Hanoi: A Vietnamese introduction

There is, whichever way you look at it, a certain stereotype that hangs over the Vietnamese, an air of almost continued fascination. Obliterated by an indiscriminate US bombing campaign and then realigned with free market principles in the late eighties it is, in almost every way, bewildering to experience. Unlike the Chinese to the north or even the Thai’s to the west, Vietnam’s outward vision has exploded in recent years and this can be seen no less in the percentage of the population that at least know a few words of English. It is then, when making your way south through North Vietnam’s countryside that you have, in every way, found something intrinsically unique.

After taking a third class sleeper train from the giant but instantly forgettable Chinese city of Nanning we had our first experience of the famous streets of Hanoi, a city with so much happening you can feel it almost trying to say something. Hanoi’s old quarter is where the main action lies and despite the instant appearance of western tourists, is everything you would expect from the Vietnamese capital. Its frenetic energy could, if you let it, leave you with that feeling of mild insanity but if you embrace it, it will pay you back in vast quantities. We only had a short time in Hanoi before our sleeper train south to the imperial city of Hue but we were hoping to make use of our time here and try to get a real sense of this most dynamic of cities.

Let’s get one thing clear, Hanoi is a food city. You cannot walk anywhere in the city without bumping into groups of men, entire families, romantically inclined couples or even school children gathered around gently simmering pots of Pho, Vietnam’s ubiquitous national dish. This noodle soup, served mostly with chicken but in all different combinations, is a national obsession but it is through food, especially here in Hanoi, which galvanises the nation. It’s reputed that amongst these side street stalls the smaller the plastic chair, the cheaper your meal or beer will be. On our last night in Hanoi we joined a group of Vietnamese business men who told us that no visit to Hanoi is complete with sitting down with a local, drinking a 10,000 Dong bottle of Beer Hanoi and slurping away at freshly cooked pho, we could not argue. The meal, with some of the freshest ingredients you could possibly hope to acquire, was delicious and despite joining our new friends for two or three beers more than we were anticipating, cost us no more than five pounds ($7.50). It was easy to see why some people find it hard to leave.

Hanoi was much like the Asian capital you had in your imagination. It was, for all intents and purposes, an extremely dirty city. The pollution from a reported two million motorbikes hung like a dark veil, but it is almost, along with the local’s determination to use every last space to cook or serve food, some of the reasons you find it so highly addictive. It is dynamic, culturally unique and in with its Soviet monuments clinging to a past which is being driven out by the force of Vietnamese dynamism. We could not wait to head further into this already fascinating country.