As the ship moored overnight at Ha Long Bay we decided to avoid the ship-provided excursions and spend a self-planned night in Hanoi.
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Ha Long to Hanoi's a two hour drive and we'd had a bit of drama with Wendy's visa prior to leaving, so we needed a new driver. Then, our substitute driver wanted a break in the middle.
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So it was a great relief to find that our inexpensive hotel (Emerald Waters & Spa Hanoi) was OK and we quickly found a very pleasant place for lunch. Then it was time walk about town browsing in the shops, joining the famous traffic.
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Previous experience told us that the trick is to step out and walk across the road at a steady pace. As the travel guides advise: "Walk at a predictable pace so motorbikes can swerve around you and try to cross together with locals until you get the hang of it."
Standing on the kerbside, waiting for a chance to cross 'safely' is like the joke: "Have you come here to die?" - "No. I've been here since yesterday (Australian accent)."
It's not always a pretence that you don't notice them. Some of the motor-scooters are now those silent electric ones, like those in China, that eschew noise of any kind and speak up behind you. "Oh Sh..."
One would think that a Communist country would have road rules, yet it's complete anarchy, that somehow works.
Red flags abound here, reminding us of who won the 'American War'.
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Yet this is a vibrant small business economy. Even many of the big businesses are managed in the private sector.
When we were in Washington DC, back in 2017 we visited the Vietnam War Memorial with the names of 258,220 who died. As the Australian War Memorial in Canberra also records, not a few Australians also died here, or as a result of their service, including my bother's best friend, Ross.
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Remind me again. Why did they die? Was it to protect the Vietnamese from all this? I'm so grateful that my birthday did not come up in the conscription ballot.
Farewell Hanoi, it was fun. And, somehow, our bags are heavier. Then it was another two hour drive back to Ha Long Bay and the boat.