A Dream About Hanoi
A few years ago I dreamed about Hanoi. I knew where I was because of a sign saying Hanoi. I believe all dreams mean something and remember thinking the dream must mean I should travel there. I even went to the library to lend a book on how to learn Vietnamese. Below are some phrases I learned before I decided to give up on my impulsive idea. I still feel curious about Hanoi though and don’t doubt I will visit eventually.
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 walked out from a hotel in East Village in New York a rainy spring day, and that I met some friends in Finsbury Park in north London. Wonder what’s next. Maybe Australia. When I lived in London last year, my flatmate’s friend who’s a palmist said I will travel in Australia, Brazil and Ecuador in the future. He also said I will visit California and San Francisco for short periods. I remember he spoke about my past life as well. According to him I lived on a vineyard in south France during the 1800th century, followed by a life as a painter near St. Petersburg in Russia.
Pictured above, Hanoi from the Sofitel by Neil Ta.
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?
@NHV, Not yet!
E – So, I ran across this article several months ago. It was as if I was reading my own journal. I have drempt about Hanoi twice. Both times, the dream happened several months after the birth of my two sons. Like you, in my dream, I read the sign to know I was in Hanoi. I ,too, became overly zealous about the thoughts to travel there and rushed to the local library. funny thing, I saved the article to ‘My Favorites’ and ironically, open the page again today. I thought it was interesting that 12.29 is the same date in which you posted. Merry Christmas and Happy New year.
What a coincidence! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! And that you can travel to Hanoi eventually…
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
@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!
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
@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!
What’s the big deal? Why don’t you just go? It’s real easy…
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.
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.
Hope you can visit Hanoi and Hai Phong one day!
In my dream I said Hanoi to Kauai and when I woke up I told myself to remember those names.Then later I went on my computer to see if those places exsisted and it did I was surprised it did cause I never heard of those places before and I wish I could remember the rest of my dream but in my dream i just remember those two words. Now I want to visit there.
Interesting. I just checked out some Google images from Kauai. Stunningly beautiful! I’m pretty sure you’d like it over there.
The best feeling is when you know you are fulfilling your dreams… a sense of acomplishment, its great and once you have acheived one then you will always want to set more goals …
Nisha´s last [type] ..Golfing Holidays
Yes, it’s a great feeling. That moment when you complete something you’ve been working towards for a long time. Gives you a confidence boost to go after new, more challenging, goals.