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We have seen some spectacular natural and historical sights, and we have met some lovely people (as well as the scammers), however we both feel it’s a country we won’t be returning to.

Obviously there is a lot more of Vietnam to see and we know we’ve only scratched the surface. The major thing that would deter both of us from coming back is the incessant traffic noise. It’s a habit now, not a necessity, that most drivers of bikes, cars, buses, lorries and especially taxis drive around continually honking horns. It’s totally unnecessary, as our minibus driver to Halong Bay proved.  They drive around making an incredible din from the start of the day (around 05.00) until the end of the day (around 24.00). To start with, in HCMC, it was a novelty but after 4 weeks it now  grates and it’s the one thing that will keep us away. We’ve learnt to cope with the scammers and whilst they are a pain in the a**e, we now feel that we can play them at their own game.

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Now a couple of short stories. Are you sitting comfortably? Then we shall begin.

The Legend of The Turtle in Hoan Kiem lake, Central Hanoi.

As many legends of giant turtles exist all over we won’t bore you with the detail. Suffice it to say we actually saw what many claim to be mythical only, a giant turtle in the lake. He/she was around a metre or so in length and was just slowly paddling along the lake taking in the scenery and the ambience. So as legend has it we are very lucky indeed………or there are hundreds of them put in for gullible tourists to spot! We would like to believe it’s the former.

The Legend of The Corkscrew.

On the flights up to Hanoi Neil had the penknife/corkscrew “lifted” by a baggage handler from one of the outside zipped pockets on his backpack. Desperate (ok Cheryl needed wine) for a replacement we visited a small shop selling “stuff”. Neil used a bottle of wine as a prop and after some gesturing with his arms the lady produced a large corkscrew. Again using sign language Neil suggested something smaller. This time she disappeared out to the back and returned waiving the twin brother of the “lifted” corkscrew!! Was this spooky or was her husband a psychic baggage handler who lured us to her shop and got us to part with 40,000VND? (less than £2). We’ll never know….

Here are some observations on Vietnam:

One legged cyclists who just get on with their day without begging. They just balance themselves with a crutch and pedal with the one good leg….respect!

Women wearing traditional “pyjamas & conical hats”. Mainly roadside sellers of fruit etc but also those working in the rice paddies.

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Beautifully lush green paddy fields with traditional labour intensive farming with few tractors but lots of buffalo.

Telegraph poles and lines everywhere…..what a mess.

Tall, thin and very deep buildings – often referred to as Tube Buildings, sometimes in total isolation.  We stayed in one in Danang.  See pic

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The sheer driving chaos on the roads but it does seem to work.

Kids shouting hello

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Overall the food has been disappointing and has lacked flavour.  Street food is limited to pho (noodle soup with beef or chicken – eaten everywhere, at all times of the day,….a national addiction) or filled baguettes.

New Year celebration was restrained -hordes of people watched the fireworks and then went home with no cheering, hugging etc.  Abba’s ‘Happy New Year’ is the song of TET.

Manchester United Brand….bigger than Coke, KFC and Pepsi!  Neil gained much respect from the locals when they saw Manchester as his place of birth in his passport.

The red flag flies proudly from nearly every building, house, hotel & boat

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Pavements are not for pedestrians. They’re for parking bikes, cars washing up or extending your shop front.

Burning lucky money at the roadside.

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