Vietnam was the Southeast Asian country I was most excited to visit. We started our Vietnamese adventure with two weeks in the capital city of Hanoi. I have to admit that we came mainly for the food, but unexpectedly, the city completely enthralled me before I even took my first bite.
This city… how do I begin to paint the picture?
It’s absolutely crazy. Even though I was no longer a Southeast Asia newbie by the time I made it there, the madness of the city still took me by surprise. There seems to be no traffic laws at all. Dozens of scooters plow through intersections at once, whether there’s a light or not. At the same time, tiny ladies with carrying poles laden with fruits & veggies walk calmly right into the mess, somehow coming out on the other side unscathed. Cars and scooters are constantly honking to make aware of their presence. The air is perpetually ringing with the rumble of engines and beeping of horns.
It’s funny, because I could say a lot of things about Hanoi that I’ve used as reasons to not like a place (noise, bad air, way too much cigarette smoke, dirty ground, etc.), but Hanoi just wouldn’t be its crazy, charming self without those characteristics. The city is so alive with a kind of pulsating energy that grabs you and won’t let go.
We stayed in a little boutique hotel in the heart of Hanoi’s Old Quarter, an area jam packed with old buildings, street food, cafes, shops, and markets. Our days quickly settled into a routine: late breakfast, cafe, wandering, rest at hotel, more food, another cafe, and yet more food. Frankly, there’s really not much to see here in terms of touristy activities, but the best part of Hanoi is in its people and simply observing everyday life.
The Old Quarter is small. Everyday, we walked the same streets, past the same vendors and shops. And everyday, I remained captivated by all the activities happening around me. There was nothing more I’d like to do than to take a million pictures. I wanted to somehow capture the aliveness of the city and the amazing people who gave it that life. Day after day, I told myself that today is the day I will ask to take their pictures.
I wanted to capture the doughnut vendors carrying large baskets of the fried goodness on their heads. And the roaming florists whose bikes are so bursting with flowers that you can’t see the rider. And the granny who served up steamy bowls of bun rieu on the sidewalk, nonchalantly waving about a fat wad of cash. I wanted to capture the little ladies shucking chestnuts or roasting corn roadside. The tombstone carvers who so meticulously chiseled out each letter on the slab. And the deeply lined face of the old man who sat in the same spot everyday, smoking and muttering to himself.
But in the end, my shyness won out and after two weeks in town, I left without the portraits I so wanted to take (I always feel really weird asking to take a picture if I’m not going to purchase their product). Even though I didn’t get the captures I wanted, I hope these pictures will give you a sense of the vibrant, crazy, wonderful city of Hanoi.
a typical street scene: a million scooters and vendors
our favorite street side pho restaurant
bike vendors are a common sight. this one is laden with fresh veggies
another common sight: tiny ladies with these heavy carrying poles
the prettiest stray on our street. Dachshund-corgi mix?
the shoe shiner who cleaned D’s shoes
I love the architecture. The buildings are all tall and narrow
streetside snacks: chestnuts and chili fruit slices
no big deal… just sipping on coffee at a cafe and hanging with a chicken
exploring little alleyways
a bike carrying oranges
uh oh… an intersection jam. somehow everyone gets through this without incident or delay
eating on tiny stools on the sidewalk. the vendors carry their entire restaurant on their backs, stools and all
flower vendors are probably the cheeriest sight in town (I was never brave enough to ask for pictures, so all I have are ones taken from the back)
keeping birds seem to be a popular pastime. cages with chirping birds can be seen everywhere
a scruffy dog chained up by the rail tracks
one last shot of a busy street
Have you been to Hanoi? What’s the craziest city you’ve visited? How do you handle taking portraits of locals?
