changing my opinion of ha noi
My first two journeys to Ha Noi – the first in 2004 and the second in 2005 – were arranged for me. I didn’t have to worry about where I would sleep, what I would eat, who I would hang out with, and how much money I would need; that had all been organized for me by the School for International Training. So it was with a sense of excitement and newness that I traveled to Ha Noi alone for the first time on May 10th of this year. My stay in the city has lasted ten days and, at the time of writing, I will be returning to Ho Chi Minh City tomorrow evening, May 20th, 2009.
I remember being dreadfully underwhelmed by Ha Noi the first time that I came here in ‘04, primarily due to the misguided stereotypes that I had learned about the city before ever laying eyes on it – namely that the people in Ha Noi are cold and a little standoffish and that Ha Noi is not as exciting or interesting as Ho Chi Minh City. Additionally, my study abroad program was approaching its conclusion and many of the students were at our boiling points, no longer able to stand the company of each other for longer than was absolutely necessary. So Ha Noi was in a sense a self-fulfilling prophecy; I didn’t think it would be good and went out of my way to prove the point, looking for the negatives instead of seeing Ha Noi for everything that it was or could have been to me.
Suffice it to say then that this solo jump from Ho Chi Minh City to Ha Noi could not have come at a better time. I’ve been reevaluating whether or not Ho Chi Minh City is a place that I am comfortable calling home and deliberating alternatives. Ha Noi, the political and cultural capital of Viet Nam, has for the last several months been at the top of my list, and I have a strong feeling that after returning to Ho Chi Minh City tomorrow, the impetus for a relocation to Ha Noi will be even stronger. The more I visit Ha Noi, the more I like it. Negative preconceptions about Hanoian people and culture have all but disappeared and been replaced by real considerations for where I would live in the city and how I would make it happen, were I to make the move.
Before I leap too far ahead, though, I’d like to summarize the highs of the last ten days. Other than my first full day in the north, which was spent entirely in Ha Long Bay with my best friends from the United States, my trip was devoid of most touristy destinations. Having been to the north of Viet Nam two times already, my goal for this stay was to eat good food otherwise unavailable in Ho Chi Minh City, spend time talking to as many expats and Hanoians as possible about the logistics of living here, and finally to spend time thinking about my future in Viet Nam.