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HANOI TIMES
By hongmanh | December 7, 2009
Daniel Neilson indulges all of his senses, but particularly his taste buds, during an exploration of Hanoi
VIETNAM IS A scythe – shaped country that juts into the South China Sea. To its west lie Cambodia an Laos, while China is to its north. The thin central highlands, separating the north and south, have often seemed brittle enough to snap, most dramatically during the Vietnam War. Yet today, with more than a quarter of the population under 14, the horrors of war are a memory, and the united country is swaggering into a new era at breakneck speed.
I had travelled to the north to Hanoi, the country’s capital, and found it to be a thrilling and mystical city. In 2010, it celebrates a millennium of experience, a 1,000 years of being the focus of educational aspiration, religious ardency, governmental rule and musical and theatrical diversion. It has also been the focal point of resistance, during invasions from the Chinese, the Mongols, the French and the US. It was in Hanoi Where Ho Chi Minh announced independence in 1948, and where his body now lies, seen by thousands of devotees every day.
A wander around the streets of Hanoi is a highlight of any trip to Vietnam. It’s in these moped – choked alleyways where the Vietnamese conduct their daily life. Merchants tout silk and handicrafts; ladies wearing iconic conical hats weave through the traffic with baskets of bizarre looking fruit. Hopping on and off the pavements avoiding scooters, I walked among the 36 streets of the Old Quarter – The oldest continuously inhabited area of the country. In times past, each street was lined with merchants from a particular craft guild. Today, the names remain: Hang Quat, Silk and Feather Fan Street, Thinh Hang, wood Turners’ streets, but the exclusivity doesn’t. Fake DVD box sets, silk clothing, propaganda posters and musical instruments complete for selling space.
Attracted by the alluring odours of a street restaurant, I paused to eat. I was shown to a tiny low plastic table and stool, the kind I remember from infant school, and brought a beer foaming over the brim. It was a bia hoi (literally today’s beer), a small street bar that sells a light lager brewed daily and distributed every morning around the city. There was no menu, but I was brought a series of dishes known as bun cha – a bowl of noodles, steaming pho, a soup with various unidentifiable chunks of meat, fried rolls, pork patties, a colander filled with greens I had never seen before, chopped garlic and fiery chilies, and some fried bacon.
After being thrown some chop sticks, I dug in with fervor. All my senses were invigorated – the clanging of dishes and bubbling of soup, the slippery chopsticks in my clumsy hands, the street life before me, the mixture of smells, and the testes. Hot Chilli, cool bear, slippery noodles, salty bacon – it was an epiphany, and, on my first day, I decided to try and food I could.
I spent my few days in the capital walking the streets, stopping at bias hoes, investigating the fish markets with bowls full of live sturgeon, crabs and frogs – a delicacy from French colonial days.
I visited Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, the water puppet theatre with a live traditional orchestra, and circled Ho Kiem Lake, Hanoi’s heart, as the sun rose, to watch locals practice tai chi – a rare moment of peace before the daily onslaught begins again.
FOOD AND DRINK
Street restaurant often just serve one dish – perfectly. Each part of Vietnam has subtly different food. Just sit down at a busy – looking place and point to what your neighbor is having. Go for men (spring rolls), pho (a broth with noodles), hub tie (a pork and seafood noodles dish) and cha ca (fish with rice noodles).
There are some highly rated up market venues, such as Lemongrass and Clung Dinh Rex in Ho Chi Minh City and Green Bamboo and Cha Ca Long Vons in Hanoi. Hotel restaurants are best for international food, when battling with chopsticks becomes too much. Vegetarians are catered for in high – end establishments and hotels, although much of Vietnamese street food is vegetarian.
There are western – style bars, however, nightlife in Hanoi is subject to a 22.00 government curfew. Ho Chi Minh City is more suited to the party lifestyle.
5 THINGS TO DO
- SIP A BEER AT A BIA HOI: Pull up a low plastic chair at the street bar and order a beer. Within moments, chances are you’ll be invited to sit with a local and chare fresh peanuts and boiled quails’ eggs. It’s a great opportunity to char to Vietnam’s friendly population in a relaxed way. Some also sever food – take a lucky dip.
- HALONG BAY: After the city becomes too loud and frantic, book a couple of nights on an old junk boat floating across Halong Bay. It means ‘descending Dragon Bay’ because of the 3,000 limestone karsts that rice out of the South China Sea - the dragon’s back. Sunset over the bay is spectacular.
- ‘SAPA VALLEY: Another popular trip out of Hanoi is to the ‘Sapa highlands, a day’s train journey north. The beautiful people of the hill tribes in the area still dress in traditional dress. Many visitors spend the days here hiking through the misty mountains before here hiking through the misty mountains before returning to a home stay.
- TEMPLE OF LITERATURE: In the middle of Hanoi’s high-rises are several acres of solitude. The Temple of Literature has been Vietnam’s principal seat of learning since 1070. This Confucian temple is one of the oldest parts of the city. Among the courtyards are 82 stone tables on the back of tortoises recording the results of exams between 1442 and 1779.
- REUNIFICATION EXPRESS: This trundling train between Hanoi in the north and the lively commerce capital of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) in the south is an unforgettable experience that traverses makes Vietnam such as a thrilling experience.
Visit www.luxurytravelvietnam.com
Topics: Adventure, Culture, Destinations, Food and Wine, Hanoi, Lifestyle, News, Press Room, Travel Articles, Vietnam, Vietnamese | No Comments »
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