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Hurry To Hanoi - A City Of Beauty
Story and photos by Sandra Harper |
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Late
one January afternoon I arrived in the center of Hanoi, the capital city of VietNam
The sun sets early in the winter so the first thing I did was rush to one of the
lakes that dot the city to savour the warmth.
Standing by the Hoan Kiem Lake I saw the circular reflection
of Hanoi's cityscape on its calm waters. Modern Asia blended with French style.
After years of recovery, Hanoi was a brilliant star again. The still-life portrait
entranced me and I was hooked on Hanoi. The rhythmic calmness of their movements was in harmony with
the misty dawn peeking over the Buddhist temple on a tiny island connected to
the shore by a bright-red bridge. Beautiful girls carried fresh produce on a traditional don ganh, the ancient bamboo pole across the shoulders with a basket of rice hung on each end, while men sat around low tables in courtyards and sipped their tiny cups of coffee. Market shops burst with fresh green leafy vegetables, buckets
of live fish flicking their tails, and an array of fruit that bedazzled the palate
- elegant dragon fruit, lumpy jackdaws, branches of lichees, golden mangoes and
infant-size bananas. I
couldn't resist the traditional ao doi, a long sleeve Chinese tunic slit up the
side to the waist with fitted long pants, that looked as delectable in the windows
as they did on women walking by or riding bikes. There I stayed awhile. Elegant buildings with long shutters, balconies and flowers brought back the past when the French were in this country. Along Pho Nha Tho Street, were multi-cultural restaurants, including two good French ones, coffee bars, cafes, and boutiques of finely designed clothes, lacquered dishes, and household items. At the end sat St. Joseph's Cathedral with startling stained-glass
windows and opened doors spilling songs out over the square. Its museum provided abundant information about a leader who
had made such a difference in recent history. No one, I found, wants to talk about
the past war that we saw years ago on television. The present and future was the
focus. It appeared that Vietnamese were born business-people: always
creative, working hard from sunrise to sunset, and selling skillfully. I wished
I had a suitcase to fill with the exquisite products sold at such reasonable prices.
Their cooking was a series of still life gems whose tastes satisfied my every longing. I tried many types of food, from pho, a soul-satisfying noodle soup for breakfast - to regional dishes, such as cao lau, flat noodles stirred together with croutons, bean sprouts, greens and pork. When I desired a taste of home, meals in French and Italian
restaurants transported me. Hurry now to Hanoi. This week Traveling Tales welcomes author and freelance travel writer Sandra Harper who makes her home in Vancouver, on Canada’s West Coast. Photo choices: If you go: |