I arrived in Hanoi late on the 29th, about 1:00 am (so technically the 30th). I discovered upon arriving that it is the 1000 year annversary of the city. This is the equivalent of unknowingly arriving in New York City on New Years Eve, which means I was both a little embarrassed by my oversight but pleasantly surprised about the outcome. It is absolutely electric here. From what I have read, Hanoi is never short on excitement, but the Holiday of course means the volume has been turned up a few notches.
I am sitting right on the pulse of the action, luckily snagging the last room in a backpackers hostel in the historic Old Town District, which is where most of the festivities are centered. There's a dizzying amount of people here, on par with walking through the heart of Times Square, only subtract the taxis and replace them with thousands of speeding, zig-zagging motorcylcles ripping through the streets (and sometimes on the sidewalks!). The city is teeming with sleazy characters and con-men, actually con-women, and con-children for that matter. That's not to speak poorly about the Vietnamese, they are very friendly. There are people everywhere on the streets, everyone is smiling and in a festive mood. I walked around Hoam Kiem Lake yesterday, where most of the action was happening and was approached by several curious locals looking to chat. I had a couple come up and had me hold their baby for a photo, exchanged email addresses and phone numbers with a bunch of skateboarders doing jumps in front of the huge bronze statue in Lenin park, chatted with old couples and college students. I walked over to the Ho Chi Minh Memorial Park where I luckily got to see "the changing of the guard" which was filled with pomp and meanwhile there was a dressed rehearsal on the grounds for people that will be walking in today's parade. It's a little odd when you are watching something impressive like the guard change in front of a sacred shrine and locals are photographing YOU! Awfully friendly considering the millions of tons of ordinance we dropped all over the country over the course of a quarter century!
The celebration lasts 10 days, culminating on October 10th, the day after I depart for Beijing. I'll have plenty of time to soak it all in though and have a lot planned for this week. Yesterday I got a date with a Vietnamese girl working at a perfume counter in a department store while I was shopping for a guidebook. This was within five hours of waking up on my first day in the city (special shout out here to MM: "Running Game on Hired Guns"). She is going to show me around the city a bit more tomorrow and she indicated through hand gestures and the sound "bah bah" that there might either be a fireworks show in the city or someone will be shooting sheep out of canons. Her English isn't very good so it's hard to tell, but hopefully it will be the latter. Today, I am going to watch the parade and I'm hoping to have a look at a museum or two before the city goes ballistic again tonight. Trips to Sa Pa and Ha Long Bay are being booked and I'll meet up with my friend Pascaline early next week, she is living in Haiphong for a few months working for an NGO and has a few days off which coincide perfectly with the days I've left free.
Now time for lunch, I'll try to hunt down a nice pho restaurant and plan the rest of my day. I'm a little meloncholy thinking that my holiday is ending in about week but it's been amazing so far and I know this week will be a perfect end. It's also consoling to know that I will return back to both Vietnam and Laos to see the southern portion of both countries along with Cambodia and some various parts of Thailand (Steven take note if you're reading this). This holiday hasn't ended and I'm already planning the next one!
~man zou~
Christopher