Great pics – they give such an insight into the city, I feel like I am travelling with you :) Love those bright flowers and the teeny stall on the pavement, so cute, the food looks great too (love that you chose the city for the food, that’s always a good reason in my books! I’ve heard such great things about Vietnam and would love to experience it for myself so thanks for showing me some of it through your lens :D And, I know exactly what you mean about taking portraits as I get a bit shy too even though I always want to snap away!
I hope you get to Vietnam someday! I really think it’s my favorite Southeast Asian country so far, for the delicious food and for just how unique it is. Eating on the street on tiny stools is definitely the best way to eat and experience the culture! I can’t wait to share about the food later!
Love this! We’re traveling to Hanoi for the first time this July and this was really helpful. I’m so excited after seeing your great pics. And trust, me I feel the same way about asking strangers if I can snap a photo. If you don’t mind me asking, where did you stay? We’re looking at hotel/hostel/guesthouse options now.
Hi Caroline! I’m so excited for you!!! You’re going to have so much fun there (I hope it won’t be too hot in July!). I updated this post with a link to the airbnb we booked through. We found it on airbnb but it’s actually a hotel and the price is super reasonable at $30/night. The guy we communicated with was soooo helpful. He helped us with an invitation letter for the visa and with planning an overnight trip to Halong Bay. I really recommend this listing. The location in the middle of Old Quarter was so perfect too!
Awesome. Thank you so much for the link and your tips, Anna. Huge help! I hope the weather is okay in July, I live in South Florida now, so I’m hoping I’m pretty acclimated to the heat and humidity. Fingers crossed! :D
Oooh you’re probably much more acclimated to heat/humidity than I am then! I hope you’ll love it as much as I did! When you go, let me know if you need any restaurant rec’s! I have a few really good ones that I loved!
I think you captured Hanoi beautifully…love that city!
Thanks so much Corinne! Me too, I really fell in love with the city. When sorting through my pictures to put together this post, I kept on saying how much I want to go back!!
Your photos are truly beautiful! You just get a sense of vibrancy and busyness from them! x
Thanks Amanda! When I look at the pictures, everything looks all dirty and busy (and I’m totally guilty of only liking to take pictures of the pretty stuff), but the hectic-ness is really what made the city so wonderful!
I often feel super anxious asking someone if I can take a picture — I have told myself to get over that, and to some extent I have succeeded, but now I have a new problem. Whenever I ask, and get a positive nod of the head, I always try to take the picture as soon as possible, without being intrusive. More often than not it comes out crappy — too much noise, feet cropped out, blurry. It’s like I am afraid that if I take an additional minute to set up the settings and get a good composition my subject will get really annoyed and angry at me. I just can’t help myself.
Omg ME TOO! When D got his shoes cleaned, I asked the guy if I can take his picture (since we were buying something from him), and I just snapped it so fast without tinkering with the settings. The picture was so horrible and even after a lot of color editing, I think it’s still pretty bad. I feel like they’ll get annoyed too if I take too long. I really want to improve on my portrait photography skills but I don’t know how to get practice!
What a great collection of photos! I have heard some stories about those scooters. I love how you captured the street life and all these vendors. I haven’t been to Hanoi yet but this was such a great virtual trip. I’m drooling over those chili fruit slices.
Oh yes, the sheer number of scooters is astonishing (Saigon has more, but I found Saigon to be a bit more orderly). We were so scared to cross the street at first that a local has to help and escort us across once! The food in Hanoi was so good too! I hope you make it there someday. You’ll be drooling over everything!
I felt the same way about Hanoi in that the traffic, noise, crowds (which I would have expected to put me off the place like it has done in many others) in fact was all part of its character and I loved it as a city. The food was just fantastic and I too so badly wanted to capture more snaps of the faces that make the city what it is but was also far too shy to ask. In fact, it’s because I have so few decent pics from Hanoi that I haven’t yet attempted writing a post about it!
I usually like my pictures to be people-free, and I’ll even wait for a long time for people to get out of my shot, but in Hanoi, all I wanted to do was to capture photos of the people! The people gave the city so much life. If you get around to writing about Hanoi, I would love to read it and experience it again from your eyes!!
