Imagine a city where the exotic chic of old Asia blends with the
dynamic face of new Asia. Where the medieval and
modern co-exist. A city with a blend of Parisian grace and Asian pace, an
architectural museum piece evolving in harmony with its history, rather than
bulldozing through like many of the region’s capitals. Hanoi is where
imagination becomes reality.
A mass of motorbikes swarms through the tangled web of streets that is the Old
Quarter, a cauldron of commerce for almost 1000 years and still the best place
to check the pulse of this resurgent city.
Hawkers in conical hats ply their wares, locals sip coffee and bia hoi (beer) watching life
(and plenty of tourists) pass them by. Witness synchronized Tai chi at dawn on
the shores of Hoan Kiem Lake while goateed grandfathers tug at their wisps over
the next chess move. See the bold and beautiful dine at designer restaurants
and cut the latest moves on the dance floor. Hanoi has it all: the ancient
history, a colonial legacy and a modern outlook. There is no better place to
untangle the paradox that is modern Vietnam.
‘Welcome back’.. And I had arrived! The lobby and the reception receive me with a
cleverly lit warm atmosphere. I check into the Charlie Chaplin Suite, lovingly
decorated with memorabilia of the great entertainer.
The
stairs in the old wing have character.
They creak and moan and groan as if they were telling me the story of their
first one hundred years. The next morning, work out in the gym; dip into the
pool, Breakfast at Le Beaulieu. Lunch at the Spices Garden or Angelina?. Right
here, until 1880, there was a lake. The French spared no efforts to cultivate
this area. ‘After a visit to Hanoi one is curious to learn what the French
would have done in Singapore or Hong Kong if they possessed them’ wrote Alfred
Cunningham in 1901 full of genuine admiration.
Later I take a stroll through the mild
Hanoi night. The old Opera House gleams at a distance. It has been exquisitely
restored. I walk towards the dyke that protects the city from the regular
threat of floods from the Red River. Behind its walls flow the mighty
waterways. Once the river proved the only means of transportation between the
water worlds, harbour at Haiphong, and Hanoi. Then the Correspondence Flaviole
plied its services up and downstream. This was where they arrived, Paul Bert,
Paul Doumer, and all the others. Adventurers’, civil servants, explores
visitors. Here early one morning many
years ago, Gustave Dumoutier must have stood.
Waiting….
My Favorite Hotel
Metropole (15 Ngo Quyen Street; 84-4-826-6919;
www.sofitel.com), which has become a home away from home for
many. It was built in 1901, and its
graceful architecture and elegance reflects the French influence on the city of
Hanoi.
The rooms in the old wing are my
favorite but there is a new club floor in the Opera wing which is run by the
most wonderful manager Mr Kei Speth. The best address in town is, it underwent
a $US16 million upgrade in 2007 to become the Hotel Sofitel Legend. The spa
offers legendary massages and traditional hammam
With its twirling ceiling fans and
'Champagne bar' billing, Le Club, in
the Metropole Hotel, harks back to the leisurely French period, as does its
signature drink, the ruby-hued Graham Greene Martini. (Greene stayed at the
hotel and doubtless drank at this bar.) Le Club's appeal broadens significantly
at tea time (15:00 to 17:30) when it offers its irresistibly decadent chocolate
buffet.
After a year of phenomenal accolades in 2010,
the Sofitel Legend Metropole scored its most prestigious award yet.
See you soon Sofitel Metropole.. Can't wait to be back in September!
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