I have been in Hanoi for a few days and tomorrow I head for home.
I chose to stay in a hotel in the Old Quarter, not only because it is easier to get a sense of the history of the town, but it remains very much the centre of town and it is easy to walk everywhere. The hotel turned out to be on a very narrow little street but surprisingly quiet at night, given that people spend a lot of time out on the sidewalks, not only because living quarters are small, families are large, but also because it is cooler outside in the evenings. Everyone eats, plays, socializes and shops on the sidewalks. Most traffic is scooters and they are parked everywhere!
It has been an amazing experience to explore this cohesive and energetic, highly organized urban society. It is a real surprise to see how far Vietnamese society has come since the end of a terrible war in the 60s and 70s. I came of age in the 60s and well remember participating in street protests against American imperialism. I had somehow assumed that the destruction of war would permanently have held the country back. But that's 40 years ago now. It's history. Everything has changed.
I love the friendliness of the people. Tourists are as welcome as anyone else here. If anything, tourists seem just to participate more in the Vietnamese way of doing things. In restaurants, most diners always seem to be Vietnamese. The goods in the shops all seem to be for everyone, and not for tourists in particular. I must say Hanoi is a fantastic shopping town!
The food is exciting! This evening I feasted on bún bò nam bô and it was really delicious. The variations of phô have also been delightful. Coffee is of high quality and people love to eat baguettes.
There are lots of reminders that the French were here!
The hardest thing for me to do has been to learn how to cross the street. Traffic is constant and can come from any direction, even on one way streets. Junctions are comical! Scooters travel super fast along the sidewalks, and straight into the very narrow corridors into the buildings. There is only one way to get across. You work up your courage and just start walking out into the traffic. You move slowly forward and everyone drives around you. It is very dangerous to stop or step back. This is much harder to do than it sounds! It's terrifying! I find I can do it quite well by the afternoon but by next morning, the terror returns!
I chose to stay in a hotel in the Old Quarter, not only because it is easier to get a sense of the history of the town, but it remains very much the centre of town and it is easy to walk everywhere. The hotel turned out to be on a very narrow little street but surprisingly quiet at night, given that people spend a lot of time out on the sidewalks, not only because living quarters are small, families are large, but also because it is cooler outside in the evenings. Everyone eats, plays, socializes and shops on the sidewalks. Most traffic is scooters and they are parked everywhere!
It has been an amazing experience to explore this cohesive and energetic, highly organized urban society. It is a real surprise to see how far Vietnamese society has come since the end of a terrible war in the 60s and 70s. I came of age in the 60s and well remember participating in street protests against American imperialism. I had somehow assumed that the destruction of war would permanently have held the country back. But that's 40 years ago now. It's history. Everything has changed.
I love the friendliness of the people. Tourists are as welcome as anyone else here. If anything, tourists seem just to participate more in the Vietnamese way of doing things. In restaurants, most diners always seem to be Vietnamese. The goods in the shops all seem to be for everyone, and not for tourists in particular. I must say Hanoi is a fantastic shopping town!
The food is exciting! This evening I feasted on bún bò nam bô and it was really delicious. The variations of phô have also been delightful. Coffee is of high quality and people love to eat baguettes.
There are lots of reminders that the French were here!
The hardest thing for me to do has been to learn how to cross the street. Traffic is constant and can come from any direction, even on one way streets. Junctions are comical! Scooters travel super fast along the sidewalks, and straight into the very narrow corridors into the buildings. There is only one way to get across. You work up your courage and just start walking out into the traffic. You move slowly forward and everyone drives around you. It is very dangerous to stop or step back. This is much harder to do than it sounds! It's terrifying! I find I can do it quite well by the afternoon but by next morning, the terror returns!
No comments:
Post a Comment