Hanoi is very exhausting. The smog is a little better today and that does make the day easier. Hanoi has something interesting happening on every street but it seems to have no structure, just a sprawling, stressful slide towards chaos. It’s hard to find a shopping mall, it’s hard to buy legitimate material goods, it’s hard to find a clean toilet. Everything is hard.
I am very glad we’ve come, and it’s fun to experience it with Declan, but I would have struggled here by myself. Thailand was easier to inhabit – there was an expectation in Thailand of not going anywhere too quickly, days were fine to trickle away from meal to meal languidly. In Vietnam (or specifically Hanoi), everything is moving. Watching the street is like watching a bucket of hundreds eels squirm, wanting a space to themselves but not knowing where to turn, only to move from where they are currently. And this atmosphere of movement and noise seeps into other spaces too – into the restaurants, markets and hotels.
I feel like we’ve seen and done so much today, but I think we’ve only walked in a maximum 3km radius from our hotel in the old quarter. Hanoi, you have worn me out.
Caitlin is a pro at pointing to things, nodding and smiling. This is the only language she has managed to assimilate in her travels so far. But to be fair, it works. This photo captures those skills in ordering two fried balls of something. DWMy fried balls of something. Hawkers sell these in the streets to tourists by tricking them into taking a ‘sample’ but we’ve happened upon the back of someone’s house where local people come to buy in a more relaxed fashion. I know they are locals because no one walks here, rather drives their motorcycle up, collects their fried balls and then whizzes back out onto the street. There are two ladies rolling the balls, one frying, and an old lady selling. CR.The underground fights back. CR.Restaurant vibes. DWThe Vietnam Military Museum has a big sculpture of shot down American plane bits in a pile that sort of looks like a transformer about to wake up. DWCaitlin has wanted a selfie ever since she saw another couple take one when the plane landed in Hanoi. I swear my sunglasses normally sit on my face like a regular person. DWA full pig being butchered in the street. CR.A lull in action. CR.Egg tea and coconut coffee a bit further away from the Old Quarter. DWHo Chi Minh’s mausoleum. It was stated as being accessible online, however we couldn’t see anyway in, but didn’t look overly hard. The area around this and the National Assembly building is the first open space of land we have seen in Hanoi. DWThe one pillar pagoda. A literal name. This was near Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum and was cool. DWThe Temple of Literature had these motifs of tortoises carrying tablets (possibly called steales) with the names of graduating scholars engraved. We’ve seen these tortoises elsewhere in Hanoi and like their vibe. DWThe Temple of Literature is a popular graduation photo venue with high expectations for future academic success. I hope none of these boys wants to study photography. CR.The stark utilitarian nature of the street corner hairdresser appeals greatly to Declan. I feel his strong conflict between not needing a haircut and wanting to participate in a street corner haircut. Maybe he is a true socialist at heart? CR. All the cultural appreciation is hungry work. Vietnamese pancake time. CR.In truth we’re not that hungry and mainly want to hide from the outside a little bit. I like this photo taken from our upstairs seating as we eat because you can see, in the one patch of road, vehicles and bikes travelling in about five different directions. CR.Traffic took on a new level on NYE. Even locals seemed to be delighting in the chaos and getting photographs of the sheer volume of motorbikes. There were choke points where scooters were parked three deep and people shuffled through the centre with other scooters trying to get through. DWA relaxing dinner on NYE. Perplexingly, empty public buses that noone seemed to want still ran occasionally in the throng which added another level of complexity and depth to the road opera. DWSticky rice ordered according to Declan’s guide. And set to the tune of his above audio recording. Tonight I am apprehensive about leaving my little street stool because it means going back into the expansive chaos of new year’s eve in Hanoi. CR.Caitlin abandoning her years of financial training to make the first offer on a cute little cat purse for day outings. The owner accepted the offer in a heartbeat and made out like a bandit. You can see her in the back right counting her fat stack of cash as Caitlin sheepishly returns after ignoring all of my advice. She claims she doesn’t believe in bartering over a few dollars. If only we could all be so fortunate. DW. I was not going to haggle over $0.60 AUD. CR.At first, footpaths appear as a relief from being thrown amongst the traffic. This is a mirage. Footpaths are a false safety, as more often than not they are crammed with little stools blocking the way or throngs of motorcycle ‘parking’. Nowhere is safe. Always be alert. CR.
Love love love this post! What a fascinating city and day. Great photos especially the one of the traffic. Love the dual perspectives and more selfies please!!!
Happy new year guys! Does Vietnam have the same calendar? Lots of 2024 love M xx
Very glad that you liked the post! We’d had a busy day with lots to share. It doesn’t take much walking to find interesting things to photograph. The traffic is predominantly horrifying so not too many photos of it – got to dedicate all attention to crossing the road, none left for photos!
Happy new year to Australia. Hope you made the most of the day and that the rain eased up.
Buddhism is only a minority religion in Vietnam, so they don’t have the different calendar like in Thailand. Good question though, shows a thorough reading of the blog 🙂
The exposed cables in the footpath are concerning.
The outdoor open air raw meat table butcher is concerning.
The crazy traffic is concerning.
There seem to be so many safety risks but somehow it all seems to work.
Today was an enjoyable short story which captured my interest immediately and immersed me in your day.
It’s been really interesting. In all of South East Asia none of the meat I have seen butchered is refrigerated. All is open air in the heat and flies. Declan thought he saw a dog carcass being butchered on a quiet road in Hoi An. It had been skinned but it had a tail a lot like a dog…
Love love love this post! What a fascinating city and day. Great photos especially the one of the traffic. Love the dual perspectives and more selfies please!!!
Happy new year guys! Does Vietnam have the same calendar? Lots of 2024 love M xx
Very glad that you liked the post! We’d had a busy day with lots to share. It doesn’t take much walking to find interesting things to photograph. The traffic is predominantly horrifying so not too many photos of it – got to dedicate all attention to crossing the road, none left for photos!
Happy new year to Australia. Hope you made the most of the day and that the rain eased up.
Buddhism is only a minority religion in Vietnam, so they don’t have the different calendar like in Thailand. Good question though, shows a thorough reading of the blog 🙂
The exposed cables in the footpath are concerning.
The outdoor open air raw meat table butcher is concerning.
The crazy traffic is concerning.
There seem to be so many safety risks but somehow it all seems to work.
Today was an enjoyable short story which captured my interest immediately and immersed me in your day.
It’s been really interesting. In all of South East Asia none of the meat I have seen butchered is refrigerated. All is open air in the heat and flies. Declan thought he saw a dog carcass being butchered on a quiet road in Hoi An. It had been skinned but it had a tail a lot like a dog…