Hanoi antagonises all the senses simultaneously. It is a cacaphony of sounds, smells, tastes, & images that relentlessly leave you bewildered. Stepping into the street requires courage, as you are immediately swarmed by mopeds/cars (100:1 ratio) with no traffic laws to guide them, the buzz of their horns stinging your ears from dusk til dawn. The smell of jasmine is laced with all manner of food - fried live on the pavement, backed up with a whiff of mechanic's oil from the next door unit. Tired French colonnial buidings spill out the latest flat screen TV's for sale, it is difficult to decide where to look, so we took refuge in The water puppet theatre (a charming show), & then to Ho Chin Minh's mausoleum (he was as inanimate as the puppets).
Hefty culture shock from neighbouring Cambodia, tomorrow - Halong Bay - to seek some shelter!
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