Like a new city

I like walking and running. The first few days after arriving in Hanoi I was terrified to step out of the door (only slightly exaggerating) because of the chaos on the streets. It took me a few days to realize that it wasn't so bad after all. But Hanoi is definitely not a pedestrians paradise, or a runners paradise for that matter. Or so I thought. 

Today I discovered a completely new world in Hanoi! It's the early-morning-world. I'm so grateful for the local friends I have made here, who asked if I wanted to go for a Sunday morning run at 6 am. Of course I said yes!

It was like stepping out in a new city at 6 am. All the motorbikes and cars were gone. Instead cyclists, runners, power walkers, aerobic ladies and kids running around had taken over the streets. I think I have to become a morning person when in Hanoi. 

The aerobic ladies are actually a funny story. So since I moved from the 2nd to the 3rd floor in the building, I've woken up a few times at 5 am to very loud music (terrible music...) and I cursed my stupid neighbour for having such a bad taste in music so early in the morning. But now I realized that it's the local aerobic ladies from the block, doing their morning aerobics session. It's entertaining to watch. 

This weekend I went to The Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi. I heard it was one of the better museums in the city and it didn't let me down! The museum is focusing on the 54 officially recognized ethnic groups in Vietnam, each ethnic group with their own language. Pretty impressive. And in Finland we're struggling with two official languages. What a joke. 

Question: how many Vietnamese family members can fit on one scooter? 

(The correct answer will be in the next post)

Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

Traditional bed. My bed is just as hard as this one.... Getting usied to it

Water puppet stage. It's a thing here. I still haven't seen a water puppet show

Traditional house in the museum

Outside of the museum