Naturally, before heading to Vietnam, I informed myself. I read several blogs, looked at several websites and tried to best understand how to be safe, how to go about my day and how to orient myself among my surroundings. One piece of advice I encountered on several occasions regarded crossing the bustling streets in cities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. "Just go," read the blogs. "Don't think twice about it, nobody is going to hit you."
As I got off the airport bus and took my first steps in the city, these words of advice took on a whole new meaning. I had to walk five blocks to get to my hostel, and cross five chaotic, traffic-lightless streets. As I got set to face my first barrage of motorbikes, I took a deep breath and crossed my first chaotic street. Every step was an adventure. Motorbikes noticed me and all immediately swerved to avoid me. Not one motorbike stopped yet, miraculously I made it to the opposite side of the street without even a mere scratch.
In Hanoi, there are far and beyond more motorbikes than cars, and it's not unusual to see entire families consisting of 3-5 people riding on a single bike. They're all riding along, honking every single second, yet managing to get from point A to point B unscathed. There aren't even many traffic lights... these seasoned bikers just go straight through the intersection... sure it causes lots of traffic jams, but still, no accidents. In fact, I did not see one accident in Hanoi, despite the chaos.
Crossing these busy streets quickly became a fun pastime. You'll never get hit, trust me, but you also shouldn't fear for your life. I'll repeat the advice that I read, "just go."
This laissez-faire attitude of the local Vietnamese in regards to driving epitomizes what the culture is like in Hanoi. The city is abuzz day and night, particularly in the Old Quarter, where the French colonialists set up camp when they occupied the country. Despite Vietnam being a developing country, the Vietnamese are a lot more relaxed than people in Seoul; kids are running around and enjoying themselves and you get a general sense of happiness among the populous. Obviously, keep in mind that this is just my perspective.
The streets in Hanoi's Old Quarter are narrow, restaurants dotting every single street corner, and it's hard not to want to indulge and savour every single sight and smell that comes your way. Sampling many local foods was inevitable, as I quickly dashed into a pho restaurant near my hostel and had one of the best bowls of pho of my life. In fact, I had several of these throughout the week!
You can read all about my Vietnamese culinary experience HERE.
Amid all of Hanoi's chaos, though, there is a lot of history and even a good amount of serenity. Smack in the centre of the Old Quarter you can find Ho Hoan Kiem Lake, famous for its one-pillar pagoda (which is a sort of temple) and its unique light contrasts.
Not far from the lake you can find a statue of Ho Chi Minh himself, hailed as a local hero. What I found interesting was that throughout Vietnam you would find many red communist flags alongside the Vietnamese flag, which reinforces how Vietnam used to be a communist country.
In North America, we learn a lot about how the Vietnam War was so devastating for the Americans. What we are sometimes not told is that the United States actually lost the war, and they suffered countless casualties in the process. Vietnam was divided in a similar fashion to how Korea is divided today; the North was communist whereas the South was democratic. The divide came after the French finally relinquished Vietnam in 1954, at which point different forces emerged and seized power in their respective regions. While the nation was divided, the leader of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, went about crushing political and religious opposition, killing or imprisoning tens of thousands.
The Vietnam War ensued. The North wanted to reunify the country under communist rule and put an end to the violence, however the U.S. decided to get involved and defend the South and their ideology. The war raged on for 21 years, from 1954-1975, at which point a peace treaty was signed. The North decided to ignore that peace treaty, and finally took over the entire country in 1976, concluding one of the devastating wars in history, with the death toll so ambiguous that it's estimated to be anywhere between 966,000 to 3.8 million.
Colonial and war history can be found throughout this city. On my final day in Hanoi, I visited the Women's Museum, an interesting exhibition about the role of Vietnamese women throughout the French colonial period and during the war itself.
Women in Vietnam at the time did not benefit from any special exemption (as they do in Korea today). Women were mandated into war alongside their fellow men and played an integral part in Vietnam's reunification. Many Vietnamese women today are being hailed as war heroes for their many heroic acts.
The museum was also eye-opening in so many other ways. In Canada we obviously do not learn a lot about Vietnam, but this country suffered a lot at the hands of many other countries. Vietnam was invaded by the Chinese three times throughout history, and each time, the Chinese settled there for quite a while. This is the reason why we see enough historical Chinese influence in Vietnam today
The Vietnamese were then colonized by the French, which shouldn't be too surprising because much of Asia was being colonized by European powers back then; we saw the Philippines being colonized by the Spanish, East Timor went to Portugal, India and Myanmar went to the British, we even saw the Dutch get their hands on some of modern-day Malaysia and Singapore. Vietnam was no different, and we can see the contrast of French colonial and Vietnamese architecture best in Hoi An (stay tuned for a blog post about my visit there!). Among the key colonial historical sites in Hanoi, you can find the Hoa Lo Prison and the Saint-Jean Cathedral, located a mere three blocks away from one another.
The prison was an interesting visit. The Vietnamese were treated so poorly by the French that it really makes you loathe colonialism even more. Of course, even countries like Canada, the United States and Australia are the result of colonialism, yet it's important not to forget the suffering of all the victims of colonialism (in Canada's case this is still ongoing given the historic and continuing mistreatment of our Aboriginal communities...).
Some of Hanoi's most prominent landmarks are colonial buildings. The Saint-Jean Cathedral definitely looks familiar to anyone who's been to France (or Montreal/Quebec City) before.
OK, enough colonialism. Hanoi also boasts several other stunning sites, such as the Temple of Literature, which is a purely Vietnamese construction, and was really cool to visit.
Not too far away we could find the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (I swear, he's everywhere) and the Vietnamese parliament building, which was also a pretty cool visit.
Even Hanoi's oldest market was really cool, as we strolled through three floors and countless stalls of unique merchandise. Clothes in Vietnam are probably pretty cheap, though I didn't have any space in my bag to even buy anything.
Hanoi is undoubtedly a very beautiful city, worthy of a visit for its many colonial sites and its temples, palaces and mausoleums. This said, I truly believe that Hanoi needs to be experienced, not visited.
The ambiance and the vibe you will find while strolling through Vietnam's Old Quarter are unparalleled. It's chaos, though an alluring, inviting and enriching chaos. In Hanoi's Old Quarter, living quarters are so tight that residents tend to drag their mini-stoves onto the street and just cook their meals there. I saw a man one evening cooking himself an omelette right on the curb. Everywhere you look there are people cooking, laughing and just enjoying themselves.
And if you make your way to food street, it will be even more chaotic. Several narrow streets in the Old Quarter are just a mess of constant motorbike honking, haggling of locals trying to get you into their restaurant (non-violently, of course, so nothing to worry about), and locals and tourists alike relishing in the delicious food and ridiculously cheap (yet pretty tasty) Hanoi-brand beer.
Hanoi is definitely chaotic, like nothing I had ever seen, but its vibe is laced with adrenaline and just taking it all in is an absolutely incredible experience. From that first step across one of Hanoi's bustling streets, to the countless amazing dishes, to the many nights zigzagging through the jam-packed crowds and walking through the city's vibrant alleys, Hanoi was an experience, a chaotic, yet amazing experience that I will certainly never forget.
Trust me, go to Hanoi; I know I'll definitely be back.
-Daniele
