lake. It is believed that the levels on the pagoda represent Buddha's different reincarnations on earth.

Talking about transportation efficiency - one of the many fully loaded motorbikes we saw.

Hanoi became our transit hub while we were exploring the surrounding areas. On one of our layovers, we were stranded outside at 5am in the morning after an early bus ride. As we were waiting for guesthouses to open up sitting by the lake, the city started to come to life. People came out for a morning jog, a workout session and finally this - a guided, music accompanied fitness exercise. It was truly fascinating and fun to watch. We were motivated enough to pick up our heavy backpacks and jog with them around the lake.

As the morning set in, another group of people emerged for an exercise. They're basially slapping each other on the back.