Hey ho, Hanoi... the old style!

Laden with serendipitous surprises at almost every turn, a stroll through Hanoi’s Old Quarter is the best way to get acquainted with Vietnam’s capital city, discovers Raul Dias

The famous train tracks of Hanoi

Ladies dressed in Ao Dai

One pillar Pagoda

“What’s the first place you would like to visit outside of India once travel is back on track?” This was a question that was thrown at me with alarming alacrity all through the last two, international travel-bereft years of my life. A phase when the uncertainty of the future of my job reared its ugly head from time to time. More often than not, leaving me, a travel writer who earns a living off travelling in a state of suspended animation and heightened anxiety. Sure, there were — and will always be — plenty of places to visit and write about here in India. And I did that regularly to keep my creative juices flowing and sanity relatively intact.

But somehow, the lure of the world outside, and of my favourite South-East Asia in particular, was doing its number on my itchy feet. Leaving me to jump at the very first opportunity (thanks to ridiculously cheap flights and the promise of affordable hotel accommodation) to make “Hanoi” the magic word to break the travel hiatus spell...

Compact perfection

And so, I found myself on my very first visit to Hanoi. Having travelled to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam’s other major traveller super hub exactly seven years ago, a week-long trip to its capital city — that’s also a great gateway to the bounties of its northern regions — was somewhat of an obvious choice.

Located in the heart of Hanoi, the Hoan Kiem Lake is where I kick-started my tryst with Hanoi as my hotel was also located close by. Popular with the locals, especially ladies who come here to ‘promenade’ and take photos dressed up in the traditional salwar-kameez like ao dai, the lake is the nerve centre of the Old Quarter of the city from where almost everything is accessible on foot.

Hoan Kiem means Lake of the Returned Sword in Vietnamese. It is believed to have gotten its name from the legend in which an emperor used a magical sword to defeat the Ming Dynasty from China. Upon victory, the Golden Turtle God returned the sword to the bottom of the lake. Ever the wanderer, I accidentally found myself in front of the beautiful St Joseph’s Cathedral after making a few turns west of the lake. Modelled after Paris’s Notre Dame, the cathedral is Gothic and alluring to say the very least. And as it was a Sunday, I even managed to attend the mass service that was thankfully in English.

Now, if there is one thing I always do when in a new place is to visit a local market to get the pulse of the city surging through my veins. Dating back to 1889, the four-storey Dong Xuan Market proved to be the perfect orientation spot for the ‘epicurious’ traveller in me. Here, one can find a food market on the ground floor that is bustling with activity selling fruit, vegetables, meat, and fish. Ever heard of soft shell turtle or of the curious-looking citrus fruit called Buddha’s hand? Well, I sure hadn’t. And thanks to a genial stall owner, I even got a taste. Of the fruit that is, let me clarify!

Food for thought

With this visit, I soon realised that one doesn’t need to visit fancy restaurants to sample Hanoi’s delectable food and drink options. Like any self-respecting South East Asian city, it puts on a spectacular display of its culinary prowess slap bang in the middle of its chaotic streets and pavements. And yes, there’s no place like the Old Quarter and in particular, the Hoan Kiem neighbourhood to sit down on those ridiculously tiny plastic stools and chow down on dishes that are known for their subtle flavours enhanced by the liberal use of fresh herbs like mint, dill and coriander.

Given its geographical closeness to Southern China, the food here is largely reflective of regional Chinese cuisines like Cantonese and Hainanese, in particular. Closely resembling a Cantonese cheung fun, the dim sum-like Bánh cuon is an anytime snack made from a thin, wide sheet of fermented rice batter filled with a mixture of cooked seasoned ground pork, minced wood ear mushroom, and topped off with crispy fried shallots.

The erstwhile French colonists too have lent a definite European profile to the food. Take for instance the mildly flavoured pho bo that reigns supreme. This de facto national dish of Vietnam is loosely related to the French pot-au-feau stew. It consists of a simple bone broth, rice noodles called bánh pho, herbs like mint and coriander, and barely blanched slices of fatty beef (bo) that actually cook in the scalding hot broth.

To visit Hanoi and not try the legendary egg coffee called ca phe trung would have been almost criminal. Even for a non-coffee drinker like I. Here, vendors dispensing these delightfully frothy tiramisu-meets-Dalgona coffee-like concoctions made from beaten egg yolk and sugar blended with strong Vietnamese coffee are only too happy to ply you with both the hot and cold iterations of this surprisingly non-eggy tasting coffee for just under 35,000 Dong (Rs 118).

Off-centre

Ever the history nerd, I decided to move a bit off-centre of the Old Quarter and walk towards the hallowed Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to its west. I did this by crossing Hanoi’s famous train tracks that have set the ‘gram on fire thanks to the twice-daily train services (en route to Saigon) that pass unnervingly close to the houses and cafés located on either side of the track.

Opened in 1975, and modelled after Lenin’s mausoleum in Moscow’s Red Square, the rather austere-looking mausoleum made of red and black granite is where the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh himself is on display for all to see free of charge. Though one has to walk in a single file, maintain total silence and take no photographs inside. Something that’s strictly enforced by the solemn sentries standing guard.

Luckily for me, it was a Tuesday as the place is shut on Mondays and Fridays. Also, I had dressed appropriately in jeans and a buttoned-up shirt, as the wearing of shorts and sleeveless tops isn’t permitted for any gender. This is out of respect for the deceased leader whom the Vietnamese affectionately call “Uncle Ho”.

Surrounded by a museum where one can see Uncle Ho’s office and living quarters well preserved like his self, the entire complex and the unique one-pillar pagoda are located in the centre of Ba Dinh Square, where Ho, Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Vietnam from 1951 until his death in 1969, read the Declaration of Independence on 2 September 1945, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The banner beside the mausoleum says “Long live The Socialist Republic of Vietnam”. Indeed. And long live travel too, may I add!