Hanoi

My trip to Vietnam, Hanoi, to be precise, was exciting.

RP Devgan a passionate educator all his life. He has served as a school leader at schools worldwide and is the chairman of the Learning Forward India Foundation.

Hanoi Vietnam

Far eastern countries and its people and culture have always fascinated me. I have been fortunate to have visited quite a few of them.

Vietnamese are  very resilient. Having gone through a war for over a decade, their baptism has been through fire. In spite of these years of wars, Vietnam today has bounced back and is a proud nation today.  

Hanoi, as a city is most impressive. Even more impressive are the people. There is no sign of any bitterness and visitors are most welcome.

Early mornings I was out everyday and the scenes that greeted me were inspiring. I have not seen any city come to life so early in the morning as Hanoi. There are hundreds of people, young and old, on the streets getting their morning exercise. The streets are teeming with cyclists, joggers and walkers. The cyclists are in great numbers and takes quite some time fir the walkers to cross the road. Those who not part of these activities find parks to dance or practise martial arts.You find dozens of groups doing aerobics and even ball-room dancing and most of the people are in the age group 60-80 years. They have see and been through the war and yet show no signs of scars that wars leave behind. One really marvels at their resilience and perseverance to have bounced back to a happy, healthy  free country.

Hanoi is full of historical buildings. Signs of the French being there years ago are visible in the architecture. Some of the buildings in the centre are striking.It is a pleasure meeting and talking to the people who are considerate, humble and soft spoken and always willing to help. I quite enjoyed the local food…the specialities being Pho and the delicious egg coffee.

The icing on the cake was the visit to Ha Long Bay which is one of the top three natural heritage wonders of the world. We took a day trip on the ferry and sailed through the 16,000, all uninhabited that rise out of the sea. I t is incredible to see these rock –like structures covered with thick green foliage rise out of the sea endlessly. The ferry stops at an island where one alights and has the pleasure of going to a beach and having a swim. On the way back the ferry stops for people who wish to take a boat or use a kayak themselves among the many limestone rock islands surrounding the bay. One can take a day’s cruise or spend one or two nights amidst the Bay. The drive from Hanoi  to Ha Long Bay takes about 2 hours from the centre of the city.

Another striking feature is the cleanliness. In the week there I did not see a single piece of plastic anywhere in the city, Vietnam is a proud nation and it is very noticeable in its people, a lesson for many other countries, Hanoi was a most enriching experience.