I promised myself that I wouldn’t start listing things in this blog, as I am trying to get rid of that way of approaching any issue or situation as I used to do with a work task. But actually I found all those lists on the internet about Vietnam and South East Asia so funny and educational, that I will make an exception. Plus I desperately need to focus on positive things today, as I am sweltering more than ever, feeling homesick, lonely and fed up with so many things. They say writing is therapeutic…
So, starting from the little things, let’s be enthusiastic for a while: here is a short list of what I enjoy the most in my Hanoian life – and a lot of time will pass before listing the worst, I swear!
Flower street vendors
Generally speaking, the urban landscape is not a pleasant sight in Hanoi. But sometimes it is brighten up by women wearing iconic conical hats and carrying around their rusty bikes overloaded with colorful fruits and flowers. Cargoes are arranged like little pieces of art, tidy and piled up in a variety of bright color shades. Lotus flowers, daises, peach and apricot blossoms, roses, pomelo flowers, sunflowers: the city is all adorned by this moving flower vases. And every time that I bump into one of them, is like a refreshing breeze, and I feel so blessed for the experience that I am living. I didn’t expect a fast-developing city with 8 million residents and construction sites everywhere, to preserve this unchanged and authentic charm. I thought that those hats were just an icon from the past, or from the rural regions. And that those street vendors were just a typical photogenic attraction for tourists, in the old city center. But this beauty is real, and it’s all around you.
Sunset over Tay Ho
Since sun started to show up again after 3 long months of white sky, almost every day a glorious sunset happens over West Lake. Every day on my way back from work, I pass by the best spot to enjoy the view, perfectly on time. Along the lake, many old people slowly exercise in small groups, the water is so oily and calm that you can forget for a while the hustle and bustle around. Oh it’s so peaceful, that just 3 minutes of that view can make your day. Even the worst day.
Banh my, street food for dreams
Have you ever tried this Vietnamese mini baguette?
With 0.80 euro, here you buy this crispy baguette filled with pork, beef or chicken and vegetables. The baguette comes from the French colonization of course, while the filling is very local, and all the ingredients are marinated with a special combination of spices and seasonings. I am still not able to identify them all and I think that each banh my stall owns its special recipe. But every time it’s a burst of flavor. Big cities are crawling with small banh my moving stalls or fixed booths, as the equipment needed to assemble the ingredients and warm up the baguette is very basic. I find it simply delicious, and it’s the only thing that made me think of setting up a business in my life! Basically my plan is to start cooking classes 6 months before leaving, fine-tune my recipe and find a place in a kind of hipster district in Rome. Then I will soon turn the business in a franchising of course. Every time I have a banh my, my imagination runs on the project, I find myself brainstorming on the name of the place and the menu, figuring the furniture and the decorations of the shop, developing the brand identity and assessing the financials. And dreaming of making loads of money of it.
Caphe sua da
I thought I would miss the Italian espresso a lot in Vietnam, but actually here there is a an excellent and very popular alternative, even more desirable with the heat. The coffee blend is robust and strong, and the condensed milk gives a creamy and sweet touch: the perfect caffeine drink!
Following, some tips for ordering from a very skilled client:
Once you learn the local name, you will probably try to order proudly saying “cafe sua da”: they won’t get it. Maybe there is something wrong with the pronounciation…after many times, I just gave up on this.
Then you would probably say: “Iced coffe with condensed milk, please”: but a question mark will appear on their face.
Third attempt: “Vietnamese White coffe, please”, they will ask: “I?”. They mean “ice” and there is no chance they will ever say the full word. Say “yes”, and then finger crossed, you never know which coffee will be served.
Winning strategy: if you are ordering at the cashier, look for a menu and just put a finger on it. Then they will ask you: “can I repeat the order?”. A big question mark will probably appear on your face, but you will soon get that they are trained to ask this question to any non-Vietnamese, for any order.
Enjoy!
Riding a motorbike
I have been riding a motorbike for 15 years, but in my last years in Italy I was forced to switch to a boring car, given the route to my office was too long and rough for a scooter.
I was missing that sense of freedom, of being nimble weaving through traffic jams and alleys in the open air, and finally, I am hitting the road on 2 wheels again! The day I rented the bike here, took me back in time to when I was 14. Today like yesterday, that motorbike means independence: you just sit on a saddle, give a little gas… and a bright future lies ahead. Renting a bike here is totally hassle-free, super-cheap, nobody asks for any document or guarantee, and nobody will check you, thanks to your white face (and it’s the only privilege for having this paleface here, I can tell you). And it’s more than one hour of fun every day: this city is so lively and energetic that just looking at what is happening around while riding, makes you feel incredibly alive. And that, is the only moment when I feel integrated in this huge open air living room where we are spending the day all together. The only moment when I am not outnumbered but just like them, wearing the same pollution mask and the same sun coat not to get burnt, going together with the flow, no matter where we are from. Sometimes you just need the illusion of being part of something to overcome that sense of isolation, when you are half the world away from who you were.
Vietnam overload 