In Hanoi's Old Quarter (Photo-essay)

I spent the bulk of my final day in Vietnam in Hanoi's Old Quarter.  On my previous days in the Vietnamese capital city, I always had spent some time there -- because that's where the Serenade Hotel where I had chosen to lodge is located.  But in the final hours of my Vietnam vacation, I made a point to check out a number of attractions and stroll along the streets within this bustling section of Hanoi as well as do some last minute shopping in the area.

Something else I made a point to do was to take photos of what had fascinated me from day one of my time in the country: the motorcycle and scooter laden streets, the sidewalks that are invariably filled with wares spilling out of shops located in narrow buildings, people seated on small stools minding their wares but also just watching life go by, and the interplay among them all.

A note on the traffic: it's not just foreigners who can find it intimidating.  On morning while my mother and I were waiting to cross a street, an elderly Vietnamese woman appeared from seemingly out of nowhere, grabbed my mother's hand and made clear that she wanted my mother to lead her across the street!  After that, I started noticing anxious-looking elderly women standing on the side of streets and made a point to guide them across the street -- and was always rewarded with flashing grateful smiles afterwards! :D

 A section of the cavernous Dong Xuan market where 

one can find foodstuffs, shoes... and plushies galore!

Motorcycles and scooters rule on Hanoi's streets

Believe it or not, this snap wasn't taken on a 

particularly busy or chaotic time of the day!

 The Old Quarter's photogenic buildings fascinated me

almost as much as its street traffic ;)

I was told that the narrowness of the buildings

stems from properties being taxed by the width

of the buildings from the street!

Hanoi's oldest temple, the Bach Ma Temple is modest in size 

and doesn't look that old but has its origins in the 11th century

The Vietnamese bach ma sounds like the Cantonese pak ma -- 

meaning white horse -- and sure enough, the temple honors a 

white horse thought to be the incarnation of a local river god!

 The Old Quarter is crowded but it's actually not

difficult to find a place to sit and chill for a bit :)