Heading North – Hanoi

An early morning flight to Hanoi was the only sensible way to travel 300+ miles. The highways in Vietnam are not limited access in any direction and this “lacking” infrastructure would make the trip a very long day’s journey!

The ride from the airport was a snapshot of the crowded and hectic pace of Vietnam’s second largest city. We made a brief stop at our hotel and headed to a very old (in existence for more than 100 years) restaurant for a grilled fish lunch. We walked up a very narrow staircase and sat elbow to elbow with the locals. Little did we know at the time that this lunch would be our most favorite meal. The picture captures the beauty of the meal: boneless white fish cooked at the table in a sauté pan over a small charcoal grill. The greens were abundant and spices wonderfully fragrant: dill, tumeric, cilantro and mint. The meal is served with rice noodles, chili peppers, chopped peanuts and fish sauce. It seemed as though they kept replenishing the bowls as we reached bottom. A (not so) cold Hanoi beer was the beverage of choice!

The Old Quarter in Hanoi is the oldest continuously developed area of Vietnam. Its history spans 2,000 years and represents the heart and soul of the city. Dating back to the 11th century when the Vietnamese attained independence, the Old Quarter acquired its reputation as a crafts area, and it morphed into cooperatives/guilds and villages by the 13th century. Members, working and living together, developed a cooperative system for transporting merchandise to the business district.

The villages became streets in a very homogenous manner. The market stalls evolved into homes and because the storekeepers were taxed according to the width of the storefront, storage and living quarters moved to the rear. Consequently the narrow buildings were called “tube houses”; they typically measured about 9 feet by 200 feet.

The rich religious heritage grew parallel with the development of the guilds. As craftsmen moved into the capital they brought their religious practices and transferred their temples and pagodas.

Although the Old Quarter is often called The 36 Streets, it is misnamed, as there is almost twice that number today. There are many different theories on the origin of the name. One is that the number 36 refers to the number of guild locations in the 15th century. As the streets were later developed, each acquired a guild name. The written history of the country offers a plethora of ideas on the subject.

Some streets have achieved fame by their inclusion in popular guidebooks. Hang Gai Street offers silk clothing ready-made and tailored, embroidery, and silver products. Jenny bought some lovely silk shirts.

A majority of the street names in the Old Quarter start with the word hang, which means merchandise or shop. The guild streets were named for their product, service or location. Hang Bac, one of the oldest streets in Vietnam, dates from at least the 13th century. Bac means silver, and appropriately, this street started as a silver ingot factory under the reign of Le Thanh Tong (1469-1497).

Hang Thiec is the street of tinsmiths. The craftsmen originally produced small tin cone-shaped tips, which were used to preserve the shape of the traditional conical hats. The range of products has increased significantly. The street echoes busily with the clanging of hammers against the sheet metal. Workers spread out on the sidewalk shaping metal storage boxes and other objects to custom order.

In Dana Sach’s memoir, The House on Dream Street, the title refers to the street where she lived which housed motorcycle repair shops. The Honda Dream is the gold standard of motorcycles in Vietnam. It is a common practice for the shopkeepers to extend their shops onto the sidewalk and sometimes, into the street itself. It makes walking hazardous to one’s health, climbing over tools and dodging puddles of soapy water from freshly washed cycles.

An evening performance of the water puppets proved more enjoyable than just being a “tourist trap”! Water puppetry is believed to have originated in the Red River delta in the 11th century. The vignettes are snapshots of the daily activities in the rural areas of Vietnam. Often performed in a lake or pond, there is a permanent theater in Hanoi where the art has developed into an important part of the country’s cultural heritage. A traditional Vietnamese band, composed of two sided drums (trong com), cymbals, flutes, gongs, ancient-style guitars and other traditional percussion instruments, accompanies the performance. The “Phoenix Rising” was one of my favorites and I managed to capture it (in its entirety) as a video!

Tomorrow – another day of seeing the sights in Hanoi…
Of course, the adventure continues!