Travel Quick Shots – Hanoi, Viet Nam – Chronicles of Happy Living

Hanoi is a beautiful city, even as a capital city with its insane scooter traffic, oppressing summer heat, and seeming lack of structure. It is a city that appears as though cloaked in misty veil at all hours of the day and that lends it an air of elegant decay. I imagine indolent diplomats of French Indochina, lying about on rattan chaises mopping their brows with the finest linen handkerchiefs while they wait for the breezes of autumn to cleanse the city.

I loved Hanoi and I found it a haven for authentic and handcrafted pottery, silver jewelry, and bronze ware. There seemed to be a treasure around every corner. It was confounding at times; the noise, the rabbit warren of streets, the maniacal way everyone captains their scooter, but it has become one of my favorite cities. I think this is in large part because of the warmth of the people and the way that misty veil bends the light.