Hanoi from the Sofitel © Neil Ta
A few years ago I had a dream about Hanoi. I knew where I was because I saw a sign saying Hanoi. I believe all dreams mean something and remember I thought the dream must mean that I should travel there… even though I didn’t even know anything about the city. I even went to the library to lend a book on how to learn Vietnamese. Later I realized the dream probably meant I will travel to Hanoi someday, not that I have to make it happen within the next few months.
Below are some phrases I learnt before I decided to give up on my impulsive idea. But since then I have always been very curious about Hanoi, just as curious as I am about Bangkok, Sydney, Rio and Buenos Aires.
Hello (to an older man) = Ong
(to a younger man) = Anh
(to an old woman) = Ba
(to an older woman) = Chi
(to a younger lady) = Co
How are you? = Bac co Khoe Khong?
Well, thanks = Cam on binh thuong
Thank you = Cam on
Goodbye = Tam biet
Where’s the bathroom = Cau tieu o dau?
Yes = Da (ya in north)
No = Khong (khum)
Excuse me = Xin Toi
I want/need = Toi can/toi muon
I don’t dream about traveling especially often. Since my Hanoi dream I have only dreamt about Chile, that I was walking out from a hotel in East Village in New York a rainy spring day, and that I was meeting some friends in Finsbury Park in north London. I wonder what will be next. Maybe Australia. When I lived in London last year, my flatmate’s friend who is a palmist said that I will travel in Australia, and Brazil and Ecuador in the future. He also said I will be going to California and San Francisco for short periods. I remember he spoke about my past life as well. I doubt it, but according to him I was living on a vineyard in south France during the 1800th century, followed by a life as a painter near St. Petersburg in Russia. Who knows what’s true?
Possibly related posts:
Dreams Involving Travel | Travel Blissful
1 year ago
[...] A Dream About Hanoi. I see a sign saying ‘Hanoi’, that’s how I know. [...]
NHV
1 year ago
Wow, I feel very happy and excited now, after reading your entry about my hometown – Hanoi. So has ur dream bout Hanoi come true yet?
Erica Johansson
1 year ago
@NHV, Not yet!
carbuckle
1 year ago
If this dream is still real for you- then you will enjoy Hanoi.
I understand your desire to see places, and your list is equally beautiful for some people- but for me, Asia has a special power that words cannot describe, and Vietnam even more so than many other places in Asia.
When my plane landed in Vietnam I spoke nothing more than thank you. The land and people touched me very deeply, and I often think of Hanoi and Hui even today. I have traveled in eight countries, not a bragging point, but more so as a means for comparison. If you like the smells of life that thrives on the street, which steams, smiles, pulses and breathes, and if you can control your desires and live with have a strong sense of adventure, you will be deeply touched by VN. It’s like no place else, and it more than worth the effort to make it happen.
But remember the part about controlling your desires- its easy to take too much and loose yourself- so keep it real and don’t play with fire- Remember your values.
It was so beautiful, like India mixed with China, yet with its own special flare. Absolutely Magical.
Perhaps you should shake free and try- it’s more than worth it, and if you make it happen who knows what tomorrow could bring.
Best wishes and safe travels
Erica Johansson
1 year ago
@carbuckle, Thanks for commenting. It’s always good to hear about someone else’s experience of a certain place or country. Even though I often advice myself (and others) to practice the most common phrases in the native language, I like the idea of not knowing anything else than “thank you” before arriving in a new country.
To have traveled in eight countries is not little. Better to travel, than to not travel at all! I also like the smells of life on streets in cities. It makes you feel alive. I’m not sure what you mean exactly by “controlling your desires” though. But I agree with you on remembering one’s values. That’s vital to live a happy life.
As for my dream, I no longer have the same desire to travel to Hanoi but would love to visit Vietnam in the future. My dreams concerning destinations change with time. In ’05, when I had the dream, I made a tentative plan to go backpacking in Asia: to fly from Stockholm to St Petersburg, travel by train to Moscow, take the Transibirian railway to Beijing via Ulan Bataar, Mongolia, continue through Shanghai and Hong Kong, cross the Vietnam border, spend a week or two in Hanoi, make a detour to Halong Bay, hop on a train to Ho Chi Minh with stops in Hoi An and Nha Trang, enter Cambodia, go boating on the Mekong river, see Angkor Wat and the floating villages on Ton Le Sap, possibly travel to Laos, discover some of the best islands in Thailand, and end my trip in Bangkok.
I wanted to make that trip, but for some reason it didn’t feel 100% right and it didn’t feel like the time was right. In the end, I chose to travel to London instead. I don’t regret my decision because I got other opportunities I wouldn’t have found in Asia. Before, I sometimes wondered, what if I had made that trip instead of the one I took? Or, what if I had chosen another opportunity?
I learnt that when you have many opportunities to choose between, rather than thinking there’s only one right decision (and the others are wrong), you can look at what you will gain and lose if you’d choose A as opposed to B or C and vice versa. That way, no decision is more ‘right’ than the other, they just have different outcomes.
Safe travels to you too!
Phuong
11 months ago
Dear Erica
If you would like to travel to Vietnam, your plan doesn’t sound good. If you just “stop” in Ha Noi and Nha Trang, then what you know about my country is basically zero
Remember some places you MUST visit in Vietnam (those places are wonderful for cultural travel, I don’t know if you just like sightseeing (from North to South):
- Sapa
- Ha Long
- Ha Noi
- Hue
- Hoi An
- Ho Chi Minh City
and the system of streams, small and big rivers in some South West provinces of Ho Chi Minh city, they are amazing to me !
Good day to you
Erica Johansson
11 months ago
@Phuong, Just noticed an error in my last comment. I meant “stops in Hoi An and Nha Trang”, not Ha Noi. But whether that plan is any good would depend on how long the “stop” was
Anyway, thanks for your must visit list!
Fritz Kaktus
7 months ago
What’s the big deal? Why don’t you just go? It’s real easy…
Erica Johansson
7 months ago
There’s no big deal
But I want to travel to other places first! Hanoi is only one of the many cities I hope to visit.
Nash Rawuther
4 months ago
I would love to visit hanoi and hai phong as i ve heard these names ever since my childhood.My father was born in vietnam.my grand mother is vietnamese and i love vietnamese food.I would love to see more pics of hanoi and haiphong.
Erica Johansson
4 months ago
Hope you can visit Hanoi and Hai Phong one day!