Hanoi, Vietnam: People and Transportation

Ben and I recently celebrated our ninth anniversary and, since Vietnam is the place to celebrate your ninth, we got away for three packed and amazing days.  We even left little Mara with some wonderful and generous friends.  She couldn't have been in better hands, but we still missed her like crazy and probably a lot more than she missed us.  We LOVED Vietnam and three days was not enough time to see it all.  We would love to get back at some point and see more of this beautiful country.

It was truly incredible what they could fit on a moped and bike.  You could fill a book with all the interesting things they transported.  I am positive they fit more on a moped or even bike than I could in my car.  That's saying a lot for a forner ski bum who semi lived out of her car for a couple seasons.   I didn't get to capture a fraction of what we saw.  So many of the interesting things we saw were from the window or as we were crossing a super busy street (just hoping to make it across!).  Many of the women and girls had long beautiful hair like this.  Outside the city, we saw groups of girls all with their long pony tails in school uniforms riding on their bikes.  It was adorable!  Later that day, Ben asked a lady whether the long hair was for school.  She replied, "No, it's just Vietnam."

They still carry goods in these double baskets.  Anyone know what the correct name is for them? 

 Vietnam reminded us of Russia in many ways--the monuments, parks, signs, and the stuck-in-time feel.  Vietnam is a communist state, based after the Soviet Russian system, and Russia played a big role in post WWII construction and infrastructure.  In fact, the Vietnamese communist propaganda posters were strikingly similar to old soviet posters.  Our tour guide referred to Russia as "our Big Brother."  

All the kids were so friendly and sweet!

I have never seen more mopeds in my life.  It was amazing.  Apparently, the only city where there are more per capita is Ho Chi Minh City.  They wear masks to help with the pollution.  These masks and cool helmets were everywhere.  Glad these two little girls are protected from the pollution but what about their noggins?

We loved the Vietnam flag--very soviet.

This is Hoa Lu, Vietnam's ancient capital 11 centuries ago.  It is the native land of three royal dynasties.  We lucked out and there was an annual festival celebrating these kings and their families.  There are two temples here--one dedicated to King Dinh, who founded the first feudal dynasty in Vietnam, and the other to King Le, the defender and liberator of Vietnam from Chinese rule.  There was once an outer and inner citadel to this complex, but the two temples are now all that remain.  

We went on a boat tour and most of the rowers were women, as were most the workers in the rice paddies (neither of which is easy work).  Our guide told us that Vietnam used to be a matriarchal society.  We saw this woman (above) stop to look at something and stand up straight.  We wondered whether walking hunched over might be just as comfortable to walking upright for her, given the possible countless hours spent in the rice paddies.

This little beauty took my breath away.

I was enchanted by the older generation.  They have the most delightful smiles and the wrinkles on their faces say so much about the hard working lives they've led.  Seventy percent of the population is now under 30, so it is a very young country.   As a people, they have endured a tremendous amount of foreign occupation over the last couple centuries, which has naturally lead to a great deal of war.  However, they don't hold grudges or hate the French, Chinese, or Americans (despite their atrocities).   From what I've been told, they live very much in the present and don't think much about the past.  If anyone has read any good factual books about the war or Vietnam's history, please pass along the recommendation.  

These three were all holding hands...not sure what the situation is.

A lovely backdrop for a cycle

Playing a game of human Chinese Checkers

Last, but not least, don't get caught buying illegal DVDs.  Ben barely got away.