Good-bye, Vietnam

Trip Start Nov 08, 2008

Trip End Jan 17, 2009

Loading Map

Map your own trip!

Map Options

Show trip route

Hide lines

Flag of Vietnam Hanoi, Vietnam
Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Vietnam has two capitals, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Only one -- Hanoi -- is the political capital. HCMC is the capital of commerce, an economically booming city focused on money. Hanoi is more laid back, friendly and ageless. Traces of French colonial architecture are everywhere in Hanoi, especially in the Old Quarter, where I stayed two nights. Narrow streets lined with ancient trees seem to slow the pace of life.

Given a choice between the two capitals, I'd take Hanoi.

Christmas decorations and music are everywhere. Even more than HCMC, Hanoi seems to savor the holiday. You can even outfit yourself or your child in a red felt Santa Claus suit.

For lunch, I stopped into a little hole-in-the-wall place on a narrow back street that had only local customers (always the sign of a good place), some sitting on tiny plastic stools at the low table where the food was being prepared and some sitting at a couple of tables inside

01. Hoan Kiem lake, central Hanoi

. The bowl of noodles was excellent. As I finished my lunch and looked around the inside of the shop, I noticed that I was sitting beside the family's bed and across from their clothes closet.

For dinner, I had a bowl of rice vermicelli noodles (bun) in a restaurant. I looked on as a just-turned one-year-old girl standing on her grandmother's lap giggled and cooed and babbled over photos on a computer monitor of her recent birthday party. Meanwhile, seasonal songs of peace and joy played continuously on the restaurant sound system.

I could have stayed much longer in Hanoi, but I had my flights to Bangkok and Chiang Mai early the next morning. I also had word from the Thailand embassy in Hanoi that by flying into Bangkok, I would get a 30-day visa on arrival, with a 15-day extension, no questions asked. Had I entered Thailand by land, I would have been given only a 15-day visa.

Good-bye, Vietnam. I hope we meet again.