HANOI, VIETNAM
We arrived in Vietnam's capital this afternoon to find baguettes for sale everywhere and lots of little trendy cafe's playing Acid Jazz and chillout music--just like in Cambodia. All I can say is: Thank God for French colonialism!
Chris and I are staying at a small hotel in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, a maze-like warren of narrow, crowded streets with virtually impassible sidewalks. Each street supposedly carries the Vietnamese name for the type of shops traditionally found along it: Silk Street, Basket Street, etc. I'm sure the names are no longer strictly accurate--I doubt seriously that there's an "Electronic Home Keyboard Street," although I walked past one this morning that seemed to sell only those.
Although Hanoi is a big city, there don't appear to be any skyscrapers here. Many of the houses, though, seem to be built very high but ridiculously narrow, making the city look a little bit like a cross between Amsterdam and Whoville. Adding to the Seussian effect are all sorts of strange colors and psychotic gingerbread detailing, ostentatious columns and balconies, etc. This sort of treatment usually only applies to the narrow facades of the buildings, while the sides are often windowless grey slabs of concrete, looking like they've been sheared off by some huge buzz saw. Very strange. I was told that the reason the houses are so thin and tall is that each household is usually allotted only 90 square meters of property...so they just build upward.
The other notable feature of Vietnam is its infamous traffic. As the U. S. State Department warns: "Nationwide, drivers do not follow basic traffic principles, vehicles do not yield right of way, and there is little adherence to traffic laws or enforcement by traffic police." From what I've seen so far, this does seem to be a frighteningly accurate description of Hanoi, although I will say that it somehow all seems to work for its residents. They're not shy about honking their horns, either--the State Department says they do this "for no apparent reason," although it seems to me to be a rather effective (and amusing) form of constant communication between vehicles.
The most challenging thing as a pedestrian (besides dodging motorbikes driving ON the sidewalk) is crossing a major street, which I soon learned one does NOT do by waiting for a break in the traffic (there are none), but by actually walking out into the street, staring down the dozens of motorbikes, cyclos, cars and trucks heading straight for you, and praying that they choose to swerve around you. I don't think I'm quite used to this yet....
We arrived in Vietnam's capital this afternoon to find baguettes for sale everywhere and lots of little trendy cafe's playing Acid Jazz and chillout music--just like in Cambodia. All I can say is: Thank God for French colonialism!
Chris and I are staying at a small hotel in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, a maze-like warren of narrow, crowded streets with virtually impassible sidewalks. Each street supposedly carries the Vietnamese name for the type of shops traditionally found along it: Silk Street, Basket Street, etc. I'm sure the names are no longer strictly accurate--I doubt seriously that there's an "Electronic Home Keyboard Street," although I walked past one this morning that seemed to sell only those.
Although Hanoi is a big city, there don't appear to be any skyscrapers here. Many of the houses, though, seem to be built very high but ridiculously narrow, making the city look a little bit like a cross between Amsterdam and Whoville. Adding to the Seussian effect are all sorts of strange colors and psychotic gingerbread detailing, ostentatious columns and balconies, etc. This sort of treatment usually only applies to the narrow facades of the buildings, while the sides are often windowless grey slabs of concrete, looking like they've been sheared off by some huge buzz saw. Very strange. I was told that the reason the houses are so thin and tall is that each household is usually allotted only 90 square meters of property...so they just build upward.
The other notable feature of Vietnam is its infamous traffic. As the U. S. State Department warns: "Nationwide, drivers do not follow basic traffic principles, vehicles do not yield right of way, and there is little adherence to traffic laws or enforcement by traffic police." From what I've seen so far, this does seem to be a frighteningly accurate description of Hanoi, although I will say that it somehow all seems to work for its residents. They're not shy about honking their horns, either--the State Department says they do this "for no apparent reason," although it seems to me to be a rather effective (and amusing) form of constant communication between vehicles.
The most challenging thing as a pedestrian (besides dodging motorbikes driving ON the sidewalk) is crossing a major street, which I soon learned one does NOT do by waiting for a break in the traffic (there are none), but by actually walking out into the street, staring down the dozens of motorbikes, cyclos, cars and trucks heading straight for you, and praying that they choose to swerve around you. I don't think I'm quite used to this yet....
posted by John Kuge at 8:53 PM
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