Heart of Hanoi

Another flight, another city. This time Hanoi, a crazy city bursting with energy and life. And scooters. Even more than Ho Chi Minh if that were possible. And in the centre a beautiful peaceful lake.




Scary as it was to cross the roads - just step out, don't make eye contact with the drivers and don't veer to avoid the scooters - it was my favourite urban landscape in Vietnam for the sheer life force of the place.






Our hotel was in the heart of the old district, in amongst the shopping area, where each street specialises in one thing e.g. coffee or shoes or party goods! But at Daughter's request we set out for the fabric market, an incredible huge warehouse-like place with stalls piled high with barely room between for one person to pass at a time.

We did manage to get safely to the Women's Museum - lesson learned: don't mess with a Vietnamese woman - and the old prison - lesson learned: don't mess with a French guillotineer - and we ate some seriously good food.

  

Everything you need for a party!

It may be graffiti but it was accurate!

Yes, those are mattresses.

 

Don't mess with a Vietnamese woman!

On the first floor of the fabric market.

Not as easy as it may appear! And my baskets were empty.

Back to normal today

After two days of being looked after it's back to the grindstone today, trying to catch up with cleaning and 'stuff'. My to-do list seems to get longer faster than it gets shorter. If you see what I mean.

We're trying again tonight to get Uncle to church. The taxi company that failed to turn up in time last week is the only one in Swansea that has wheelchair-accessible cabs so we're a bit stuck. We might have a go later in the week at getting Uncle into our mini but I don't think we'd be able to get his wheelchair in even if we got him in. And out.

Finding out that life is not simple for the disabled. But that still doesn't justify the number of disabled parking spaces compared to parent and toddler!

* * * * * * * *

Looking out at the rain - the edge of Abigail I believe - today it's hard to remember that it was only two months ago that we were sitting by a lake in Hanoi being drawn.

You can't tell from that photo just how very hot and humid it was.

Quite a crowd gathered as the artist did her work.

Including another artist who decided to draw us too.

Which one do you think is best?

The one we paid for?

Or the one we didn't pay for? (Of course we did pay for it too in spite of Husband's grumbles.)

If you look at the first photo you can see Husband is actually smiling. Slightly. It's just that his resting face is grumpy.