Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and has been continuously settled for more than a thousand years. Like any ancient city, it has its "old town" with its warrens of narrow, maze-like streets and bustling commercial activity. I was struck by how alive and, surprisingly, pretty the old city was. I loved the energy and the graceful framework of French-inflected architecture under a jungle-like canopy of trees.
As far as traffic is concerned, the rule of law was nowhere to be seen. Seriously, these streets are one big free-for-all. It's intimidating at first, but once you dive into the fray you realize that an assertive but good-natured sense of give-and-take moderates what otherwise would be a chaotic brawl, and the result is a fun and exciting dance with a thousand partners. Not gonna lie -- I loved it.
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| Property was traditionally taxed based on the width of the facade. Not surprisingly, this led to extraordinarily narrow buildings. |
As far as traffic is concerned, the rule of law was nowhere to be seen. Seriously, these streets are one big free-for-all. It's intimidating at first, but once you dive into the fray you realize that an assertive but good-natured sense of give-and-take moderates what otherwise would be a chaotic brawl, and the result is a fun and exciting dance with a thousand partners. Not gonna lie -- I loved it.
2 comments:
Did you do your own driving? And all of those wires. Somehow I think though, if they were to blow, the people would just go on fine.
Great photos. Love the driving. Did you guys have scooters? Lady
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