Vietnam, literally translates to from the south, in Chinese language and they probably hinted at the land that lay beyond China. Steeped in the principles of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism each represented by the lotus, the peony and the chrysanthemum the Vietnamese people embody the best principles from these three religions to form a confluence of their own. Ho Chi Minh, their resistance leader and the first President had quoted, that to reap a reward in ten years, plant trees, to reap a reward in one hundred years, cultivate people. It’s not yet been a hundred years since he proclaimed thus, we stand at fifty years so far, but seven days in Vietnam and we know that they are on this path of reward. Not that trees are any less in this leafy country that is so gorgeously green even if it’s that money plant on the window sill, the basil in the balcony or the leafy trees that line the streets. The best thing about Vietnam is its people, and then of course everything else stems from that. With an oppressive weather, a crippled economy and communism breathing them down or holding them up (it really depends on which side of the capitalist fence you’re on the perspective changes dramatically) if they can still be nice, I wonder why can’t the rest of the world! The French people colonised the country in the late 1800s before which the area was ruled by kings and had a boastful collection of ceramics, art and architecture that spoke of the love for Confucianism by the kings, as the religion mandated dutiful citizens and a general social code. The french imprinted their own love for coffee, that is vastly observed even today with a multitude of coffee shops dotting the major cities in the country. A lack of fresh Dairy even had Chef Giang invent the egg coffee where the yellows of the eggs are beaten together to form a froth implying of the famous frothy top of a perfect brew. The French Quarter in Hanoi and several buildings stand as beacons of the french rule in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, then called Saigon. Later when the resistance movement began, asking to not be under the French rule, the cities saw a unique way of fighting and finally when the French left the country they divided into the North and South with what looks like the use of a ruler, the line is so ridiculously straight! The divide continued to have a completely different influence on the two zones, while the North turned to communism, the idea of the government with all the power and the south with the brew of capitalism. As the years went by the north began to dream of a unified country and tried very hard to take over the south. At this point, defending capitalism more than South Vietnam, the United states dove right into the country offering aid and literally fighting the war for them. This was the United States lost for South Vietnam, as the guerrilla forces employed by the North Vietnamese were of no match. The Hanoi vs Saigon is still around today as some look nostalgically to the past and one up each other!
On a trail from the South to the North we enjoyed the lucidity of Ho Chi Minh and the haze of Hanoi all while our bodies fought to remain temperature controlled! The heat in July can be nothing short of oppressive in Vietnam. Yet as we strolled the streets ala the French, we were beckoned by the cycle rickshaw guys who give the best views (and commentaries) of the streets and walked through the lush green alleyways. Ho Chi Minh is renowned for its vegan restaurants and options of food that we truly relished through a vegan tour. The tour had us eating over 10 items curated by Spring, a former chef who understands good taste keenly. Famous for Bahn mis and phos vietnamese cuisine can be bland or fiery, as you like it! The tour took us to Tue Tin resturant for Xoi Man, a savory sticky rice served with a variety of toppings like mushrooms, pickled vegetables and soy protein, Bun Ca Ri, a vermicelli with a rich curry sauce made from shitake mushrooms, bell peppers and coconut milk, Cha gio, a vegetable spring rolls, Linh Cafe where we had Da me, a tamarind drink with peanut, Ca phe Muoi, a salted coffee, then to 270 Vo Van Tan in District 3 where we had Bun Thit nuong, a vegan barbeque noodle, Goi Cuon, a summer rolls, then proceeded to Chuoi Nep Nuong Vo Van Tan for Chuoi Nep Nuong Vo Van Tan, a grilled banana cake with sticky rice and coconut milk, then to Ban Co Street for Bot Vhien, a carrot cake with no carrot then finally to Che Hien Khanh for cold sweet soup with longan, lotus seed, jelly, lychee and water coconut. Each of the items on the menu were delicious and at the end of the tour we were stuffed beyond measure. Upon the suggestion of Spring, our guide we ventured to Kido for some hip clothes shopping and discovered Secodee right next door. Ho Chi Minh Fine Art Museum exhibits treasures from the Champa region that borders greatly on Hindusim, Buddhism during the age of the Buddha, oil on canvas from the French times and finally roughly sketched quick drawings during the resistance war scrawled in pencil. The Reunification Palace that functions even today for state functions is a stellar example of modernist architecture. The fenestrations and window system of the palace were absolutely impressive. The Palace was once the Nordom Palace built by the french to be used as a state palace, yet during the wars it was bombed and suffered great damage because of which the original palace was razed to the ground to build this masterpiece. After keenly observing this palace, one begins to identify various such buildings around the city. The palace also features a bunker where the president and his family would take refuge. This was also where the US army commanded their forces in the South of Vietnam. The palace and its exhibitions are executed extremely well and I loved specifically the interior design of the rooms in this palace, the gold room, the green room were my absolute favourites. After soaking in this modernistic marvel and loving every bit of it we went off to Chin Chin Noodle which could easily have been my most favourite place to eat in the whole of Vietnam and the Lia Coffee shop right across. Madame Xo dimsums are as they say to die for but the place itself is so cute and thoughtful that it wasnt surprising to see two girls in satin short dresses taking what could be easily numbered umpteen instagram worthy pictures. A water taxi ride back to the city centre and the upmarket area of the city hall is where one can witness the city totally bustling with people, balloons and a fun vibe. The coffee shops around the hotel Caravelle are lovely. Saigon as it was called is a beautiful city with a lovely vibe that is hip and youthful. The best city in Vietnam for sure. Our airbnb was in a bookstore and it is amazing how much the country reads, the book street in Ho Chin Minh next to the post office is quaint and so fun but almost all the books available are in Vietnamese. Just like in France, we can spot a lot of readers across the city and across the day, like in the metro, in a park or practically anywhere!
