HANOI – little things that strike me…

I came across this hydrant, judging by its paint a fairly old one, and was amazed that it still had its cap (or maybe it's a spigot). Jakarta hydrants do not have them anymore. Removed and taken to a scrap-metal dealer. Even the nuts, used to bolt the struts together of the Java-Madura bridge that were easily accessible from its roadway, were removed within a few weeks after the bridge was officially opened.

It also struck me that the covers of the below-street-level sewers or ducts, are made of concrete with a proper water to cement to aggregates ratio, while the ones made of cast iron have not found their way to a scrap metal dealer.

And such a delight to be able to walk on well paved wide pavements, though parked cars and motorcycles often frustrate one's passage.

Especially now during the cool autumn month of October, walking the Hanoi roads is a real joy. 

One of the most amazing things in Hanoi is the way cables (electricity, telephone) are strung overhead. How can anybody know what is connected to what. But it looks that on some main roads the old system is being replaced by something neater; at least that's what I think the cables being cut down means.

In respect of scrap metal dealers, I suddenly remember the story of the railway tracks. It happened some 50 years ago in Holland. In a pub that I frequented as a student, I had made the acquaintance of a scrap metal dealer. He often stood me a beer and I listened to his stories. One day he almost shouted: WTF is happening to the world, I can't even trust my fellow dealers anymore… To me that sounded overly naïve, or was it stupidity, that made him expect fair, gentlemanly commercial practices where in fact there were none.

But anyway, this is what happened. He had been told of surplus rail the national railway company had sold. And as the original buyer suddenly needed quick money and was prepared to sell some of the rail at a considerably reduced price, they were bought by my acquaintance.

While loading the rail at the site—along the Rotterdam-Schiedam railway line—he was approached by a railway inspector who inquired in a heated way what the fuck he thought he was doing. He couldn't even complete his explanation before he was told that he had to immediately unload again, as these rail were to be used for the construction of an additional rail track. And whatever papers and contracts my man tried to show, he was to unload double quick, or the police would be called.

My acquaintance had lost a considerable sum of money, and the seller had left for an unknown destination shortly after receiving the money. urprisingly, I was treated to a night-long drinking spree plus a meal of fried chicken and chips.

HANOI – shopping malls

… but first an addition to the previous post, Autumn in Hanoi. What a pleasant surprise, last night, a lady was selling roasted chestnuts in front of the hotel. She used one of these clever burners where a thick-walled stone vessel shaped like a flower pot, is heated from below with gas fire and filled with charcoal. When hot, the chestnuts are roasted in a wok on top of the burner.

These chestnuts are either from the south of China (the world's largest producer), or just across the border in Vietnam, as the fruit (it's a fruit, not a nut) needs temperate climates.

In the past days I did one mall each morning. And it led me to compare these shopping centres with the ones in Jakarta. The general conclusion is that the (top) malls in Jakarta are of a much higher standard, more luxurious and offering a wider variety of goods, and moreover seem to be frequented by larger numbers of customers. My experience is, of course, restricted to weekdays. During the weekend, many families and couples will likely hang out there. The ones included in my survey are: Vincom Towers, Royal City, Lotte Tower, Trang Tien Plaza and Parkson.

Vincom Towers, the oldest one, is fairly small and conventionally arranged around a central core, which allows an easy overview of shops. The range of goods for sale is standard, apart from the very big Lock&Lock offering a mouth-watering selection of household items and kitchenware.

Vincom Mega Mall Royal City, the newest addition to the Hanoi malls, is a huge two-storeyed, underground mall. If nothing else, its size is an experience. Its layout, however, is a handicap to easy shopping. The long main corridors with branches at 90 degrees do not aid in the search for a specific product or shop, while the maps and information boards are unclear and even incorrect. Vietnamese, a tonal language, is not spoken by many foreign visitors, and English is still in short supply among the Vietnamese population. The other day I ordered ba:n mi:, thinking I would get bánh mì, but got a questioning look instead, and that in a shop selling nothing but the baguette type sandwich.

The information centres of the Mega Mall, where no one speaks English, do not really help foreigners to find their way around.

Restaurants and other food outlets are scattered with no real logic to it, rather than being concentrated in a food court or restaurant alley. Apparently, some visitors picnic in the wide corridors on weekends.

The mall made a rather sterile impression, and for shopping I found it unattractive. 

The large number of shops selling furniture did astound me, as except for high-income earners, in the majority of homes furniture is restricted to a low table and beds.

But the water park, bowling alley and ice rink are exceptionally attractive and worth a visit.

