Mililu Presents Vietnam! - Quê Hương: Hanoi

Arriving in Vietnam and Hanoi

If you couldn't tell from the title or preview, yes, I actually visited Vietnam, my home country, the yellow star, the quê hương for the first time. It also marked the first time travelling overseas in decades. I have to say it was quite an adventure. I'll admit I'm not the best at describing things in detail, but I will do my best to describe each of the cool spots and the neat little things I noticed and did. You will notice that a lot of photos are in a 1:1 resolution. Why is that? Aesthetically, I just wanted to emulate how cramped Vietnam is. I also challenged myself to limit the number of photos I wanted to keep and show, sacrificing a lot of photos that I deemed too unoriginal, even if they were technically good. I would be lying if it didn't hurt every time I did that, but to me, if I show everything there is to see, they would lose their mystique, and it would discourage you from wondering what it's like, the wanderlust. You may even notice recurring motifs and unorthodox photos. This is my way of showing Vietnam from a different perspective, bringing light to the unseen and to see what I see, the geometry, symmetry, patterns, color, and subjects, but enough yapping, you want to see Vietnam, right? Well, I welcome you to Vietnam through the eyes of Mililu!

Hanoi was the first place I visited, the capital of Vietnam. Hanoi is a bustling city, filled with businesses, restaurants, hotels, and apartments all crammed together. It's very interesting; it's like their infrastructure solution was, 'If there's space beside and above, just stick another building to it, done.' Quantity is another thing I've noticed; it's impossible not to find what you want, as everything is readily available. Forgot what country you're in? Just look up, and you'll see at least one flag. Hungry? There's a pho restaurant right over there. Need a foot massage? There's at least one every block. Do you need to cross the road? Well, just be wary of the tide of motorcycles heading your way. Speaking of motorcycles, motorcycles are basically the national vehicle of Vietnam; you will see more motorcycles than cars on the road, about 10-20 on each road. You might be thinking, 'How can one drive safely with that many on the road?' Simple, you don't. Drivers in Vietnam do a concerning amount of borderline traffic violations such as speeding, blind passing, and weaving around each other. In Vietnam, there is no right of way; everyone owns the road, and they drive on it however they want to. They also constantly beep, which is interesting because in Vietnam, when someone beeps, it's almost as if they're saying, 'Hey, watch out, or I'm passing you,' with the cutest honks to come with it, as opposed to, say, NZ, where beeping is loud, blaring and often seen as a sign of aggression and frustration. The traffic in Vietnam always made me wonder what it would take to actually commit a traffic violation. I think the best description of it I've seen was one on a shirt, and it goes something like 'green: I go, yellow: I go, red: I still go.' The last thing about Hanoi is that there is so much to see. I'm going to be honest here for a second. I love NZ, but it can be kind of boring. For me, seeing one extra restaurant or store than I'm used to was enough to wow me. I mean, there are so many places to go and do stuff; I don't even know how one could stay indoors. Hanoi just encourages outdoorsiness, and you can see that. If you walk across the street, you will see people sitting along the sidewalk just chilling, chatting, and eating; people singing, dancing, playing, and exercising. The atmosphere is something I still think about today. The neon lights, cramped and crowded streetscapes, and unadulterated adrenaline-inducing chaos still stick with me today, which is why Hanoi is my favourite place in Vietnam by atmosphere alone.

Hoàn Kiếm Lake

Hoàn Kiếm Lake is a scenic lake located in the heart of Hanoi. I don't really have much to say because it's a lake, but what I will say is that the place exudes serenity. Stepping onto the lake's island instantly silences the chaos. It's so quiet and calm, you almost forget you're even in Hanoi.

Trang An

Outside of Hanoi in the Ninh Binh province, I visited the Trang An River, a massive winding river surrounded by vast mountain ranges. I even got to row through the river on a boat, weaving around the mountains and through narrow caves. It was definitely a new and unique experience for me.

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