A Peek into Hanoi
I don’t have the writing skills to accurately describe Hanoi. I can simply throw some adjectives at you and show you some photos. Let’s start with crowded, then add colorful, pulsating, vibrant, energized, exotic, challenging, traditional, and modern.
History in a nutshell: Hanoi is an old (11th century) city and capital of a young (1975) country. In the Vietnamese language, Hanoi is actually two words - “Ha” and “Noi”. Ha means 'river' and Noi means 'inner'. Hà Nội therefore means "Rivers Inner" as it is located between the Red River and Nhue River, and has had this name since 1831 by Emperor Minh Mạng (see our earlier post when we visited his tomb in Huế ). Hồ Chí Minh, fondly known as “Uncle Hồ”, signed the country’s declaration of independence in 1945, then led the fight for continued independence for over 30 years to finally establish the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam in 1976. There are reminders of the long struggle throughout the city, in monuments, memorials, banners, art exhibits, parks, and city streets. Hanoi has a population of over 7.7 million people, all of whom seem to be on their motorbikes at the same time.
We stayed in the Old Quarter, also known as the “36 old streets” referring to 36 guild locations in the 15th century, in a small (15 rooms), family owned hotel, tucked away in an alley and run by a friendly and most helpful young staff. On Nancy Chandler’s map (similar to the map in the post “Have Wheels, Will Travel”) the area looks simple enough to make your way around. But between the marked streets are hundreds of alleyways and corridors, leading into inner, inner parts of the city. Because property taxes are assessed by the front width of the buildings, the houses are very narrow and long. And the sidewalks! OMG! Teeming with people, motorbikes and activities—- people eating, working, playing games, cooking, selling…everything and anything.
The Martyrs’ Monument near Hoan Kiem Lake honors the brave men and women who died in the battle for independence. It was a festive evening, with the streets around the lake blocked off for pedestrians. As soon as these kids climbed up the monument they were told by the police to get down. There were a few thousand people on the streets that evening, but only a handful of police.
The Vietnamese Women’s Museum is the best! Many exhibits offer insight into historical and cultural topics through the lens of women’s issues. Signage is in Vietnamese, English, and French. In the exhibit featured above, a journalist traveled the country on this motorbike to interview and photograph hundreds of women whose children were killed in the long war of independence. The exhibit of photographs and videos was very moving, and I had tears in my eyes when I walked out.
Stepping out the door of our hotel each morning, we were greeted by this scene in the alleyway. Meats, fish, live crabs, vegetables, cooked foods, all for sale. No cars, but lots of motorcycles and bicycles. The vendors closed up in the afternoon but early the next morning, this scene repeated itself.
Can you see me? After walking up and down this street near the Dong Xuan wholesale market to inspect the “kitchens,” I picked this vendor who kept a simple and tidy spot. George was reluctant to even sit with me at first, but after he saw my meal, he joined me and enjoyed his soup.
I’m not sure what I ate, but it was delicious. Since it was a “one dish restaurant” George had the same soup. The black and brown squiggly things tasted like dried, salted fish, and I think I saw eyeballs looking back at me!
These flags usually indicate a Buddhist temple. The colors signify the Five Elements of wood, metal, fire, water, and land - the basis of the universe according to Chinese philosophy. Many Vietnamese follow Confucian rituals, but also practice Buddhism, Taoism, or Christianity.
These women were chanting prayers at the Chua Ba Da temple which has Chinese origins dating back to the 11th century.
The crowd at the Sunday evening mass at St. Joseph’s Cathedral spilled out to the street and into the parking area. The first Catholic missionaries to visit Vietnam were Portuguese in the early 16th century. Later, the Jesuits developed an alphabet for the Vietnamese language which Hồ Chí Minh declared to be Vietnam’s "national language script".
As in many old European cities, the different trades often group together in the Old Quarter. The tin cutters occupy one block, hardware and keys, another. Broom makers and tailors, yet another block. The goods and workshops spill out onto the sidewalk, and tradespeople like this woman, work outside when the weather is nice.
A locksmith.
A bald barber. He laughed when George showed off his man bun.
The appliance repair guy. I’m sure he knows where all the widgets and doo-hickeys are in this fascinating filing system.
The shop keeper’s husband is in the back pressing the coagulated soy milk mixture into wooden molds to make tofu. This customer is buying freshly made (5 minutes earlier) tofu which is sold in 10 cm lengths. Many women still dress in traditional outfits like this floral 2 piece.
I think she’s getting a permanent! Crazy what some women will do for curly hair!
This cobbler and his buddy are happy campers.
It’s common to see kitchens set up on the sidewalk. What looks like a paint can under the pot of stew is actually holding a heating element (see the old gray one next to it) which keeps the stew boiling.
A little kitchen like the one pictured above can feed a lunch crowd like this one. After an hour or so, the area is cleaned up. Tables, stools, dishes, everything — gone! In the evening, another area of the sidewalk will fill up with hungry diners.
Dong Xuan Market is a wholesale market built by the French in 1889 on the edge of the Old Quarter. Clothing, shoes, misc. dry goods, dried foods, wet foods, live foods (fish, shrimp, frogs, eels, turtles, fowl, etc.) and whatever else you can imagine is sold here. The market is several stories tall and spills out into the nearby buildings and streets. It’s hard to tell where it ends.
On the street just outside the Dong Xuan Market, this vendor had just killed a chicken for her customer…can’t get it any fresher!
This was our second trip to Hanoi, and we did not feel the need to revisit the Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum or the Water Puppet Theater. Instead, we explored all 36 streets of the Old Quarter, enjoyed having a graduate student of Vietnamese Literature give us a personal tour of the Temple of Literature, walked the famous Long Biên Bridge, learned so much in the Women’s Museum, interacted with innumerable always friendly people, sat on (many) tiny plastic stools to eat (a lot of) street food everywhere, and George’s favorite— visited the house where Hồ Chí Minh wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1945. We left knowing that we just experienced a teeny bit of Hanoi, and there is so much more to experience. We’ll be back!