It’s Friday night in Hanoi. We’ve just finished a foodie tour, where we made our way from one stop to another in Hanoi’s bustling Old Quarter. A leisurely walk back to the hotel will take us by Hoàn Kiếm Lake. It’s time to walk off some bún chả!
We can see the lake from the Old Quarter. It looks so serene and peaceful. But the evening’s excitement isn’t quite over yet. To get to there, we have to cross a street with three or four lanes of traffic.
“Lanes” isn’t the right word. Lanes are something we have back home. Over here, as far as I can tell, everyone makes their own lane. It’d be better to say we have to cross a flowing mass of cars and motorbikes that’s four or five – or six or seven – rows deep.
Organized Chaos
Traffic in Vietnam, at least when it’s moving, is a thing to behold. It’s like a river of motorbikes. It’s each rider for themself, paying attention to, and respecting the other riders around them. Aggregate movement happens with maximum efficiency.
That’s one way to look at it. Another way is to see a frenetic, pulsating river of noisy, stinky machines that might swallow you up if you were foolish enough to wade out into it. OK then. It’s time to cross the river.
Most of us in our group of six have some experience doing this, but it’s been a while. You can find a detailed description of the technique here. For now, let’s just say one should proceed calmly and purposefully, making eye-contact with the nearest rider. And above all, don’t stop.
As you might infer, since I’m not writing this from a bed at Bach Mai hospital, we made it across without any casualties.
Like Washington crossing the Delaware, sort of, we successfully crossed busy Dinh Tien Hoang avenue to leave the Old Quarter and stand lakeside at Hoàn Kiếm Lake. We went from chaos to serenity, just like that.
Hoàn Kiếm Lake
The tree-lined lake is nestled among buildings in central Hanoi. It’s like an oasis in the heart of the otherwise frenetic city. We joined a smattering of people strolling along the path that winds it’s way around the lake.
We passed a small group having a lakeside tai chi session, couples with little ones in strollers, and others who appeared to be on date night. A vendor was selling fresh-squeezed fruit drinks from a cart.
There’s a picturesque red bridge here called the Bridge of the Morning Sunlight. It has appeared on many a calendar. It stretches out to an island and terminates at the entrance to a temple built to honor heroes in Vietnam’s 1000-year history.
The temple is home to a collection of antiques and artifacts including an ancient turtle. If you’ve been following along, you may recall how the lake got its name, and why an ancient turtle is on display.
And speaking of turtles, on an island in the middle of the lake, there’s a monument called the Turtle Tower. It’s lit up at night, making it look a bit magical.
After walking another block or two, we arrived at our hotel. In the morning, we’ll hop on a big tour bus that’ll take us to Ha Long Bay. We’ll spend tomorrow night on a boat out in the bay. That will be nice, but I wish we didn’t have to leave Hanoi so soon.
To be continued…
Nice photo at the top of this post: Bridge of the Morning Sunlight. Credit: istockphoto/Fernando Genzor
