Controlled Chaos?

Our first day in Hanoi was an overwhelming feast for our senses! The sights of the people, sounds of the traffic, smells of the markets made us realize that we weren’t in Danville, CA anymore. I have to explain the way the traffic works around here before I write a single other thing. Amanda had warned us that it was chaotic but we had no idea until we drove in it. Imagine six-ten lanes of traffic without any semblance of traffic rules or stop lights with most of the people on small motor bikes weaving in and out of traffic at will and you can get a feel for the craziness we encountered. Add in a few roundabouts and motorbikes who go the wrong way on streets in very densely populated areas with horns honking all around you and you get even more of sense of the “controlled” chaos. I say controlled because we never saw a fender bender or an accident the whole time we were traveling yesterday.

Driving is one thing because at least you have the comfort of being inside a car but walking on the streets is quite another. You can’t really walk on the sidewalks here because the people are all selling the wares and food on them so you have to walk amongst the traffic. And…then there are the times when one must actually cross the ten lanes of traffic. Our guide told us to just walk slowly and close our eyes and hope we made it to the other side! My heart is still beating a little fast from a few of those street crossings yesterday!

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon seeing the sights of Hanoi with a guide. We had a lovely lunch of Pho, spring rolls, and a crispy Vietnamese pancake filled with pork and shrimp and then we hit the streets. We saw a prison, a pagoda, and the Old Quarter where we met workers doing needlework and lacquer paintings. The Vietnamese people are extremely friendly and kind. They really want to know about your family and want to make sure that you are impressed with their country. They like the fact that we are from San Francisco because so many Vietnamese live their. They love to look at pictures of our family and guess what ethnicity Brad is. (They all have proclaimed that Stephanie looks just like her father!)

Today we are heading for a long ride in the country before embarking on a junk boat and cruising on Ha Long Bay. It will be an interesting change to see the countryside and villages after spending the day with millions of people and motor bikes in Hanoi.

(As a side note for my friend Chris….I do realize that blogging is more than one sentence (ha! ha!) but I wasn’t counting on the internet being such a problem in the hotel. I tried my best to publish a blog article last night complete with pictures to only get stuck in the internet black hole. I finally had to call it a night and try again this morning when the internet might be my friend).

A Rich and Sometimes Disturbing History (Brad’s section)

Downtown Hanoi is home to a large prison built in 1894. The French controlled Hoa Lo until 1954 and housed communist dissidents there. Torture, solitary confinement, and executions were the order of each day. While most of it’s history is owned by the French, you will recognize it for a short few years of it’s existence. It was known by American prisoners of war as the “Hanoi Hilton.” John McCain spent his years of confinement here as did many American fighter pilots who were shot down over North Vietnam.

It was a very disturbing and emotional walk through the prison. Seeing the large cell blocks that housed dozens of prisoners in stockades was tough. Men were held in place by stockade-like cuffs on their ankles and lined up side by side. Seeing the areas where women were confined with their children was tougher. And, the guillotine that executed hundreds was just plain macabre.

Seeing the Vietnam War from the other perspective was also disorienting. While we all know that war is bad, we all tend to pick sides and justify the righteousness of our efforts. The fact is, it is brutal for all — especially the innocent civilians that are caught in the crossfire. This was clear from the obviously one-sided, but, passionate view presented in displays at the prison. We all left feeling quite unsettled.

After leaving the prison and doing a little shopping, we visited a pagoda on a small island in the middle of a lake. Apparently, the Vietnamese were invaded often and were usually overmatched. But, fortunately, there were various gods, heroes, and other helpers available to save the day. At this particular sight we learned of a giant turtle who brought the king a sword to help defeat a superior enemy. The name of the lake translates to “return sword” because once the enemy was vanquished, the turtle returned to ask for the magical sword back.

This pagoda was fascinating as there were many Vietnamese people here in tears praying to displays of Buddah surrounded by fresh fruits, paper money, and candles. These were offerings to their ancestors in the hopes that they would bring prosperity and good fortune to their descendants.

OK, this was only the first day and there was far too much to write about. Suffice it to say, that we are fascinated and impressed by this very unique culture. Vietnam has 90 million people — and they all seem to be driving by on their scooters when we want to cross the street!

More to come. Oh, and, Steve Physioc — we really appreciate you right now. I have the Cardinals–Braves game on and they are not broadcasting the announcers sound track. I have no idea why that outfield fly was called for the infield fly rule.

For those interested, we are 14 hours ahead of Pacific Daylight time. It is 7:30 am on Saturday here. It’s 5:30 in the afternoon on Friday at home.