HA NOI: It’s 7.30am when the first backpackers leave clad in beach outfits and sombreros, shaking off the effects of last night’s party to shout loudly to each other while carrying beers, volleyballs and buckets of enthusiasm. No, it’s not spring break in Mexico, but rather Ngo Huyen Street, Ha Noi, one of the Vietnamese capital’s main tourism hotspots. And the destination is Ha Long Bay.
My Vietnamese is far from fluent, but I watch as a policeman passes the group before entering one of the most popular backpacker hostels to inform the Vietnamese staff what they might be tired of hearing already: “Your tourists are too loud, tell them not to shout, people are still sleeping in this street”.
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