I couldn’t get up as early as I wanted to. The Long Bien market starts at 23:00 and runs until the sun rises the next morning at 05:30. Due to the lack of sleep and the night time foolery I had to rest myself. But when I headed out, my stroll took me to the Market area nonetheless.

I explored the Long Bien bridge which crosses the river to connect Hoan Kiem and Long Bien districts. Rumors say the Bridge was constructed by Gustave Eiffel but there is no clear evidence of this. The Hanoians seem to be able to move around goods on their scooters regardless of the actual size. You can see almost overloaded bikes and sometimes it seems counterintuitive that the load stays in place.

Market also means a lot of unusual fruits and live stock. As well as an area nearby with stalls selling roasted dog meat and sausages. This culinary experience is not for the faint hearted. The dogs are prepared like grilled sucklings and carved using huge cleavers. A delicacy in Vietnam but a truly unusual sight for a person socialized in Western Europe.