Making our journey upwards to the north is literally like entering another world, Hanoi is historic to say the least and the first place we ended up in the Hanoi old quarter was a temple. The Buddhist temples with the Lady Buddha deity and all the offerings are completed with plants like the holy basil and the lime plant next to the main pagoda housing the altar. The Hoam Kiem lake is a beautiful lake in the old quarter that is fringed by stately buildings housing some major fashion brands, important government buildings, fancy hotels and entertainment centres. Off these main roads leading to the Hanoi Opera house is the Rue Paul Bert now rechristened back to Dam Dai Vang Son a vibrantly happy street that exhibits the development of the street over time through maps, funky art and some black and white ancient photographs. In this area we witnessed the Lotus Water Puppet show where stories from the yore are told with fireworks, music, singing and all the drama for entertainment. The diverse stories in the puppet show document the peoples love for water, for the stories of their kings and the lucky tortoise, dancing, gay singing and funny happenings in the world. In Hanoi the train street where a functioning railway track is transformed into a cafe and restaurant scene is spellbinding. And the train that passes is a full throttle train which is both exciting and interesting to watch and may I add a tad bit hazardous too. One may be blown to a tizzy having been so close to a moving train, I completely held my breath all through the experience or should I say multitude of experiences as the train passes through very many times during the day and even more times during the weekend. The train street is lined with shops along the tracks that sell local merchandise like the embroidery Vietnam is very popular for, food that again Vietnam is very popular for and other shops selling merchandise of the place.
The next day amid clear blue skies we ventured out to the UNESCO recognised and hugely lauded Halong Bay. An expanse in the ocean that has many limestone formations topped by rainforests, the emerald green waters are the route of immense cruise ships foraying into the area looking into these formations where in kayaking into the caves is the thing to do. For our part we ventured into the beautiful Halong Bay by flight. The Hai Au aviation gets one into the throngs of the bay through a very scenic birds eye view. The view from the top is exceedingly beautiful as usual. Flitting with the expanse below the beauty of the world is brought to one’s notice right to the front. Getting on a seaplane was the first for me and as the amphibian glides across the ocean and then takes flight makes it truly scenic. The pilot kept his door open as long as we were on the water and the fluttering of the wind is tremendous. The Ha Long city is one for the tourists with tree lined avenues reminding one of Miami with long lines of date palms. In the sweltering heat Mixue forms for an amazing stop. This Chinese owned chain has over 26000 stores and is studied in Business schools for how rapidly and consistently they have grown. Back to the city and to the grind of the Old Quarter, we went back to Cafe Giang and slurping on the cold chocolate checked out several blogs that were filled with places to eat for vegetarians in Hanoi. Chay food was a great stop and alongside the next day we checked out Quan Pho Chay anh Hai. Now though the former was splendid, the latter deserves a whole lot of mention. This pho place is possibly the best pho place in all of Hanoi, but the thing is it is open only for breakfast and only till 11 am! And to beat that he has only one dish on the menu every single day, and that dish is very delightfully delicious. So people come there sometimes every single day of their stay to have the dish on menu. We also checked out ivegan a super food store in Hanoi, which was great but not only Vietnamese, it is mostly continental. Sitting down to finally sketch in Vietnam, I found myself discovering new details as I sketched. Finally making a trip to the shopping streets in Hanoi, the wares in the marketplace are of all kinds, with each street hawking one particular type of goods. Gingko concept stores had great soft organic cotton. The width of each building in the old streets of Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi are very narrow. A building of 4 floors easily standing on a width of a little over 6 or 7 feet. The Hanoi Museum of fine art has an extravagant collection of lacquered paintings while the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is an ode to the country’s most popular man. His words, quotes and settings of his life are recreated in the museum of the Mausoleum while the mausoleum itself stands against the backdrop of the areas lined with trees and dotted with french buildings. The one pillar pagoda in the compound rising out of the lotus pond teeming with lotuses is quite the sight. As usual, each of the pagoda has lime shrubs and basil plants, but this one was surrounded by bonsai trees in heavy stone pots. The Temple of Literature is a temple for Confucius and showcases the steeles that were erected to show off the knowledge and pay respect to the gurus of the people. The main exhibition had artists of the day exhibiting their works for sale, one of the paintings that really struck me was a silk on silk, wherein an opaque silk art is framed 2 inches away from the front silk that is more of a gauze like bringing out a beautiful three-dimensional effect.
A country that is in the building, but also a country that stuns with its emerald greens whether its the water or the lush greens of the land!
Vedasri Siddamsetty 