The listed prices at the rink are for season-tickets (45, 90 and 180 days) for either weekdays and week-ends, with the latter more expensive, but single-day tickets can probably be arranged. It doesn't appear to be intended for hockey, as its shape is square, not rectangular; it looked long enough to accommodate a hockey rink (61 m) and maybe the boards could be placed, but I did not see any of the lines needed for a game.

The water park is probably as much fun for adults as for children. I didn't get a chance to observe it from the inside, but the posters looked exciting.

Lotte Towers is the mall to spend hours upon hours shopping and relaxing behind a coffee, or having a meal. Nicely laid out, clean and light, clear information boards at the base of the escalators, and a good assortment of shops and food outlets. The large Lotte supermarket is also worth a visit. 

 

Trang Tien Plaza offers a collection of high-end boutiques selling international luxury brands. Perfumes, jewellery, shoes, clothes, and on the top floors a number of restaurants. It is the place to go when looking for top brands.

And finally Parkson, a smallish but pleasantly laid out mall. Good selection of shops and articles. Definitely worth a visit.

Having done my blogging duty, I'm off to enjoy a bánh mì from the outlet next door. Easy, no confusion, they already know me there, and to order I only have to point at the pictures of the menu on the wall. 

HANOI – autumn 2015

Autumn in Hanoi… an extremely pleasant place to spend a few weeks this October. Cool days, overcast but light skies with regular morning rain, and evening and nights definitely chilly. I switched the air-conditioning off as my feet—in hotel slippers—and nose were uncomfortably cold. I never imagined that Vietnam, which I consider a tropical country, would have four seasons. Well, of course that is in the northern part of the country only. The mountains north-west of Hanoi are colder still. In the resort town of Sapa, during the winter months of mid-December to mid-January, the room air-conditioning will be set to blowing warm air, and a fireside will be burning in the hotel lobby.

The south follows the pattern of equatorial south-east Asia's wet tropics. I don't know where the dividing line between north and south is located. It surely will not be a single east-west line, more like a transition zone, some tens of km deep, located in the central region. The country's total length (on a north-south axis) is after all 1600 km. Before being colonised by France and brought under a single governor-generalship in 1887, the country consisted of three regions: Cochin-China in the south, Annam in the central region, and Tonkin in the north. The transition zone would cover part of the central region.

On my first morning, the hotel breakfast room, on the tenth floor, had opened its windows and the fresh air enriched the great taste of my morning coffee. 

Vietnamese coffee is of incomparable quality. The country is the second largest coffee producer in the world, but the largest producer of Robusta beans; its Arabica production stands at a mere 4.5% of the total.

After my first breakfast, I went to the centre of town, of the old town that is and the best place for an easy stroll, Hoan Kiem lake. The footpaths around the lake are well paved, benches everywhere to relax, and kiosks for snacks, ice creams and souvenirs strategically located for easy access. And to my surprise, one can stroll past the public toilets without smelling them.

I had my favourite café filtre at the Trung Nguyen coffee centre on the edge of the old town. Together with the baguettes, the filtered coffee is a left over from the French, and as both do provide for a most pleasant intake, they were not turned out with the French. 

 Vietnam, one of south-east Asia's fastest-growing economies, has set its sights on becoming a developed nation by 2020. That does not seem impossible to achieve. When comparing the current state of Hanoi with my observations of eight years ago when I first visited the town, I can only conclude that, if the country had not lost some 30 years fighting, first the French, then the Americans, and finally the Chinese because of a border dispute, it would have been one of the most advanced economies in the region already. And what I see here in Hanoi, is but the smaller part of the overall economy: Ho Chi Minh City in the south, being the more vigorous entrepreneurial, industrial and commercial centre.

Eight years ago I came across two shopping centres—I call them shopping centres rather than malls, as they were rather small and not very fancy. Nowadays there are, however, many real malls, foreign and locally owned. The largest being the Vincom Mega Mall Royal City, an underground retail and entertainment complex of 230,000 sqm, advertised as Asia's biggest. The mall does not only contain shops and restaurants, but also movie theatres, gaming centres, and an ice skating rink of 3,000 sqm. It is owned by Vincom Retail, Vingroup's retail property arm. One of the shopping centres I visited eight years ago, located in the Vin Tower, is also owned by the group. And the second one, Trang Tien Plaza, has become a centre for high-end fashion: Cartier, Dior, Louis Vuitton and the like have boutiques there. 

The property sector appears to be in full swing with building cranes everywhere, while the infrastructure is actively being improved and extended. I have no way to check whether this is bubble-development (with a likely bursting at the end). The activity and spending level inside the shopping malls might, however, provide some indication of the general welfare of the population. I will therefore during the coming days spend a lot of time visiting malls. In first instance I'll go back to the Vin Com Tower, and subsequently to the Royal City Mega Mall, where I was told hockey is on the menu.