I arrived in Hanoi this morning to enjoy a sort of long weekend in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. So far, I have already been surprised several times. A few things I have learned about Vietnam:
- They use a roman alphabet here (though heavily laden with diacritics), which makes navigating much easier (even if not pronunciation).
- The old city of Hanoi is known for its _very_ narrow shops and houses - some only 2 meters wide (not so shocking for those of you who saw my bedroom in Baltimore), both due to past high taxes on streetfront, and generations of subdivision of property through inheritance.
- Confuscionism still lives on in Hanoi, though Buddhism predominates.
- Hanoians are _very_ trendy. I have seen numerous patent leather stiletto boots, many many mini mini skirts, super coiffed hair, and even a four year old in rubber pants.
- Though it is easy to eat veg at a Vietnamese restaurant in the US, it is decidedly not east here. Eating meat is extremely entrenched in Vietnamese culture and cuisine.
- The money is at about 17,000 dong to the USD. This does not make for easy math. I'm constantly recoiling with a thought that something is overpriced, and then realizing that it is quite cheap. People often don't fuss about paying the last 1,000 or so, if it makes the price even.
- For a capital, Hanoi is quite small, and, other than its crazy traffic (basically, there are no rules), has a rather laid back feeling. Quite a pleasant city to wander around and enjoy.
Though it shares many similarities with its almost-Indochine neighbor Thailand, it still has a very distinct flavor. I'm glad I've had the opportunity to come, even if for a brief visit (this time).
Buddhism certainly does predominate. The flags were everywhere.
ReplyDeleteThe use of the Roman alphabet, quốc ngữ, wasn't popular until the 20th century, when the French made it official. Before then, the Vietnamese used chữ nôm, a Chinese script. Even now, you can still see place names in Chinese.