So - after a very long break from travelling - we have visited Vietnam for the first time in 13 years. Some revisits, some new visits, some changes, some things the same. This time I have done a lot of reading to understand the history of the country better*. It is long, convoluted and tragic history, and it is some kind of miracle that 'reunification' seems to have worked as well as it has. Having said that - it is perplexing that the pain and trauma of extended war followed by the Communist takeover in 1975 seem to have resulted in a system in which capitalism has triumphed, and social and wealth inequality are as entrenched as ever ...
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| Jazz club, French Quarter, Hanoi |
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Street seller on Bun cha street
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| Our hotel (Chris at table on right!) |
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| By the lake ... |
HANOI
Oddly not a busy as in 2010, which was a Festival for Hanoi's 1000 year anniversary, and forced us to escape to the mountains. But still very busy and buzzing, and sadly far more polluted than we remembered. We stayed south of historic Hoan Kiem Lake, in the French Quarter, a tranquil respite from the chaos of the Old Quarter to the north. On weekends, roads around the lake are blocked to traffic, and locals are out in droves with their families, kids scooting around in miniature motorised police cars, fire engines and army tanks (!?)
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| Uncle Ho |
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| Hanoi street |
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| By the lake 2 |
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| View from our balcony |
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| Hanoi street 2 |
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| By the lake 3 |
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| By the lake 4 |
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| By the lake 5 |
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| Family day! |
* Reading:
- The Sympathizer - Viet Thanh Nguyen
- A Wavering Grace - Gavin Young
- The Quiet American - Graham Greene
- Hanoi Adieu - Mandaley Perkins
- You don't belong here - Elizabeth Becker
- The Mountains Sing - Nguyen Phan Que Mai
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