City of motorbikes

Coming to vietnam was my first time traveling out of the country so I had very few expectations for the culture shock of traveling to a foreign country. From the very first time we stepped out of the hotel onto the busy Hanoi street I felt immersed in the Vietnamese culture. The fast paced and loud environment of the country’s capital was very new to me and was at first very overwhelming. The streets in Hanoi were the first thing that took me by surprise. The racing motorbikes and cars made crossing the street a near death experience each time. To foreigners this somewhat lawless driving and street traffic seems dangerous and unimaginable. I was amazed at how despite the chaos on each street I did not see a single traffic accident while in Hanoi. It’s as if there is a pattern or rhythm amongst the craziness that the locals are used to that tourists can’t even begin to comprehend.

If I wasn’t trying to avoid being hit while crossing the street I was busy observing the hundreds of street vendors and small shops. In a way the small stores reminded me of New York City and how similar to pizza shops in that American city, there are an immeasurable amount of street shops selling pho and other Vietnamese dishes. These small shops that line the street seem to be organized by the product they are selling. From a line of shoe stores to even multiple shops dedicated to selling buttons, the city seems to have specific streets or sections dedicated to the same product. This observation was especially interesting to me as the set up of stores is much different than in America. Back home competing stores that sell similar if not identical products will want to be spread out through out an area. It is very interesting and kind of awkward to see competing stores placed only inches away from each other on the streets of hanoi. I wonder if the employees of these shops ever feel weird about trying to sell the exact same thing as their neighbor. I can only imagine that this close proximity can make competition for customers even more intense.

The experience that impacted me the most during our time in Hanoi was outside of the busy city at the Bai Dinh pagoda. This day trip was the perfect break from the craziness of the city and was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. My grandma practices Buddhism and I have recently been considering converting to the Buddhist religion so seeing this massive series of temples was really special to me. Photos can not do it justice as this massive structure just seemed to keep on going up the mountain. I was left speechless by the amount of detail put into each temple and Buddha statue. Our time spent at the pagoda was perfect for some self reflection and thought as our stay in Hanoi was coming to an end. I loved the city of Hanoi and all of the culture and amazing food it had to offer, but the breathtaking view from the top of the Bai Dinh pagoda was like nothing I had ever seen before.

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