A simple walk through the vibrant streets of this Asian hotspot is an adventure

Walking down a street in Hanoi's Old Quarter, it's easy to see that so much life in this cartwheeling centre is lived on the footpaths. Chicken carcasses are chopped; greens are washed; vigorous debates take place as men sit on small wooden stools with their coffees in sidewalk cafes. Vendors unfurl brightly coloured vegetable displays in street-side stalls, clothing racks festoon street corners and a man on the road side (pictured) waits patiently for the next punctured tyre to provide his next repair job.

All around cyclos and scooters minnow past, cars flounder by and a bus becomes a great whale, attracting glances as it squeezes past awnings in a sudden, short downpour. It's exhilarating stuff, enough to turn the head of any tourist. Then there is a nearby whoosh and combined "whoa" from a scooter rider and passenger passing at speed only centimetres away. It's a neck-tingling reminder: witnessing life on the footpath in this hectic city is no substitute for staying alive while crossing the road.