A Stroll Through the Old Town — In a Space of Yellow Green — (by Ho)

I love the streets of Hanoi, especially the Old Quarter. There are a few reasons for this.

The way lots of little shops are packed tightly into a small space is the same as Ho Chi Minh City, but maybe because the streets are narrow, motorbikes don't come rushing through busily. Cyclos only move a little faster than walking pace, so time flows by gently here. There are lots of tourists among the people walking by too, and that chaotic mix of not just Vietnamese people feels comfortable somehow. Looking all around, you see small buildings with pointed roofs — it feels like stepping into a miniature world.

Tiled roofs paired with walls in a muted cream tone, and windows and doors in a deep green. They carry a texture shaped by humidity, sunlight, and the passage of time. Of course, new buildings exist here as well.

It's a narrow, two-story rectangular building typical of recent cafes. The high, open ceiling is the same in Ho Chi Minh City too. The sheer spaciousness of the second-floor balcony is really charming. A new space is sandwiched between old buildings — I wonder how this will blend into the town as well.

This is also a relatively new building, but it has a roof-shaped structure. The pastel yellow gives off a Western kind of atmosphere. But the iron railing on the balcony is a deep green. The wooden door and windows are lovely, not overly polished or refined. I really do love wooden window frames. They go so well with warm-toned light bulbs. That reminds me, the building of Green Tangerine, a popular French restaurant in Hanoi, was also yellow and green.

Cream-colored walls with mint green windows and doors. Touches of natural greenery are placed here and there, so casually. The table seats out front, the courtyard, the seats inside the building — everywhere, time flows so gently. It doesn't move like the hands of a clock, but feels like time is slowly drifting down from the sky. A strange sensation of spending a 'now' that belongs nowhere in particular. And at the flower stand, a bouquet of lotus flowers. A happy, everyday scene of Vietnam.

The lotus flowers roll the raindrops around, growing more and more adorable. Just walking through the old town is a joy. Relocation Life Ranking