The bearded shark

We started in Frankfurt’s airport. Ten sleepless hours and a lot of great movies later, we arrived in Hanoi. Squeezed into the taxi to the hotel, we saw traffic we had never experienced before. The brake is replaced by the signal horn, and why would someone need signal lights?? Our first Vietnamese meal in the restaurant Hai Xom (this means “the bearded shark”) immediately followed.

After a breakfast with exotic fruits and warm soup, we met our colleagues from Russia. On the way to the Save the Children office we drove through crowded streets and tens of thousands of motor scooters.

After Save the Children gave us an introduction to the people, country and projects we would see, we drove to a 100-year-old house with steep stairs. In the back room, there was a restaurant where we got dill, green onions, fish from the Red River, rice noodles and different dips with unfamiliar scents.

After that, we went through the streets of the old town, which is packed with supplies for altars, all kinds of medicine and amazing colourful toys. The Save the Children staff members showing us around gave us good advice on how to cross the streets: “Don’t stop; just go farther. The cars and motor scooters will stop.” That’s really true.