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| Hanoi, the city buzzling with life |
Arrival at Hanoi, Vietnam
As the capital
of Vietnam, Hanoi represents the true essence of Vietnamese culture
where many dynasties have painstakingly concocted across a thousand
years to form the current unique cohort of 6 million people and 3
million bikes. We took a direct 3hour plus flight from Singapore and boarded a pre-arranged Taxi to our hotel situated at the edge
of Old Quarters.
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| View of the Padi fields along the highways, enroute to our hotel |
The
journey took almost 40mins and we are intrigued by the speed of
vehicles on the Highway.Most of them were travelling at less than
70km/hr. Well, our theory is...perhaps the speed of the country's vehicle might be the
one good representative its pace of life there, so we're glad to be able to slow down our pace of life here.
Afterall, the scenery alongside
the highway is quite enticing so we are not complaining much.
As we
reach the city center, we can't help but notice their unique & distinguishable mode of transport: the multi-tasking 2-wheelers ,
otherwise known as the motorbike.
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| Bikes, Bikes and more bikes. Entire family of 4 on a motorcycle is a common sight |
Old Quarter
The
Old Quarter, has the original street layout and architecture of old
Hanoi. The city started with only 36 streets at the beginning of the
20th century, but now the streets only constitute a central part of the
Old Quarter Area.Each street used to have merchants and households
specialized in a particular trade, such as cloth merchants, bamboo
suppliers, tea leaf suppliers etc with original street names dedicated
to their specializations. Now very few of them remain exclusively in
their original commerce, but many of them continue to live in this
vibrant area.
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| Lady selling French Baguettes on the streets |
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Easy to catch a glimpse of the local daily life at the Old Quaters
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| Hanoi, Vietnam |
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| Locals eating dinner at makeshift food stores alongside pavements, Old Quarters | | |
While
we roam through the busy streets with their equally pulsating pavement
activities, along the way we found many interesting stores packed to the brim with their
trade supplies, with their shop front areas interspace with "tunnels" that lead to long dark walkways. We assume those alleys lead to their living quarters behind their shop fronts.
There is also evidence of mixed cultures in the city from fusion of French colonial style with Asia
influence in the architectures,residence and places of worship.. It is not difficult to spot a Chinese Temple built right beside a English looking building.
The strong influence
of foreign culture in their daily lives can also be seen in their food- French Baguette with stir fried beef. Cool east-meet-west combination indeed.
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| A Chinese Temple within Old Quarters | |
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| Fusion style deco, look out for the chinese elements &detailing on the buildings |
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| The alleys that leads to their living quarters, Old Quarters, Hanoi | |
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| Vegetable seller against the sunlight, Old Quarters |
Our
trip further down found us a few small traditional artisans, herbs and
tea merchants, noodle-cooking on pavements, squatting flower and fruit
sellers, but the majority of the spaces has been changed to the more
profitable business like ready-made garments,party supplies and tour
agencies. Local cuisine specialties, restaurants and bars are aplenty
here as well.
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| Delicious Tropical Fruits,Old Quarters |
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| Traditional Chinese wedding deco shops,Old Quarters |
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| Store selling toys and party supplies. Old Quarters |
On Venturing the Area on Foot
The
art of crossing the street is not exactly for the faint hearted people
as it is predominantly flooded by an inconceivable number of motorbikes,
all of which seem to be coming from any direction, any street, any
minute, all while blowing their horns incessantly.So do keep a look out,
left, right, front and back. And beware; the side curb is not
necessarily spared.In other words, pedestrian traffic can be
overwhelming, especially in the narrow streets around the Old Quarter.
It is not exactly easy for folks who are used to a proper traffic system,
however, it’s actually quite fun to do a dash just for the adrenaline kick.
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| Let's Cross the Road!! |
Our
strategy is to take care of all angles of your vision , while NT look to the front and left, I'll take care of the back and right. Well, if you
are travelling alone, we recommend you go slowly and patiently allowing
the impatient ones to pass first, and wait for the kinder folks do take
pity and give way to you when you politely cross with a thank you face,
and you should be fine.
Ok..I’m just joking, Just walk in a steady
pace, the motorcyclist are actually very nice (and skilful), and they
will find their way to avoid you themselves. Girls ride the bikes in
dresses, with long rebounded hair flying out from helmets, and families
of 4 pin their kids in between them. The most amusing sight would be
none other than the brown dog which manages to balance itself with
perfect pose as its owner meander the streets on the scooter, no baskets
or lash required.
Hoan Kiem Lake- An oasis amongst the city buzz
Located
between the big rivers, Hanoi is pretty famous for its collection of
many scenic lakes and it is sometimes called "city of lakes". Within
walking distance just off the Old Quarter, we found our way to the Hoan Kiem Lake. It is a very much welcomed stroke of green oasis in the centre of town.
Since
its the locals' daily leisure spot, it is a great place to go in the
morning or to sit and chill in the evening, catching a glimpse of the
locals enjoying this peaceful park together with you.
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| The cross junction that connects the old quarter to the Hoan Kiem Lake |
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| Local family taking a leisure walk during sunset at the Hoan Kiem Lake |
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| Young couple enjoying the breeze alongside the lake |
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| The Red Bridge that links the island where the Ngoc Son Temple stood to the main land |
Hoan Kiem actually
means "returned sword", and the name was derived from a legend in which
King Le Loi was given a magical sword by the gods to drive out the
invading Chinese. Later, while boating on the lake, he encountered a
giant turtle, which grabbed the sword and carried it down to its depths,
returning it to the gods from whom it had come. Rumor has it that the
some of the giant turtles still inhabit the lake.
The
‘tortoises’ of Hoan Kiem Lake are actually rare Asian soft-shelled
freshwater giant turtles (the word ‘rua’ in Vietnamese covers
both species) and the last sighting was in 2004 during a dry spell. A
preserved example of a giant turtle can be seen in the Ngoc
Son Temple, an attractive building on a small island in
the north-east corner of the lake. Connected to the main land by a brightly
painted red wooden bridge, the temple is dedicated to General
Tran Hung Dao, one of Vietnam’s great heroes. Though the temple is no longer used for worship now, it is still open for visits. The tortoise remains one of the four sacred creatures in the animist
traditions of Vietnam, and it has a highly spiritual ‘job description’ of promoting wisdom and learning. We heard that there is a version
of the legend being performed at the Water Puppet Theatre located nearby but we didn’t visit.
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The Turtle Tower in the Middle of the Hoan Kiem Lake
Night View of the Hoan Kiem Lake with the Turtle Tower
By the time we finished our tour around the lake, its already dinner time. We had our fix at a small Bistro located at the southern end of the lake, which offers fusion food, drinks and ice cream. A pretty good place to have dinner while taking in the night scene of this lovely lake. But if you want authentic flavours, skip this and head towards the eateries in Old Quarters instead.
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