May2016
Smile
91
T
heairport inHanoiwas little
more thanashack, inmy
memory.Thismightbean
exaggeration, afterall these
years—but I rememberarriving in the
middleof thenight, on the lastflight in, and
arriving tofindasmall terminal thatclosed
behindus, usingmetal shopfront shutters
thathad tobepulled fromoverhead.We
whizzed through thecity,marvelingat the
quiet streetsanddimyellowstreet lamps,
beforebeingdeposited intoahostel that
wasreally justacoupleof roomsrentedout
of someone’shouse.
Theairporthasbecomeagraceful
buildingof steel andglassover theyears,
and internationalflightscome inandout
ofNoiBai everyday.Build it, and theywill
come—or is it theotherwayaround? In
2013, 13million travelerswent through the
airport, even though itwasonlybuilt for
9million.At theendof2014, theairport
openedanewwing for international
passengers; theairport isnowable to take
in19millionpeopleayear.
Nowonder thatHanoi, thebustling
cultural capital ofVietnam, busyand
startlinglycosmopolitaneven then,
hasbecomeevenbusier,withcertain
quartersfilled toburstingwith tourists
fromeverycornerof theglobe. “Filipino?
Kumusta
?”savvyshopkeepersnowgreet
me fromwithinsouvenirstores.Theshops
themselveshavegainedacontemporary
worldliness, offeringmovieposters
reimagined inhip,minimalist lines, right
alongsidereproductionsofoldCommunist
propagandaposters.
There isplentymoreevidenceof the
easewithwhich thecity—or thewhole
country, even—manages tostraddle
theoldand thenew, the local and the
global, the traditional and thenovel.
Vietnamesecoffee, stillbrewedstrong
in thosecharming tindripcontraptions,
PHOTOSBY
JAKEVERZOSA
Therail
deal
Train tickets fromHanoi to
Hue cost aboutUS$54per
personon the soft berth;
US$52on thehardberth;
vietnam-railway.com
