When I stepped out of the hotel the first morning in Hanoi I found myself immediately immersed in the Vietnamese culture. The hustle and bustle of the streets was an overwhelming but exhilarating sight. I had to take a moment to step back and take it all in. This first moment in Vietnam has made me think about the differences in city life between Hanoi and Boston.
As I walked into the center of Hanoi, I found myself surrounded by lots of people, traffic and commotion; the sounds and smells were all so new to me. Here I was really able to get a taste of what Hanoi was like. You can learn so much about a city by just standing on the streets and observing what is going on around you. The streets in Hanoi are chaotic, there are hundreds of people speeding by on motorbikes. I quickly noticed that motorbikes were definitely the most popular mode of transportation. People of all different ages were driving them. Both men and women and even young kids were riding on the back with their parents. I also noticed that many of the women that drove motorbikes were even wearing heals!! This is something that really took me by surprise.
In Boston, motorbikes are popular but not nearly to the extent that they are here. People drive cars but mostly people use the subway and other modes of public transportation. This is definitely a big difference between the two cities. In Hanoi there does not seem to be a lot of options for public transportation. You see many people walking, biking and using motorbikes but I have not seen any trains, subways or busses to travel around the city.
The shops in Hanoi line the streets! But many of these shops are more geared toward the tourists than the local people who live in the city. As you walk down the side streets you pass many stores that are selling rice hats, Buddha statues and t-shirts that say Vietnam on them. These stores are directly depending on the tourists in order for them to make a profit. I was able to see how dependent the city is on tourism to help their economy. Tourism is a great source of income for this city and you can quickly see this just by walking through the streets. Hanoi is a vibrant city that is filled with so much history. I have loved being able to experience the different culture by walking on the streets, eating the food and talking to the locals.
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