Vietnam which was only resonating with war stories and movies offered a complete contrast- Peace and Love!!! Reasonable progressive Asian city – Hanoi was very vibrant, colourful and very hard working people. Communists seem to have their way of keeping things organised and progressive.
My soujourn in Vietnam offered much needed break from daily hustle and bustle of Bangalore, pollution, traffic, construction mess and all the stress. Lush greenery with several pristine lakes and clean city of Hanoi reminded me of Bangalore 25+ years ago.
Hanoi offered several Tennis courts to play and it was easy to book a court and play right from the first day as we checked in. It was a different experience to see Vietnamese enjoy regular evening Tennis after work for recreation and relaxation. They were also very accommodative to have us play with them and offered all the warmth and comfort even though most of them could not speak English. Cigarettes seem like an integral part of Vietnamese and they enjoy them with Beer, food and pretty much everywhere.
Hanoi was divided as old town and new with several lakes and pristine views. Tropical and very humid climate kept us very thirsty most of the time. City seemed very safe and people were very honest and helpful. Even though French had invaded and colonised Vietnam for several years, French / English or any other foreign language has really stayed foreign. Vast majority only spoke Vietnamese but we managed to get around with very few English speaking helpful people. Younger population seems to be very keen on learning English. We had a very interesting experience with 2 English students. One was 25 year old graduate and another was probably 13 year old lad. Both of them came to us just to converse and learn English. They spoke well, but very slowly with a series of questions about us and they also helped us know more about Vietnam culture, work, government, history and economy. They confirmed that Vietnam is predominantly agricultural oriented economy but slowly moving towards manufacturing and industrialisation. They were also very welcoming and accommodating of us (completely rare Indian tourists).
We took the city tour by bike and this turned out to be a unique enriching experience. We were picked up from out hotel and met with one more Manilan solo traveler from Dubai. We set out on 3 bikes on our adventure ride to see the city of Hanoi. We passed through the old town and then some small streets and were taken to a typical Vietnamese lunch place (Darshini). Street had many such small food jaunts and our guides ordered food for us and also taught us how to eat with their small bowls, sauce / soup and chopsticks. I tried using chopsticks for half of my lunch and my fingers were aching. One of the tour guide read my mind and offered me a spoon:)- Thanks to our tour guide and pre-request for Vegetarian food.. We had rolls filled with green (mint and some other spinach) followed by sweet potato fries, fried eggs (similar to waffles), boiled vegetables including spinach and more rolls. As we finished lunch, we headed to see acres of banana plantations through Vietnamese country-side and small villages (close to Hanoi). We then came to the famous and the oldest bridge of Hanoi, built by French. This bridge is known as the “Paul Doumer” Bridge in memory of the former Governor of Vietnam, and was the first one in steel (same as the one used for Eiffel Tower) crossing the Red River. Then we drove past extremely narrow alleys (2 feet) and came to US B52 bomber wreckage lake (Huu Tiep). Lake still has remnants of B52 bomber and this small lake surroundings has morphed into a tourist destination. We had cold green tea, pineapple, some other fruit (similar to raw mango) with a powder (similar to our Chutney powder). Our guides engaged us in knowledge of Vietnam war and we spent some more time with general talk / exchanging views on war. We then headed to Trấn Quốc Pagoda, the oldest Buddhist temple in Hanoi. This is located on a small island near the Hanoi’s largest Lake. We understood that Pagoda was Vietnamese place of worship (saying thanks to their ancestors / elders who helped built the village / city). We also realized most of Vietnamese are atheists though we see and hear about Buddhism and Buddha idols in many places. After visiting the Pagoda and offering our prayers and taking pictures across the lake / Pagoda.. we headed to see the Ho Chi Min Masoleum, presidential palace and along we saw various embassies. After more pictures and history of Vietnam, we headed to drink famous egg coffee. This means the egg and cheese go in the coffee. Egg coffee has been a way of life and a livelihood for Tri Hoa Nguyen and his family since shortly after 1946, when Tri’s father Nguyen Giang founded Café Giang and invented the first cup of egg coffee in Hanoi. Post egg coffee and some more pictures and general banter with our guide and other tourists we were dropped back at our respective hotels in the night.
Hanoi old town and surrounding lake changes everyday. Fri / Sat and Sunday Traffic around the lake and city center is blocked. This allows kids to play, live music and street night market, making it vibrant and full of life. It was great to see people relaxing, enjoying dinner, playing with kids, shopping and small live music bands playing local Vietanamese tunes. Idyllic yet vibrant, calm, peaceful, green and full of life are some of the thoughts I carry away from Hanoi.
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