Hello, Hanoi
By: Sahit Menon
Tags: Vietnam, Travel, Photography, History, Blog

Bustling streets fill my airways with the smell of Pho and egg coffee, a tasteful distraction from oncoming traffic in the Old Quarter. I swiftly sidestep a scooter and found myself in a colorful fruit market. Just a few steps further is a clothes shop that appears to be selling North Face jackets. Their authenticity is questionable. In another alleyway nearby, clanking pots unravel a street filled with merchants selling metal goods. Looking to the other side of the street, I see a proud display of stationery, ornaments, and calligraphy kits.

This was a highly organized farmer’s market on another level. It spread through several blocks rather than residing in a single space — and instead of lasting only a few hours on a single day of the week, it was a full time vocation for shop owners.

What a warm, shopaholic-friendly welcome.

An Abridged History of Hanoi/Vietnam

The city of Hanoi was brought to modern prominence in the year 1010 AD, during the Ly Dynasty. It was the capital of what was then called Đại Việt. Lý Thái Tổ, the namesake of the Ly Dynasty who chose Hanoi as his capital, resided in the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long. The palace still stands to this day.

The French ruled from Hanoi starting in 1883. It too was the capital of their realm in Indochina. These folks were a stalwart here until after World War II, when their demise led to a loss of imperial control. The diminished French influence allowed natives to mobilize their fellow citizens to establish independent governments.

Ho Chi Minh, an impassioned personality who was influenced by the communist philosophies of Marx and Lenin, declared Vietnam as an independent entity in 1945. 1954 brought Ho Chi Minh’s vision to bittersweet fruition. Vietnam was independent, but divided into North and South parts as a result of the Geneva Accords.

The Vietnam war would further delay the goal for an peaceful, unified country – claiming nearly 1.4 million military and civilian lives. Following the Vietnam War, Hanoi became the capital of a unified Vietnam in 1976.

The brother posted up on the rooftop of our Old Quarter Hotel

Fast forward 41 years…

My Journey in Photo

My family and I stayed in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. Long ago, the French cultivated commerce in this area by assigning each street to a specific trade. As such, Old Quarter streets are named for a particular good. Each street is a two word phrase. Hang, the Vietnamese word for merchandise, precedes the name of the good sold. Hang Gai street, for example, is a spot for the finest silks in town.

Our first day was rather restful, and consisted mostly of exploring the nooks and crannies of the Old Quarter, and visiting the nearby Hoan Kiem Lake.

Day 2 was host to a whole lot of rain in Hanoi, so we decided to head north to Ba Vi National Park to escape the bad weather. We took a taxi up Thalong Road and navigated through the park entrance when we realized we could not walk anymore. Due to ongoing road construction, the streets were not suitable for our feeble Toyota sedan that could barely claim 2 wheel drive functionality. So we hopped out and made towards the Mountain God temple, the park’s landmark, on foot.