Looks so full of energy and life! And wowwww, those tiny little stools and you are eating with a bucket as a table! “Different strokes”, right?
It’s such a kick to see grown-ups eating on those tiny stools (those are the smallest ones I saw). Being super short came in handy because they were too low for D to sit on comfortably!
You’ve captured it so beautifully! I could envision myself right there with you while reading your descriptions. And, as always, I got really hungry ;) That roadside pho restaurant looks like a real gem! So much more authentic than the places I visit regularly back home… haha
If you liked the look of that restaurant, you’d love Hanoi! There are those sidewalk restaurants every few feet. We just eat at wherever is crowded and we’ve rarely been disappointed!
I loved Hanoi too, and still I hate asking for a portrait. Like you I usually only ask after I have purchased something. I have also been asked for money when I ask for a photo and I don’t mind that as it has only been a very small amount and I figure it is probably the only way that person had of getting cash. Such an awkward thing. :/
I agree.. so awkward! I get anxious too that they’ll ask for some money if I want to take a picture without buying anything. And I also don’t really look like a tourist (in fact, most people there thought I was Vietnamese) so I feel even more weird!
We met a French Guy in Vietnam who was actually born in Vietnam of Vietnamese parents, but had lived all of his life in France. He said it was extremely weird as everyone thought he was Vietnamese and wondered at his lack of language skills. He found French tourists were always chatting to him. Even when we were in a separate boat they seemed to know he was French just by looking at him and would call out and converse with him.
That is so weird! Maybe from the way he dresses? Everyone in Vietnam spoke to me in Vietnamese and were confused too when I didn’t understand. A lot of people in Thailand thought I was Thai too. But then again, Chinese people seem to know I’m Chinese and would just speak to me in Mandarin!
Lovely photos! I think you definitely captured the spirit of the city well. I know what you mean about asking people to take their picture – I hate doing it, so invariably end up with loads of shots of crowds, children or animals. Not much diversity – good thing I’m a writer and not a photographer :-)
Thanks Andrea! I’m even afraid to take pictures of the cute kids, because I’m scared the parents will get mad, haha (because in America, that would definitely be considered creepy). I usually don’t take people pictures, but I’ve never wanted to take portraits more than I did in Hanoi!
Wow, I kind of never expected Hanoi to look so cool (don’t ask me why), thanks for sharing your story!
Thanks for coming by, Esther! I didn’t expect Hanoi to be so busy (I had it in my mind that it was going to be a quiet little city for some reason), but I loved the craziness of it!
Look at those bike vendors!
They are awesome! And I love that you can just buy things from off the back of a bike instead of going to the market!
I LOVE this post because it took me right back to Hanoi, a city I adore! Even though you did not get the portraits you wanted, you have some amazing photographs that totally capture the vibe of Hanoi. :)
Thanks Natasha! Looking through my pictures, I realize how much I fell in love with it too and how much I miss it! I wish to be transported back!
I love this! My guy + I visited Hanoi two years ago only so we could go to Halong Bay. In the end, we didn’t even want to leave the city. We ate and walked and ate and walked and had the best time!
I was so sad to leave too! I don’t imagine I could ever get bored there. And the food was some of the best I’ve ever had!
What wonderful photos. Your post has brought back such vivid memories for me. I was in Vietnam about 15 years ago – and I still remember the country and Hanoi with great fondness. You describe it all so well! Popping over from #SundayTraveler
I think Vietnam is a very hard country to forget! The culture is just so unique. There’s nowhere quite like it! Thanks so much for stopping by. :)
That Dachshund-corgi mix is too adorable for words! Also, chili and fruit? Is that any good?
I’m ashamed to say that I have no idea. :( I never tried it because D is super paranoid about getting fruit off the side of the street! But it’s pretty popular in several cultures. I know Mexican chili mangos are good!