We escaped Shanghai's Chinese New Year warzone of firecrackers and went to Hanoi, Vietnam with our friends Sylvia, Tjun and Lauren. We frankly weren't that impressed but it's partially because we went during Tet (Vietnamese New Year) and everything was shut down. We ventured to Halong Bay but found the trip annoying by the constant grubbing for money. We did enjoy some good meals at the Metropole, and loved our final meal at Bobby Chin's. We were amazed at the deftness of the scooter riders, especially the ones that carried a family of 4 on them! Also, we found out why the buildings tended to be tall and narrow - because the tax is based on the width of the building only.
