Hanoi, 2018 and 2019

I love Hanoi. I think it’s the most beautiful city in the world. I feel this deeply, which means, I need more clarity on what beauty means, because I was not prepared for Hanoi, and it isn’t always beautiful as such.

Hanoi is random, torn, and human. It refuses to be magnificent. It thinks about different things than that. In Hanoi, the people have a certain timelessness. They are as graceful and patient as the ancient Japanese. Around them, their magnificent city changes as quickly as a stage-set, unrecognizable from one day to the next, but only on the surface. Underneath, it is Hanoi.

I love Hanoi.