Rain, Bikes and the Bitexco Tower

A few months ago, I wasn’t so happy with was going on weather-wise in Saigon, but now with the rainy season set in, I have nothing to complain about. Something I read the other day calculated that it rains 2 out of 3 days during this season in southern Vietnam, and that does sound about right to me. Though that would be more of an average, because sometimes you can have a week without it or 10 days of showers every day.

Most often, the clouds build in the mid afternoon and it rains at about 4, or the sky may tease for longer and it won’t rain until the evening. It’s amazing how fast the clouds can build, the sky darken and threaten, but then it’s all over without a drop of rain. Though it might not rain where you are, if you’re lucky to have a big sky vantage point you’ll see that another district is getting dumped on. I do love the rain that is a thorough dumping, bouncing off all surfaces and making everything glimmer.

When it’s not raining the cloud cover drops the temperature a few degrees, so I also find it to be good bike riding weather, which has become a regular weekend activity these days; sometimes heading out to a certain destination or others just in a general direction with an unexplored district in mind. But then intriguing alleys may lead to detours and you never know where you might end up or what you might see along the way. It’s a good way of finding new local restaurants, tucked away pagodas, crumbling colonial buildings that are surely not long for this world, markets and shopping streets specialising in a certain obscure product.

Of course the traffic can be a little overwhelming, but also negotiating your way through it can be strangely meditative, if you’re in the right mood. It can also be irritating, which is why I’m only heading out on the weekends. I think that if I was riding during weekday peak hour and putting up with Saigon traffic shenanigans every day, this activity would lose its appeal.

My vehicle of choice is the trusty and ever popular Martin 107 bicycle. Ridden by all types in Vietnam, from monks, to construction workers, to school children, the young and old. The standard product comes with a basket and gears are unheard of, which is fine. Saigon, on the edge of the Mekong delta flood plane, is hill-less and rarely very windy.

Actually, I’d never thought that much about the lack of wind here, but when I read someone else mentioning this, I thought about all my leisurely bike riding and realised that it was true. What I was reading was an article about the construction of the near complete 68 floor Bitexco Financial Tower. You cannot miss this new construction in Saigon, as it’s about double the height of the previous tallest building. It soars hundreds of metres beyond anything else, very impressive but also sticking out like a big, somewhat lonely, sore thumb at the moment. In the article the architect was addressing concerns over the safety of it’s unusual jutting out helipad, positioned adjacent rather than on top of the building, and he cited Saigon’s lack of wind as a reason to have no fear that any helicopter was going to go veering off and chopping its way through the building.

The other reason I like bike riding in Saigon is because I can meander and explore without getting lost. Sure, I might not  know exactly where I am for a while, but if I keep riding I’ll come across one of the main roads after not too long. And if that doesn’t work, all I need to do is locate the Bitexco tower and head in its general direction to find my way home.

Ha Noi

The celebrations in Ha Noi have got me thinking about Vietnam's northern capital, a place of lakes and literature, where the people are seen as more conservative than their cousins in the south.

I like this photo of these old timers having a chat by Hoan Kiem lake. This lake is right in the centre of town, next to the famous old quarter. Although it draws many tourists, you'll still see the older folk of Ha Noi there, comtemplating the water or taking some gentle exercise. I always wonder what they think of all that's happened in Vietnam in their lifetime. The stories they could tell.

Unsurprisingly, given Vietnam's history, the differences between north and south and thus Hanoi and Saigon are quite pronounced. A southerner may not always have the nicest things to say about his compatriots in the north, and vice versa. There's a simmering rivalry, and if you wanted to take part in this and endear yourself to a southerner, there are a number of things you could say about Hanoi. You could say the food is too salty and that you prefer the south's sweet flavours, or that the people aren't as friendly or that the weather is miserable. 

But are these things true? The differences in the food are fairly universally acknowledged. And Ha Noi is known for being grey and drizzly for a few too many months of the year. And the people? Well, Ha Noi is the capital of this communist country. It's cooler and perhaps you could say its culture is more Chinese influenced. Although Chinese traditions are fundamental to  Kinh Vietnamese throughout the country, the south has also been influenced by various and shifting cultures such as the Khmer and Cham. 

There is a difference in culture because of differences in history, and I have had experiences in Ha Noi where I would agree completely with the southern view of the north, but maybe that's just my own prejudices from being so much more familiar with Saigon. In Ha Noi, I'm a tourist in a place that I feel like I know because it's Vietnam, but then am often frustrated to find that I don't. In Saigon, well, even after four years, some days I still feel like a tourist, but at least I know my way around.

1000 years of Thang Long- Ha Noi

This week Hanoi is celebrating its 1000th anniversary. 

In 1010 AD, the capital city of Vietnam was relocated here from a nearby northern province. It was originally called Thang Long, or ascending dragon, as this is what the King claimed to have seen in the Red River at the time. Hanoi has endured occupation by the Chinese for 20 years in the 14th century, who changed the name to Dong Quan, meaning eastern gateway; then the French who established it as Indochina's capital in 1837, and the Japanese during World War II. Under the Nguyen Dynasty in the early 19th century, the capital was also briefly located in Hue.

The celebrations in Hanoi have been many and fitting for this deeply patriotic country which has survived through countless wars, poverty and famine and now in itself could be described as the ascending dragon. Flags and flowers line the streets and buildings in central Hanoi have been spruced and painted. There have been dozens of events and ceremonies, including the opening of a new park and museum, and recognition of the Thang Long Royal Citadel as a UNESCO site. 

I borrowed the above photo from a local newspaper, which was reporting the arrival in Hanoi of 1000 Heroic mothers, Heroes of the Armed Forces and Labour Heroes for the celebrations. These heroes spent 2 weeks travelling 2,000 kilometres from Dong Nai province near Saigon. They visited a number of historical sites along their journey to the northern capital, including the home of the Hung Kings, the founders of Vietnam.

Nong Duc Manh, the General Secretary of the Communist Party, stands in the middle of this photo, and I was particularly interested to read about the woman on his right, Kan Lich. She was the first ethnic minority woman to be honored with the title 'Hero of the People's Armed Forces.' The article I read listed her achievements, which included fighting in 49 battles and killing 150 enemy soldiers. She also met Ho Chi Minh on seven occasions. Here she is (top right corner) on one of those occasions.

Apparently there is a Vietnamese saying, 'When war comes, even women have to fight,' and the stories of fearless, epic female warriors go back thousands of years in this country.