Hanoi

Hanoi, on the Red River in the north of Vietnam is the nation's capital and has been so for much of the last 1000 years. Vietnam has been occupied by many nations particularly the Chinese and more recently the French who colonised Vietnam in the mid to late 1800s. Hanoi reflects this history. There are still many French colonial houses and buildings. Much of the city's life takes place on the street as the hot, humid climate and lack of air-conditioning forces the residents to seek relief outside. One of the things that strikes (sometimes literally) the visitor is the mass of cycles both motor and push that crowd the streets. For the uninitiated it's a major challenge to cross these rivers of two wheeled traffic.

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