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| Bringing in 2017 with roses |
Vietnam has a unique way of bringing in
the New Year, ushering it in with flowers. It is also one of those few countries in the world where there is
a complete shutdown for a week around this time.
I was advised against
travelling around Tet, the Vietnamese New Year because of this. Restaurants,
tourist attractions, shops, transport - everything comes to a halt as people go
home to celebrate with their loved ones. In hindsight, it is THE best time to
visit the country.
Of
course, I would still advise making your travel plans in advance for the two
days leading up to Tet and a couple of days following it. Prices for everything
including transport shoot up at this time.
The festivities, lights and bright flowers
draw you in. Flower markets pop up everywhere, roads are lit up (similar to the Western countries around Christmas), Christmas trees stand tall with their decoration in late January which is a very rare sight, peach blossom trees in the north and apricot blossom
trees in the south are lined up for sale pretty much everywhere. As
soon as I headed out of Hanoi airport, I saw this pink flowered, lean tree
being carried by people on their bikes, trucks transporting them and each shop
and house having it at the entrance. I was curious and asked my driver in sign language and a few words in English about the tree's
significance. He told me that they believe that the peach blossom tree keeps evil spirits away.
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| Flowers to be planted in the city centre |
Later in the day, I walked around the city centre visiting a couple of tourist sites, spotting this gorgeous tree many times. While sipping into delicious coconut coffee at Cong Caphe, I met Irma, a chemist from Holland. We got talking and decided to explore the bustling city together.
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| Flowers around Hoan Kiem lake |
Hoan Kiem lake is situated in the heart of
the city. It was beautifully lit; the pagoda in the middle bursting with
colourful hues of light from a distance. We walked
around the length of the lake taking in the sights and sounds along the way. We
even came across five different newlywed couples getting clicked at various
points along the lake. Was that a sign? Irma and I joked. We could not get
enough of the blanket of flowers along the length of the lake. It was a spectacular sight.
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| Wedding season or so it seemed |
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| Another newly wed couple |
When I arrived in the otherworldly town of
Hoi An, the flowers welcomed us. Apricot
blossom trees were lined up on both sides of the road along with many other
varieties, up for sale. I cycled through the flower market, breathing in their
sweet aroma, a welcome relief from the motorbike smoke.
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| Passing through the flower market |
Paul Theroux has recommended the train journey from Hoi An to Hue in one of his books. This is the only reason I went to Hue, the ancient capital of Vietnam. The flowers on my way from the train station brightened up the otherwise dreary day. After a cruise down Perfume river, I went over to the ancient town. There was a huge flower market right outside the citadel full of hustle and bustle.
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The citadel in Hue
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While we tend to bring in the new year with parties and get together's involving a lot of booze and food, the Vietnamese add these pretty flowers to the mix. Keeping away evil spirits or not, they definitely do brighten up the day which would inevitably lead to a good start to the year.
