Public Sidewalks

I remember reading in "The Life and Death of Great American Cities" by Jane Jacobs that public sidewalks are essential to a thriving community. This my friends, Hanoi has in abundance. There is no "sidewalk" to walk on here, it is either a parking spot for motorbikes or a hangout for locals eating pho and drinking sweets. In order for one to walk down the street, one has to weave between the road and the "sidewalk" all the while lifting one's head up occassionally to not get hit by a bike. I miss public sidewalks in Canada! I also remember the noise from the traffic on the streets of Manhattan on top of the Empire State building, I couldn't believe the honks from the taxis travelled so far up! Hanoi definitely beats New York in terms of honking. Usually I sleep through everything, but even I woke up last night to the sounds from the streets at ungodly hours. The constant honking has a way of unnerving me, and coupled with the extreme humidity.

On the otherhand, I am happy to be back on paved roads although I enjoyed the dirt roads in Cambodia. The drive out to Ha Long Bay today was scenic, with rice paddies dotting along the sides of the road, with a growing city in the background. It's just like something from a picture book I tell you. It was also super cool when I suddently remembered that the "incident" at the Gulf of Tonkin that triggered the American War (or Vietnam War, depending which side you are on)...and the tour guide told us that we are there (Ha Long Bay is in the Gulf!). Super super cool and yay for history class in first year.

Interestingly we noticed today that we have not seen a McDonald's or a Starbucks here or in Cambodia, as Tiff says, "where there is Starbucks, there is civilization"...LOL. We had French cuisine for dinner tonight, the most expensive meal for this lag of the trip for sure, and it was good though I must say I am unused to the mashed potatoes and the heavy beef stew after two months of an Asian diet (come on, even the sphagetti bolognaise that I've had here is Asian-y).

A few more days...!