Not long ago, I wrote a post about how I felt caught between two worlds – the Western world I was brought up in, and the Eastern one I was born to and now call home.
If that weren’t enough, I’m a product of bilocation in my very own country. You see, my father’s family is from Thai Binh, a small province 110 km southeast of Hanoi, in the north of Vietnam. My mom’s family is from Cai Rang, a tiny country town outside of Can Tho, in the south. While I’ve never been to my father’s hometown (the entire family moved to the south after Vietnam gained independence from the French in 1954), I have visited my mother’s side of the family.
It was on one of our first trips back to Vietnam.
I remember them laying out a feast for us, these relatives who I had never seen or heard of, including a cabbage salad with tiny little eggs that I found out were from inside the stomach of a chicken. Until then, the only chicken I had ever seen was the one nicely packaged in my local supermarket, its eggs fully formed and nestled inside crates. These veiny oddly shaped spheres resembled nothing I had ever seen before.
A table was set out outside, under a fluorescent lamp, a lone light in the pitch dark surrounds. My little bowl of nuoc mam was alive with tiny little gnats that had fallen from the light above and were now brazenly doing the backstroke in my fish sauce. Then came the main course: grilled turtle. Again, there were eggs (what IS it with eggs!??!) which my great aunt made a big show of giving to me as the prized delicacy. I remember the crack of the turtle’s shell as they quartered it and gave me a piece, sinews and teeny claws clearly visible, even in the dim lighting.
Early the next morning, not surprisingly, I had to make a rush for the bathroom. My mom handed me a flashlight and pointed me in the direction of the toilet, a few wooden planks suspended over the fish pond. In the half light, I tried to go, really, I did. Lord knows I wanted to. But my body simply would not cooperate.
So, a distant cousin was summoned, still groggy with sleep, to drive me over to another relative’s house, one with a “Western” toilet (which actually turned out to be an outhouse, but with a familiar toilet throne.) Now that I look back, I’m sure they thought I was the most spoiled brat ever, one who turned his nose at their simple, unadorned way of life.
I’ve come a long way since then, trying my best to embrace everything about Vietnam. I recognize my upbringing has been a blessing, being familiar with the strange words used in the north that aren’t here in the south. The heavy northern accent doesn’t phase me. So when I came across a graphical book about the differences between Hanoi and Saigon, I was intrigued and found the author, graphic designer Le Duy Nhat, 25, for a chat over coffee.
Born in Thanh Hoa, 136 km south of Hanoi, Nhat moved to Ho Chi Minh City at the age of 18 to attend university. Armed with a degree in IT, it didn’t take long for him to discover that he didn’t like working with hardware.
“I love images. Even TV commercials and advertising posters speak to me”, he said.
Back in graphics design school, Nhat created a whimsical book outlining the differences between Hanoi and Saigon for his final project and uploaded the 31 page book onto Behance. Within a week, more than 20,000 people had viewed it. I asked him why he thought the concept resonated so much with people.
“I think people yearn for traditional culture. People also like to compare things. People also comment on their own observations. I think people who live in Saigon but go to Hanoi for business really get my work. Vietnamese culture is like a gold mine that hasn’t been fully excavated. Why can foreigners come to Vietnam and write books for other foreigners and we Vietnamese can’t?”
Here are some of my favorites from Nhat’s images, reprinted with his permission, along with a few of my comments.
“Things are just more casual in the south,” he says.
No matter where you are though, Vietnamese traffic is legendary. While even crossing the street might seem a suicide mission to the uninitiated, I’ve come to view the traffic as a perfectly swirling school of fish. While it may appear impenetrable from the outside, every fish is reacting to the one right next to it, rarely colliding.
So what do you think? Saigon or Hanoi?
See all of Nhat’s images on his Behance portfolio. To read my article on Nhat in Oi Vietnam magazine, click on the image below.
I’ve been living in Saigon for the past 2 years and reading this post was like seeing all my own thoughts down on paper. I’ve visited Hanoi many times, and while I’ve never lived there, the contrast between the two cities is so clear in my mind. You have summed the two ‘city’ lifestyles up so well, really enjoyed reading 🙂
Kerri recently posted..A Paradise within Chaos
Thanks, Kerri! Sometimes I feel like I’m giving Hanoi a bad rap and maybe I should just go spend like a month up there. But every time I go, within a few days, I’m like: Get me back to Saigon! Sigh.
Love the comparisons! As a first time visitor to Vietnam, I preferred the food and relaxed atmosphere of HCMC. It seemed like a more “livable” city, whereas Hanoi had much more going on culturally. And talking about how accents can change when singing, have you ever noticed that the British sing with an American accent?
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LOL. That’s true! I think that’s because music forces people to draw out their sounds more, so the British start sounding more American? Who knows. In Vietnamese, it’s even more pronounced. The Northerners pronounce their d’s like z’s. The Southerners pronounce their d’s like y’s. Then all of a sudden, when they start singing, it’s all proper-like.
Very true! nice read. Also those pictures from Mr. Nhat’s book are amazing! Simple but hits the nail on the head!
Hahaha I’ve seen these infographics before, love the interview with the creator and your own input! I’ll be traveling from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi by motorbike in 9 days, looking forward to seeing these comparisons for myself! Saigon is always bustling, it’ll be nice to experience a bit more of a laid-back atmosphere.
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Wow. HCMC to Hanoi? By motorbike? Epic! Have an awesome, safe trip!
I miss Asia!!! A broad, sweeping statement, I know, especially considering I have yet to visit Vietnam… This makes me want to go. Love those graphics, so clever! Thanks for the morning dose of wanderlust!
