Each area of Hanoi has it’s own village. And by that I mean community.
Walk down a given alley of a neighborhood and everyone takes their part in providing for the area. You have your tofu makers, butchers, vegetable sellers & fermenters, fruit sellers (sometimes different for each fruit), egg providers, quick marts, incense/shrine sellers, seafood providers, the milkman, the bean milkman, mushroom shops, pharmacies, and even a place to buy towels/glass jars/cooking utensils/etc. Along with this you will see some people selling different foods such as Bun Cha, Pho, Spring Rolls, Fried delicacies, Banh mi, Coffees, Bia Hoi, and so on.
The things is, if you go just a mile down the road, you will find the exact same things, just for that neighborhood. Again, it reminds me of NYC where one just has their local shops in each part of town. In places like Los Angeles where I am from, things are not so local, rather we would go to one single shop to buy EVERYTHING. Here I at least feel like the wealth is being spread about evenly and I see exactly where it goes. I am not paying directly to some corporate structure.
Best of all, I get genuine human interaction when I am buying these products. We all smile at each other and have a hand to hand exchange of goods. But beware, around 1 o’clock is nap time, and all of the shops will be closed.
…At least there are less motorbikes on the road at this time.
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