Looking down on cotton ball skies, whispy and white, my plane entered smog-ridden Hanoi space. Its streets resemble slow bike races, riders masked to protect their lungs. Jet-lagged, I walked dreamily around the city’s central Lake Hoan Kiem, itself dirty and dusty from air streams of people-stamping erosion, and ate delectable noodle soups and multitudes of green veggies for several days. Mainly, I took up people watching, amazed at sizes (ultra-petite) and shapes (pretty straight) of both men and women who hauled cartloads along the streets, or peddled their wares or people. Staying in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, one passes through streets with each block specializing in the same commodity, making competition inevitable, but shopping more convenient. If you want shoes, you just go to the shoe block! My ears registered the songs of cycles, horns, and other odd motors as I carefully dodged the two-wheelers bustling along the narrow streets.
After visits to the Ho Chi Ming Mauseleum with a real life presentation (he was cremated in 1969) and the Ethnography Museum portrayal of the many ethnic groups of northern Vietnam, I was left humbled by the intent and purpose of Ho Chi Ming himself, a committed socialist who had his people’s needs always in mind. Exiled for 30 years while the French ‘ran’ his country, his leadership starting in 1945 met with constant incursions while foreign forces tried to inhibit his ‘communist’ north from moving southwards. We know the history of the Vietnam war……..
Seeing how the White Thai and the H’mong peoples of north Vietnam live, tirelessly tending to (and bending in) their rice paddies, was also a humbling experience. How women can bend down for so long, weeding and caring for plants, is beyond me, while the menfolk made furniture. Everyone had a job to do. Our homestay, though very touristy, in Poom Cong village, sleeping on thin mattresses on the floor, but eating fantastic assortments of healthy foods, was a highlight! And watching the women weave intricate patterns. Then there were the dogs, seen during a two-hour trek through the Mai Chau paddy fields. At least 8 dogs per household! And the children – who looked like dolls – playing with nothing, one playing ‘dolls’ with her live (pet??) frog. Memorable sights!
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