First Thoughts On Hanoi

So far I am having a great time in Hanoi. Binh, one of the kayaking tour guides, met me at the airport, helped me get my official visa, showed me where to go through customs, helped me get my bad and then drove me to the hotel - not bad. On the ride over to the hotel (about 45 minutes) he was sharing some of the history of both Hanoi and Vietnam with me.
The houses here are incredibly narrow, but very tall. The reason is the land is so expensive in the area that people will buy a small lot and then build up - not enough land for the amount of people in the country (about 85 million people with 4 million in Hanoi during the day and 3 million at night). Binh was telling me that it could take someone as long as 20 years (sometimes longer) to save enough to buy a house. He says that his family still lives in their apartment together. Six people in the same apartment. The second reason is that the architecture of the buildings makes them act as a chimney which helps circulate air and keep the houses cooler in the summer heat (kind of a cool idea). You also see a lot of Chinese influence in some of the older architecture since the Chinese invaded Vietnam and stayed for 1000 years.
The drive from the airport to the hotel was interesting. We passed many rice fields (they line the roads and can be seen for a long time). There are also a ton of motor bikes on the roads. Binh says it is because cars are too expensive for most people and there is not enough room to park them. The motor bikes are handy because you can bring them into the house with you (that way they won't get stolen).
Along with the motor bikes you see bicycles, walkers (both bare foot and with shoes). I even saw someone walking their cow down the road. Very interesting.
I do like the architecture and am interested in how the old and the new live together (buildings I mean). We leave pretty early tomorrow morning for Ha Long Bay, but we will have a day at the end of the trip so I will try to get some pictures. I am excited for the rest of my time in Vietnam, but for now I am going to go chill out.