Page 32 - Seniorstoday November 2023 Issue

While you drive through the countryside On talking to our guide on our way to HOI
you just can’t miss the uncountable
roadside Bonsai nurseries. Hundreds of
them line the roads on both sides. You
cannot buy and carry back home, so don’t
stop, just feast your eyes! Another thing
you can’t miss in the various roadside
workshops and sale points for a variety of
Buddha and other sculptures and Temple
like structures in all shapes and sizes and
colours. People really have an artistic eye
and taste and decorate their homes with
these artefacts made from stone which is
finely crafted.
One is also amazed to see the number
of two wheelers zipping by. Can’t help
appreciating the fact that each and every
one wears a helmet, even children are made
to wear helmets. At every traffic junction,
we saw so many two wheelers standing in
a disciplined manner. While the red light
was on, not a single person tried to jump
the light! No one seems to be in a hurry
to get anywhere and nobody blows the
horn - they all drive calmly and as per the
prescribed speed limits.
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AN, we got to know that it’s as easy to buy
a two wheeler as it is to buy vegetables at
the roadside, if you have the money and
licence of course! Every second person
owns a two wheeler, which means to every
1000 persons there are 500 vehicles. As
I mentioned earlier about the extreme
road discipline obviously we saw no road
rage or accidents. The other observation
is that the Vietnamese are very calm, cool,
soft spoken people. They are patient and
gracious. It feels as if they have the peace
and quietness and serenity of Buddhism
actually flowing in their blood through the
air they breathe. The public in general is
also laid back and love to just sit around
and watch the world go by. The city streets
are lined with roadside eateries, with the
majority of the chairs kept on the footpath
facing the road almost like a theatre. Even
if there are tables in front they all face the
road. Outside smaller shops people just
sit around – relaxing, chatting and eating
noodles or sticky rice which are their staple
foods. They eat noodles anytime of the day,
breakfast, lunch and dinner.
HOIAN is a coastal city and probably has
more attractions than HANOI. It was our
luck to be there during the Mid October
Moon Festival. It is time for the full moon