Out first day in Hanoi was amazing! Jet lag got us out of our room bright and early and we were pleasantly surprised when our hotels free breakfast offered eggs and bacon. I also had my first passion fruit…I thought that was just a flavor in Jamba Juices. They are very small and yellow inside with black seeds and very sour, but I love sour. After I tried it the guy who works here came up and said, “we like to put milk and sugar in it, you try now.” So I had another.

The language barrier is tough here as very few people speak or even know any English at all, but the Vietnamese people are so nice and welcoming. David and I were so surprised that people were not pushing us to buy anything, even when browsing stores and by stores I mean the sidewalks as there seems to be no distinction from store front to sidewalk. Everyone rides Moto bikes and the dance between pedestrians, Moto bikes, bikes and the few cars is not for the faint of heart. Imagine a real life game of frogger.

The streets are tiny and the side walks are the parking lots. So everyone is tangled together on the streets. There are also these amazing tiny alleys that weave behind buildings, taking you right into someone’s kitchen.

We had such a great time exploring the city and the chaos of it all. When 5pm hit and rush hour started it was a bit overwhelming at the amount of people making their way home. For the amount of people and cars and stuff around we were surprised by the fact there was no beggars or homeless people and even the liter seemed to be at a minimum. New York seems calm and empty compared to the streets of Hanoi. I could have lived here in another life!