Hanoi’s transformation

A reader in the March ’04 issue, page 48, correctly places Hanoi on the “Favorite Cities” list, but to state, “Hanoi, on the other hand, has changed very little in the past 30 years,” is inaccurate. The changes we noted between our trip in February ’93 (the year before the U.S. established diplomatic relations with Viet-Nam) and trips in October ’02 and March ’03 were monumental.

In 1993, traffic in Hanoi consisted of mostly bicycles, some motorbikes and few cars. Also, accommodations were sparse. Our hotel reservations were mysteriously canceled and we were rebooked in a downtown “hotel” with wrought-iron windows, no glass and no mosquito netting. While attempting to find another hotel, a motorcade passed by with French and Vietnamese flags on the cars. Later we found out that French Prime Minister Mitterrand had arrived a few hours after our flight. It was the first visit by a French Prime Minister since the French were ceremoniously booted out of North Viet-Nam in 1954.

Not only did we lose our reservations to the French, but guests already staying at the hotel were moved to other accommodations. After numerous phone calls, we found a 3-story, 4-room hotel in a residential neighborhood. The lobby and owner’s quarters were on the first floor, and the second and third floor each had two rooms. It was the only business for blocks in either direction.

Today this neighborhood is one of Hanoi’s’ prime shopping areas. Residences have converted their first-floor living spaces to retail shops of every description.

Traffic today reflects the economic growth of the mid ’90s. Rush hour is beginning to resemble gridlock conditions in Saigon. Growth also has resulted in the construction of first-class hotels.

Change in Hanoi was so dramatic, we dug out video taken in 1993 and compared it to the 2002 and 2003 trip. We were amazed.

FRED A. KOEHLER
Orange, CA