A fact that is staggering when your frame of reference is the United States, is this: Hanoi celebrated its millennial birthday, 1000 years, in the year 2010. In a worldwide perspective, a city that has been around since 1010 isn't that unthinkable. Damascus, for example, has been around for 10,000 years, maybe more. So a mere 1000 years might seem unimpressive. But where I'm from the oldest continuously inhabited city in the country has existed for less than 500 years. So 1000 impresses.
 |
| The full name of the city is Thang Long Ha Noi |
I bring up the age of the city as it relates to the walk I took today. Today, I left early in the morning. The temperatures have, for the most part, been wonderful here. But now, in early April, it is getting hotter. First thing in the morning, the temperature was wonderful. It was just getting hot shortly before I got home.
 |
| Elephants |
 |
| Cranes |
I walked along Hanoi's Mosaic Wall. This wall is part of the dike system for the Red River. The wall is there to block floodwater, though everything on the river side of the wall must be in danger. In 2007, a project began to decorate over 6 km of the wall (about 4 miles) with mosaics of all sorts. Many artists were involved. And the goal was this: By October 2010, when Hanoi celebrated its 1000th anniversary, they wanted the mosaic wall to be so long it made the Guinness Book of World Records. Hanoi reached that goal.
 |
| Tells you they got the record right there on the wall! |
The wall is fascinating. It has a lot of different artistic styles. The various sections were designed by different artists, and you can see it in the images.
 |
| A very different and playful style |
Many of the artists were Vietnamese, but not all of them. In fact, the most recent section to be completed (after it was already the longest) was in 2019. It celebrates Sri Lanka and was sponsored by the Sri Lankan embassy.
 |
| This is in a section of the wall sponsored by Spain. One building is a pencil! Lapiz! |
It took me around 25 minutes walking just to reach the closest point of the wall. And I didn't walk the entire length, but I probably did walk 5 km along it, admiring the images, the ceramics, and stories that are being told through this visual medium.
 |
| This section surprised me. How often do the Vietnamese make jack-o-lanterns. And how would they make snowmen? They don't have snow! |
The mosaic wall runs along a very busy street. You might notice my pictures are sometimes at an angle. I couldn't step back far enough to get wide shots of multiple images. Well, I could have stepped back far enough, but I would have been standing in fast-moving traffic. I doubt that would have improved my photography.
 |
| I am not 100% sure I know what animal this is |
I left the mosaic wall and crossed over the highway on a pedestrian bridge that was also artistically decorated with the theme of water. From there I went into the Old Quarter and just walked. I wasn't trying to get anywhere. Though I did have someone on a motorcycle stop to ask me where I was trying to go. I said I was just walking to walk. And then he asked if I wanted to buy marijuana. This was all in broken English, but did offer "Mara" and then followed up with "Wheat, Wheat!" I suspect that was his pronunciation of "Weed, Weed". I declined, but just to make doubly sure I wasn't missing out on this amazing offer, he flashed a view of what he was offering. I had understood him correctly, and I declined once again.
 |
| Beautiful in the day. I would be curious to see it at night too. |
I passed by a shop selling various groceries. Some of the items on display out front (extending into the sidewalk) were dessert toppings, you know, like chocolate syrup. But they had a few extra flavors we don't normally see in the USA: taro syrup and matcha syrup.
 |
| If only we could take liquids on the plane |
As I was walking back home, I realized I wasn't too far from the John McCain marker, so I took a detour to see it. It is a marker in tribute to John McCain, first erected in 1967. Though McCain was a prisoner of war in the Hanoi Hilton, he was a supporter of Vietnam in his time in the Senate. And the Vietnamese celebrate him.
 |
| John McCain Marker |
We only have a couple days left in Hanoi and I wanted to enjoy the sites, sounds, and culture. I really like the vibe of Hanoi. I imagine we will be back again one day. In less than 1000 years.
