Gardening works at the park in Hanoi
Gardening works at the park in Hanoi

The City on the Bank of the Red River

“Hanoi!? It was crazy! So chaotic! Have you managed to work it out?” – asked one of my friends who visited the city earlier this year. He has been travelling through Vietnam on a motorbike. His route was from the north all the way down to Ho Chi Minh City. I had to admit to him that there were moments when I found Hanoi pretty confusing. I enjoyed paying this extra attention to my surroundings and occasionally checking the map though. It must have been more difficult to master the directions and roads signs being for the first time in Asia. “Come on… if it was easy you would not be happy either.” His girlfriend just rolled her eyes and we both giggled.

It is not only Hanoi’s urban structure that can be viewed as far from being simple. The political significance of the city and the events of the past introduced some other layers of complexity. It’s located in the northern part of the country on the delta of the Red River. Hanoi lost its capital status to Hue for a century, played an important role in French Indochina and from 1945 was the capital of North Vietnam. In the end it became the capital of a reunified Vietnam in 1976, after the North’s victory in the Vietnam War.

Cheeky chaps from Hanoi

Cheeky chaps from Hanoi

Vietnamese Street food and Drinks at their Best

To experience the buzzing atmosphere of the Old Quarter you just need to pick a place where you want to eat. You simply sit on a tiny plastic chair, enjoy the flavours and absorb the energy. Nothing brings you closer to people locals or fellow travellers like sweating over a steamy bowl of pho bo.

Round the corner from my hotel I found a great juice stall. A mango smoothie served there was definitely my heaven in the glass! It was so delicious that I came back to that place several times during my stay in Hanoi. I even had a conversation in Polish with one of the ladies helping the owner of the stall. It turned out that she used to work in Poland for two years. I was pleasantly surprise but as I have not been to Warsaw in the last 10 years I keep forgetting that there is actually a fairly large Vietnamese community there.

My favourite juice stall

My favourite juice stall

By walking around Hoan Kiem Lake I witnessed local people meditating in the shade near the water and discovered a slightly hidden cafĂ© serving amazing Vietnamese coffee. You normally drink it with a sweet condensed milk, stirred and poured over ice. Naughty but nice… and I will be honest with you that when coffee is involved all my healthy rules go out the window.

Exploring other parts of the city was for me an opportunity to see that Hanoi is not only about small and narrow streets but also a very rapid real estate development. Modern skyscrapers tower above many sites and buildings that still bare the marks of French colonial-style.

No Mummified Comrades Please!

In the tradition of Lenin and Stalin before him, it is also possible to pay respects to Uncle Ho and see him… sort of in person. I know people, who would find visiting Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum interesting, I decided to give it a miss. I managed to see the monumental and rather ugly building from the distance. It was enough for me. It even triggered “Lenin lived, Lenin is alive, Lenin will live” on a repeat in my head! If you were born before ’89 in Poland you can get your head filled with some propaganda phrases at moments like that quite easily.

Weronika Czekaj
Photography enthusiast with a great interest in culture and travelling. Curious by nature. When breaking free, not at her desk.

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4 Comments

  1. The old man on the first picture seems very glad to see you :-) Is there any special reason for this? Or are all Vietnamese people so friendly?

    1. Ha ha! I think he has been more cheeky than anything else but yes it is fair to say that Vietnamese people are friendly.

  2. I returned home from Vietnam less than 3 weeks ago, and have enjoyed looking at your photos and reading about your experiences. In regards to Hanoi I must jump in with a comment. I arrived there, for the first time, on Jan 29. TET (the Lunar New Year celebration) was to be on Feb 8 and Hanoi was seriously busy!!!! I returned to Hanoi on Mar 16 and it was so much easier. In the Old Quarter I could walk on the sidewalks rather than on the side of the street where all the motor scooters were traveling. It had been so busy in late January that I had to give all my concentration to negotiating from A to B and therefore missed so much. So I just want you to know that, believe it or not, it can be much more chaotic than you and others have mentioned!!

    1. Hi Muriel! Thanks for your comment. It is great to hear about your recent experiences – it sounds a little bit scary but also exciting. I am guessing that Hanoi has been developing rapidly in the last three years, which brings total chaos to the Old Quarter like you mentioned. I am pleased to hear you enjoyed looking at my photos. Ah Vietnam.. What a fantastic travel destination! Great choice.

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