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Smile
May2016
canbeenjoyed inartsycaféswhere,
anywhereelse, onewouldexpect specialty
coffeesat 10 times theprice.Thestreets
in the2,000-year-oldOldQuarterare
still famouslynamedafter the items
traditionallysoldon theirsidewalks: Silver
Street, SilkStreet,HatStreet,Bamboo
Street,PaperStreet,Fried-FishStreet. (To
be fair, theOldQuarter isborderedbyHoan
Kiem, or theLakeof theRestoredSword,
which isprobably thebestnameofanybody
ofwater in theworld.)
Sometimes it feelsas ifentireareasof
Pinoy to theworld
Hanoi are touristghettos, stuffed full to
burstingwithcomicallyvaried tourgroups,
but theresidentsseemunfazedbyall this,
continuing to live their livesandply their
tradesasever theydid.Theubiquitous
motorbike— therearesome4millionof
them in thiscityof7.5millionpeople— isa
fittingsymbol for thewayprogressmarches
on, urgentlyandchaotically, thoughnever
too fast.
Reunificationexpress
“Airport?” the taxidriverasksashehelps
loadourbags into theback.
“Trainstation,” I reply, andhecockshis
head. “
Ga
?”
At thisheperksup. “
Ga
!Yes, yes.
GaHa
Noi
!”
Theword for “station” is theone
Vietnameseword I remember from the
smallnumberof trips I’ve takenheresince
myfirstvisit.TheNorth-SouthRailway,
popularlyknownas theReunification
Express, runs theentire lengthof the
country. InHanoi,many travelers take the
trainnorth to the lovelymountainretreats
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