Steroids

Day 47: Hanoi (VN). If aliens from another planet were to land in Hanoi, they could be forgiven for thinking that our planet was inhabited by motorcycles and not by people - such are the number of two wheeled vehicles that swarm the streets of the Old Quarter of Vietnam's capital city. “I thought the traffic in Mongolia and China was bad!”, I shouted to Karen over the noise of the bikes, “But this place feels like Beijing on Steroids!”

Our travelling adventure just seemed to be getting better and better. Venturing out on to the streets of Hanoi, Vietnam seemed to us to be as culturally diverse compared to China as China had been to Russia. Different people, different food, different customs.

Two million motorcycles vie for position in Hanoi city providing personal transport for individuals, family transport (mum, dad, two children and a dog – not an uncommon site), taxis and commercial haulage (anything and everything; livestock, crates of beer, furniture, plate glass windows – you name it)! And today, as Karen and I tried to cross the road by Hoan Kiem Lake, it felt like every single one of them had taken to the streets to welcome us to this enchanting city! Such is the number of bikes and such is the poor standard of road craft that forty bikers a day die on these roads. However, despite those appalling statistics it actually felt like the most dangerous form of transport in this city happened to be walking (our chosen way of navigating the city!) It's not that there aren't any pavements – there are and they are very wide. The problem is you can't get to then because every square inch is covered with motorcycles!

Two things kept our sanity that day. The first was the intoxicating qualities of Vietnam's Xeo (rice wine): Available straight or fruity at 50p a glass. The second was Bia Hoi – the worlds cheapest street beer at just 25p a pint. You know, I think we're going to enjoy it here!