Hanoi really is at its best first thing in the morning. There is a gentleness and quietness around the streets as people slowly start the day, for some it takes quite a while to get going.
Breakfast is as big an event as lunch and dinner.
Pho is the traditional local breakfast dish and many places only serve this one dish.
Looking to get out of town for a while we hit the local countryside.
In the middle of absolutely nowhere we were greeted with the beautiful colours of incense sticks lined up along the roadside enmasse. The colour was insane.
We were then directed to the Incense Factory tourist point. We paid a nominal entrance fee and in we went…well our hearts sank - one yard, one area with a laid out pattern created from - quite faded and dusty- incense sticks, a rack of clothes to dress up in, a table of hats, a ring flash all laid on for you to create your instagrammable image. Oh my gosh what a disappointment- really not our thing. The roadside was much more interesting.
Never mind, there was a factory to visit. The Factory - one piece of machinery that made the stick was interesting for a few minutes and the laying out of the sticks was momentarily mesmerising in its repetitiveness. The people who worked there however were super friendly and invited us for tea and fruit.
So the reality of all this was the local area was enchanting and real, but where the locals have created these tourist photo opportunities it is a bit rubbish. Online we saw the prices of some of these visits all charging in excess of 100 - 190 dollars, I bet the locals didn’t see much of that money.
I really like the Non La - the cone hats, they look so simple but are beautifully made. We tried to locate a hat maker, it took forever - asking everyone who passed us as well as negotiating a big car down teeny tiny lanes. It was mad… Our driver did so well and the next thing we knew we were both riding pillion on a hat-maker’s motorbike and arrived at a little square.
Which way to the hat-maker?
To dry the rice it is laid out on the floor, or the road or even the pavement.
The hat-maker.
As we tip-toed over the grains of rice being dried, we found ourselves besides a little temple where some youngsters were making hats! So we joined in. We now have 2 cone hats to cart around with us but with the forecast of heavy rain, they could be just what we need.
Speaking of rain… the weather can change very suddenly with little or no warning. This is big rain.
Farewell Hanoi we are now off to the mountain foothills… and it looks like the rain is going to accompany us. Fortunately we have a hat!