Hanoi
Of the four great post colonial Indochiese cities, Hanoi, the
capital of Vietnam, is by far the greenest and most beautiful. Huge fig trees shelter
vendors silling everything from noodles and rice to a shoe chine or a patch for your
pucture, along wide sweeping boulevards. Though considerably quieter than big sister
Saigon, hanoi still retains a vibrant atmosphere, and conveys the feeling of a city just
beginning to awaken from a deep slumber. Motorbikes are a relatively new thing in Hanoi,
and it seems every person owns one. Their numbers are almost on par with the bicycles that
ruled the streets only a few years ago. From the early hours until late in the night, the
streets are swarmed by mareening bikes, often with three or four people aboard! A cyclo is
available on most stret corners, but unless you are palnning a particularly long trip, the
best way to explore Hanoi is by foot. It seems in hanoi that no two streets meet at ninety
dgrees, so you can count on getting lost, and spending hours wandering the meandering
streets of the city. A map is invaluable during this kind of Hanoi excursion, as when you
find something that really tickles your fancy, without a map, you can count on not being
able to find it again.
During the Vietnam War, sections of Hanoi were damaged by US bombing, but there is virtually no evidence of that now, except for the craters currounding Hanoi Airport. The particularly thin, tall, and often awkward looking buildings that you see are not a result of heavy bombing, but are created by landowners who own only a thin slice of land so build up rather than out. Hanoi has a nmeber of lovely parks and museums where you can while away the hours of a warm summers’s afternoon, and some nice cafes suited to the cold winter mornings. One thing the people of Hanoi ca really thank the French for is their pastries. Hanoi has a plentiful and delicious coolection of pastry stores spread all over the city. The pastries are without par in Vietnam and very cheapk, making for a delicious snack or meal.
Finally, the people of Hanoi are reckoned the warmest and most approachable
in the country. Though English is not as commonly spoken as in the South, many of tyhe
older generation have a working vocabulary of French. Regardless of language, people will
attempt to have a conversation with you irrespective of whether you can understand them.
Many of the cyclo drivers speak some English and often have very interesting pasts that
they are now willing to discuss with foregners. At times in Hanoi, you could be sitting in
a cafe sipping excellent coffee, eating great pastry, chatting in French to an old beret
clad gentleman, whilst as you look out the window you can see the great French style
buildings in the shadows of fig trees. At times like these you can really wonder just what
country you really are in. Hanoi, a city to be savoured.
[ Around Hanoi ] [ Sights to see in Hanoi ]