Sarah Somewhere recently posted..Living like the Kardashians
What? You’ve been all over and haven’t been to Vietnam? Shameful!
That said, I’ve never been to South America. I know it’s not the same, but it’s nice to have places to dream about, right? Wonder how those people who’ve been to EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY feel about travel?
We adored our time in Vietnam and found something to love about nearly every place we stopped during our two months there. That said, we definitely found Hanoi a tough nut to crack and initially found it a rough introduction to the country—the people there can be very cold and aggressive (despite ridiculously inflated prices at markets and some shops, many vendors would refuse to haggle), though certainly we met many people who were friendly and curious about us. I did ultimately come to respect that Hanoi is truly like nowhere else on the planet, but if we’re talking food, then Saigon really grabbed our hearts. We were actually really disappointed with the food we experienced in Hanoi as it didn’t really reflect the flavors or vibrancy that we had come to equate with Vietnamese fare. Based on our own palates, we thought the food dramatically improved the farther south we moved through the country!
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I know! I totally feel sorry for the people of Hanoi (even though I’m sure they’d be offended at my sympathy) – cold weather, lackluster ingredients, humid summers… But because half my family comes from the North, I do have a teeny tiny bit of affinity for it as it brings me back to my childhood. I really must force myself to do a big trip to the North to give it a proper chance!
As my family are proud Northerners (despite having spent more of their lives in the South) and having myself moved to Hanoi as part of a career break, give me Hanoi anyday. Does Saigon have a lake with a giant sea turtle guarding a magical sword belonging to a Dragon God? Or seasons for that matter? And really, do you guys have to add sugar to everything?
More seriously, it is true that life has traditionally been, and continues to be, more difficult in the north than in the south. But to me, it’s that harshness that really forms what I admire most about the North. Yes, it’s a rather romanticised view, but it’s difficult to live in Hanoi without becoming a romantic – the whole city is geared for that.
I’m currently writing this in Saigon and there’s much to love about the place. It’s been months since I’ve had a starbucks chai tea latte (sue me – I love them), and I adore the coffee shops, culinary scene and nightlife. But the essence of Vietnam to me are the lakes, trees and flowers of Hanoi.
CD recently posted..Hanoi vs Saigon/HCMC
Yay! A dissenting Northern opinion. I love it!
I’ll give you that Hanoi is more romantic… or at least the Old Quarter and lakes are.
It’s funny that what we’re into drives our opinion. As a runner, you love the lakes of Hanoi. As a tennis player, I’m glad that it’s perpetually summer here. Although, I do have some wonderful winter clothes that haven’t seen the light of day in awhile!
Nice blog!
LOL! I’ve only just started running so I can’t blame that on my preference. I think it’s a large part of my family background [or rather bare-faced prejudice]… Most of the Vietnamese side of my family are now in France, but even those who have spent the last 50 years in Saigon still manage to look down on southerners as “not really Vietnamese”. Southerners, you see, only care about making money and not about Vietnamese history, tradition, art, philosophy blah blah blah. Envy obviously plays no part in that assessment at all…
CD recently posted..Hanoi vs Saigon/HCMC
I haven’t been to either of them, but the infographics (that I totally love) make really clear the difference between them. It’s a tough choice if you ask me!
Franca recently posted..Two Years Later, Our Packing List Refreshed
Yeah, I love the simplicity yet depth of these images, too!
Fantastic post. 🙂
Katherine recently posted..An Old French Resting Place Reinvented
Thanks, Katherine!
Ha, I remember my Vietnamese bud comparing the different styles of talking to the terrain – those who live on flat land talk flat, those who live near the mountains talk expressively, high and low.
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Never thought of it like that, but true!
Hard to say for us yet! We have just finished our visit in Hanoi and are headed down to HCMC in the next few days. We loved Hanoi though! will be interesting to see what it is like in HCMC as a comparison.
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Awesome! It’s a terrific contrast. Everyone always has his/her favorite!
“The Hanoians are pretty proud of their hard Vietnamese accent, much like the British are of the Queen’s English. In comparison, the Saigonese tend to drawl, drawing out their vowel sounds and pronouncing two of five of the Vietnamese tones exactly the same (sacrilege!). Funnily, though, when they sing karaoke, many of them put on a Northern accent, something I still don’t quite understand…”
My explanation: With Saigonese accent most of syllables, if not all are made with ligature (in musical meaning). In Northern accent, almost there is no ligature. Songs usually include many syllables sung with no ligature. So they sound with “Northern accent” when whoever sings.
Interesting, Tuan… However, it goes deeper than that. The Southerners I’ve heard also pronounce the beginning “r” sound to words with the Northern “z” sound. Go figure!
I am traveling in May to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam and need some guidance. Probably will be in Vietnam for @ 1 week; what does everyone recommend for travel. Of course I want to see it all and know that is impossible.
Sooooo impossible! Email me at james.flyicarusfly@gmail.com and let me know what kind of traveler you are and I’ll point you in the right direction. Happy travels!
Amazing. I’ve spent the last year living in Hanoi and am taking a job in Ho Chi Minh next year. This post is exactly what I needed. It made me laugh; it’s so accurate.
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I have a feeling you’re going to love HCMC, Ruth. Every time I go on extended holiday, I’m so thrilled to come back to the perpetual summer weather, the great variety of eats, the never-ending list of new things to see… Hanoi is lovely but Saigon is where it’s at! Hope all goes well with the move!
James