Hanoi traffic

I was warned about Hanoi’s traffic.

“Cars won’t stop for you.”

“It’s madness.”

“I just walk and try not to look.”

I was expecting the worst. Instead, because many of the main streets were one way and there were plenty of traffic lights that motorists obeyed, I found crossing streets far easier than Ho Chi Minh City.

Yellow City – Hoi An

 

This old town on the Thu Bon River was roughly half way between Saigon and Hanoi. The buildings were mostly yellow with white trimmings influenced by the Chinese and Japanese traders as well as French colonialists.

Thinking of flying Vietnamese Airlines?

I flew from Can Tho to Con Dao, no problems, so I wasn’t prepared for my next ordeal.

Jade Emperor Pagoda

 

Not far from the Botanic Gardens stood the Jade Emperor Pagoda. While shaded by soaring trees at the entrance, the grounds were in need of a little TLC.

I entered to an over powering haze of incense before a multitude of statues in various rooms contained within the complex before I made my way back.

Scooter City

I left five degree Vancouver and arrived in thirty degree Ho Chi Minh City to discover it’s really scooter city.

On my first day, I took a stroll to Ben Nghe River where Styrofoam undulated with water plants as boats moved upstream. Fishers lined the walkway with their rods and nets.