Old Quarter and Turtle Lake

The oldest part of Hanoi, the aptly named "old quarter," grows out from the southern banks of turtle lake. Legend goes that, in the 15th century, the first Vietnamese emperor went to fight the Chinese occupiers and a turtle rose out of the lake bearing a sword which he then used to defeat the Chinese. Now, in the middle of the lake there is a temple dedicated to turtles and a tiny island only for turtles. It is supposed to be very good luck and quite a commotion if a turtle is ever sighted. The water is so murky and stagnant they should celebrate seeing any living creature in the water.

The pagoda island for the turtles on the left and  the temple island  is hidden by all the trees on the right.

The island solely for turtles.

The entrance to the temple for turtles on an island in the middle of the lake.

Depicting the turtle bearing a sword.

 The narrow streets of old quarter are lined with shops and congested with traffic. Shops of each street focus on a particular type of product to sell and those streets are creatively named after the things you buy there; i.e.: musical instrument street, lock street, metal street, luggage street, etc.
There are three ways to get around old quarter: walking, which I have already covered, on a scooter, and on a cyclo which is sort of like a backwards tricycle with a covered bench build into the front. The cyclo drivers target tourists offering a nice ride and promising to know the best and cheapest locations to buy anything. We employed three drivers for a day and it was a great experience, they take you anywhere and everywhere, pampering you as you go.

After a full day of driving us around the city, our driver, Ving, stopped abruptly and pulled me out and told me to drive my dad down the street. I got quite a few stares, cat calls and whistles from the people of Hanoi who are not used to seeing a round eye on the back end of the bike.

Our full delegation.

We stopped and had a beer with our drivers: Han 45, Ky 72, and Ving 34. All three of them  are from the same tiny village north of Hanoi and rent one room in the city together. They work for three or four months and then go home for a week to visit their wives and family who all work in rice fields.

(I shot video of riding through old quarter on the cyclo, but due to technical difficulties I will have to upload it some other time. Check back later, it's very exciting!)
Lastly, you can get around on a scooter, though I would only recommend riding with someone you know. There are scooter taxis, but I have been told that there is usually a pick pocket scam attached to that service. Being an intrepid traveler, I have a friend in Hanoi, Hang, who showed me her city by scooter. I have to admit that I was pretty scared walking up to her bike. I waited a few seconds for her to hand me a helmet, but one was never offered. My fear intensified, I climbed onto the back of her scooter, wrapped my arms tight around her stomach and held on for dear life. Suddenly aware of my own mortality, I asked Hang if she has ever been in any accidents. "Yes, a few," she replied. That made me feel safe....

Hang is a very good driver and didn't do anything crazy. Within a few minutes I had relaxed my vice grip on her stomach and eventually held her hips loosely. Eventually I felt comfortable enough to hold my camera up in the air to record a video as we drove and after a stop at a baking supply shop on metal street, I had to hold all my bags and nothing else.
(Again, check back later for the video of riding on a scooter.)