Hanoi Day 2.

I decided to drop Bob in the deep end by taking him on a wander round the Old Quarter.  It reminded me why I like travelling with him.  He quickly mastered the art of politely ignoring the touts, crossing roads calmly and resolutely without panicking at the non-stop stream of traffic coming at you from all directions, and accepting the presence of tangled spaghetti knots of electrical wires,

 

 broken paving stones, chickens free-ranging in the streets, tiny birds in tiny bamboo cages with porcelain food bowls, women having manicures and grey hairs removed on the footpaths, air pollution, footpaths being devoted to pop-up kitchens and motor-bike parking.  We both adored the fact that streets are devoted to certain artisans, a bit like medieval guilds in England.  So, we found jewellery street, metal street,

clothing street, brass street,

 bamboo street,

gold-fish street, art street, plastic flower street,

 
lantern street

 musical drum street

real flower street

etc etc.

We also explored the market area, with its hillocks of clothing and accessories, and the surrounding butchers' shops, fish shops (yum!  peeled frogs and live terrapins),  mushrooms shops

and dried fruit, rice, bean and spice shops.  I am fascinated, after living in Australia, the land of rules and regulations, with the juxtaposition of a pet shop stall ( with lots of little finches, kittens eating rice and Indian ring-knecked doves) and a stall selling dried shrimps and squid.  Bob couldn't get over the fact that people are always cleaning.  It looks like it should smell but it doesn't!

My favourite street, naturally, was silk street, with its silks, bright scarves, indigo shops, and the divine "Tanmy Design" - heaven  if you love good design in homewares, clothing, accessories, jewellery and a beautiful, restful little cafe.  They were kind enough to let them photograph some of their wares, and meet one of their designers.

I'll be back!

It is an incredibly busy city, yet there are little pockets of calm and peace and beauty too.   These women sorting artificial flowers

while another creates a floral banner

 

was incredibly peaceful for us, the watchers!  This  monument to the memory of King Le Thai Tho was also an incredibly quiet and serene oasis.

(I wasn't allowed into the temple because of my uncovered arms).  This man was transporting bougainvilia in pots opposite our hotel.

There are arts and crafts everywhere you look, at each end of the economic scale, if you are in the buying mood. People are creating everywhere you look - at the back of one cafe two women were completing a beautiful needlework piece.  And, there is also inspiration for future works.  I found it in
buildings:

 fruit:

 patterns:

 displays of food:

 

shop displays:

 

 doorways:

 

the abandoned:

After a "nanna nap", we were out at the night market and then ate dinner overlooking the city.  How organic the traffic flow is from above.  It is almost like a dance.

What a wonderful first day!