For the love of Hanoi

Recent criticisms suffered by this blogger, when it comes to Hanoi and Vietnam, include being called both delusional and overly sensitive.

A journalist reminded me that this was a country – not a football team.  He said my support doesn’t have to be unconditional.

I know.  It isn’t.  And, who knows, they might be right.

Who can say why we love certain places and not others?  I’ve described before how I’ll admit to being so much more forgiving when it comes to Vietnam as compared to my own country.

Hanoi is not for everyone but finding new equally smitten people can serve to reinforce how you feel. For some it’s love at first sight.  For others it takes a little longer.

A recent wide-eyed visitor called it intoxicating and that’s how I feel too.  I recently tweeted of driving back on a sunny day.

Everywhere looked so beautiful and it was as much as I could do to keep my eyes on the road.  Then they started cooking bun cha and barbeque pork smells nearly pushed me over the edge.

Food blogger Mark at Sticky Rice recently summed up motorbiking in Hanoi, perfectly:

“…must take a photo of that…what was that?…is he really doing that there?…is that edible?…WOW, love to try that…never seen that before…watch where you’re going knucklehead!…oh, banana flowers, what a sight…never seen that temple before…wish I had the camera…god it’s hot today…INDICATE! INDICATE! INDICATE!…geez I’m not a mind-reader…I know there’s a bia hoi around here somewhere…is that fruit or veg…what’s she peeling…looks under-ripe…wonder what that herb’s called in English…that looks familiar…on the weekend I’m coming back to that..F*#K! screech…watch the bloody road, Mark…”

Elsewhere this from Hanoi Scratchpad outlines how, in Hanoi, it’s well worth living with the rough in order to enjoy the smooth:

To be sure, no place is perfect, and Hanoi at its worst could test the patience of a Buddha. Traffic, smoking, pollution, and unhappy Westerners all rank high on my list of annoyances. But beneath it all, Hanoi today feels to me like a calm city.

There’s little I enjoy more than strolling past a modern architectural ruin – a crumbling Vietnamese Imperial gate, or some decaying monument to French colonialism – or alongside a neighborhood lake. The city comes to life in vignettes: a conical hatted woman setting up to cook bún riêu on the street, two old men playing chess in an outdoor cafe, children kicking a beat-up soccer ball down the street.

These intimate moments, set against the backdrop of a city that breathes history, are what come to mind when I think of Hanoi today.

That fits well alongside a line in recent post by Walter Mason that I loved:

…that is a clue as to what distinguishes Hanoi – the interest in aesthetics, in the small details that beautify a place and make it charming.

That’s it exactly.  Sometimes perhaps those details are so tiny that it’s hard to miss on a first sweep through the city.  But they’re there – flowers, pagodas, ancient trees, glistening fruit, shy smiles, life and lives.

There’s no getting away too from just how lucky you can feel to be here.  Living in modern Vietnam is no sacrifice, this can be a land of genuine opportunity.

It’s a theme that Alice expands on in a piece entitled “This is the Life that Everyone Asks for“.  Here she lists her top ten reasons why she doesn’t want to leave Hanoi any time soon. Here’s a snippet:

6. There are many more opportunities here for me right now than anywhere else
7. For the first time ever, I’m living life completely on my own terms. The only real responsibility I have is to myself.
8. I’m learning the meaning of growing up, being an adult and becoming independent
9. Hanoi is amazing. everything from the people, the food and vibe makes it difficult to not fall in love.
10. I’m happy.

I’m happy too. Even at 39 I can understand the growing up bit.

But maybe it’s growing up while retaining a level of adventure you might otherwise have had to learn to live with out.

All of which leads me to the final blog quote of this piece.  Again, it is from Walter Mason:

Hanoi has turned into a little treasure, the kind of place you could easily while away a lifetime.

It has indeed.

Thank-you bloggers.

I am so glad it isn’t just me.