I had hoped that communism had erased the stronghold of religion in Vietnam. I was wrong. Although like everything else I’ve encountered in this country, things are stranger than I expected.

Pagoda

Almost all the population is Buddhist, they believe in a form of ancestral worship, the afterlife and karma. Even though many of the younger generation don’t have a strong belief they still consider this part of their culture. The Vietnamese follow a lunar calendar and go to pray at one of the many Pagoda style temples that decorate the city at the beginning and middle of every month. That’s where things get strange.

Yep those are coca cola cans!

From my time in Japan I expected the entrance of the temple to be filled with small stalls selling stuff. Bringing offerings to the temple is also quite typical. What I didn’t expect is the type of offerings. A pyramid of coca cola cans set at the top of each altar along with a similar pyramid of beer cans made me gawk in shock. Although I guess there is some sense to it, if this is what you like in this life you might miss it in the afterlife.

How about buying some fake cash?

People left big trays filled with offering that included fruit, Oreo’s, drinks and loads of cash.  Some of the amounts of cash looked to be awfully big until I noticed you could actually buy fake cash outside of the temple to put in your offering! Seems Judaism isn’t the only religion with a long cheat sheet.

I was wandering what happens to all the food but it turns out people just leave the offerings in the temple for a few minutes, moving them from room to room so they can be blessed by the different gods and ancestors. Later they take their plates back and the food and money are considered blessed.

There were trays to leave donations for the temple and also monks taking donations and in return for some type of food that has been in the temple for a long time so it’s “super blessed”

I asked if people weren’t afraid their offerings would be stolen, but the notion itself seemed outrageous as steeling from ghosts will mess up your Karma for life.

My first week in Hanoi was filled with so many ups and downs, ins and outs it’s hard to put it all in words. That’s doesn’t mean I won’t try. Read on…

Typical street

First 48 hours

It’s so hot even the dog can’t be bothered to move

I knew it would be hot and humid but knowing is one thing and feeling is another! The crowds, the constant movement, the noises of chickens and motorbikes everywhere put me in a state of shock. The first 48 hours in a new country are always the hardest so I reminded myself to observe and put my critical thinking on hold.

My first morning I awoke at 07:00, government speakers were playing loud music in the street. After the music there was a long speech of some sort and then some more music. These public announcement by the government start each day here. How weird is that? Although I guess it means you don’t need an alarm clock.

Buses and chickens that will probably be eaten by the end of the day.

I began my exploration and discovered that there is a very different balance between the public and private sphere than i’m used to. Children play in the alleyways and all house doors are open allowing me to peek inside and see them going about their business. Most of them are sitting on the floor busy with making food or sawing or some other activity, a lot of them with a big flat screen in their living room. Sometimes I’m not sure if it’s a house or some sort of business, probably both. And all motorbikes are parked inside!

My living room, not my motobike.

It seems everyone in Hanoi is busy selling something, anything! Women balance huge baskets on their shoulders or push huge carts with anything from bottled water to vegetables or clothing. Everywhere there are small stalls on the sidewalk selling food or services, even barbers.

Different style of ATM’s for all the buying?

Even wheelchairs are used as a sales cart.

Almost everything seems to be manufactured and sold locally with very little western influence. After feeling very embarrassed when three women in a local store were running around me I managed to find one of the only ‘supermarkets’ in the city, where I could quietly walk around with a cart and even a little air-conditioning. It was still quite messy compared to anything you find in the west and was nearly empty. I’ve made a resolution to try and buy from the markets and locals, we’ll see if I stick to it.

Food fields 100 meters from the markets and houses.

It was a nice surprise to discover there’s no McDonalds, no Pizza Hut and no Starbucks. I have seen one KFC which was empty. It wasn’t as much fun to discover none of the local places have air conditioning. The truth is I don’t see how any of these chains have a chance here as the Vietnamese seem to have invented fast food. At each corner cheap fast local dishes are sold. Another delightful surprise was how un-spicy the dishes are. Each table does have these red malicious looking sauces and cut up chilly you can add to your plate but I don’t have the nerve to even try.

Hot breakfast

Despite the heat Vietnamese start the morning with a boiling chicken noodle soup called pho for breakfast. Maybe if you’re hot inside you can trick your brain into thinking it’s not so hot outside?

Clubbing

Party time!

On Friday night I joined my flat mate to an opening of a new club. I was surprised to discover great electronic music and a multicultural environment that can give Berlin a fight. The place itself had an edgy atmosphere, being in a converted old office building that wouldn’t pass any inspection. Then suddenly the music turned to strange wedding type music making everyone run away from the dance floor. My flat mate thinks it’s a ploy to get people to buy more drinks as dancing people don’t drink.

The simple life?

While I’m finding some things very complicated, like crossing the road (although I’m getting better at that), or dealing with the bills and money, (my slight dyslexia seems unable to cope with the amount of zeroes 500, 5000, 50000, 50000?) and communicating (even when I try saying I don’t understand in Vietnamese I’m probably saying it wrong) other things are so simple. I mean, there are no coins for one! And when I needed a sim card all I had to do was go into a store and pay $4 for a prepaid and put it in my phone. No filling endless forms and registering online to activate it like Australia. I even have 3G! What exactly does this cell phone package include I have no idea, but for $4 you can’t really go wrong. Another example of this paradox between simplicity and complexity happened when I itched a stupid mosquito bite. A dangerous infection got into my blood system and my whole hand started to swell. A quick visit to a friend of my flat mate who’s a doctor and then a visit to one of the many pharmacies where I bought antibiotics without any need for a prescription. I don’t want to think how complicated that would be in Australia.

Try crossing this road!

Getting around is another example, navigating the small alleyways is very confusing along with walking amongst the thousands of motorbikes. Everyone keeps on telling me I should get a motorbike and it seems that every family has one! I’ve seen families of four ride on one motorbike, none of them with helmets (although by law they supposed to) while the driver texts on the phone! My mom will be happy to know there’s no chance of me joining the biker club. (Although I’ve been on my kong fu teacher’s bike, hoping his lightning fast instincts will keep us alive). The truth is I don’t see the need for them as, amazingly, google transit works here showing me what buses to use. And although there is no schedule, so far I have found the bus system surprisingly ok. They are old but have a sort of air conditioner and I never had to wait more than ten minutes. For 25 cents that’s not too bad. There is a guy who sells tickets on each bus. One of them actually pocketed my money and didn’t give me a ticket. When I discovered I was on the wrong direction of the bus an English speaking local wanted to give me her ticket but the ticket guy objected and I said it was fine. No need to get her in trouble for a quarter.
So, despite the hardships, the foreignness and the fact that going outdoors is still a mission for me (especially since two crazy monsoon rains have come out of nowhere in the past two days) I am uncharacteristically optimistic and starting to get the rhythm of this city.

More to come…