Running Hanoi, Vietnam

It always give me great pleasure to travel to Hanoi.  I visited the city for the first time in 1997, way before its now nearly full-blown economic development. Since then, I have returned seven more times, the last time a couple of weeks ago. So enamored have I been in fact with Hanoi that I used to consider the place as a top-5 favorite travel destination!

So what makes me think Hanoi is special?  My simple answer: history and culture.  Celebrating its 1000th founding anniversary in 2010, Hanoi has been the capital of Vietnam for a thousand years - the center of power for the country's past dynasties, of French Indochina, and of then North Vietnam. During the violent 1960s, the grit and resoluteness of the city and its people were once again tested, measured, and found never to be wanting!

As for the culture, one only needs to visit the many small shops in the Old Quarter near Hoan Kiem Lake to get immersed in the city's long affair with the West even as it is host to over 600 only-in-the-East pagodas.  From the tree-lined boulevards dotted by French mansions and villas, one can find an eclectic mix of French and traditional Vietnamese styles adorning the city's architectural landscape.

And you simply have to admire the people of whom I have many friends. From the heroes Ho Chi Mihn to the elderly who to this day exercise, run, and/or dance along the banks of the city's lakes, to the present-day Affliction shirt-clad youth, they just seem special.  After all, which other Asian people can guzzle pitchers of beer yet maintain 30-inch waistlines- slender enough to slither comfortably in and out of the famed Ku Chi tunnels?

For running, however, it is quite a different story.  Then as now, Hanoi remains a tough-to-run place, unless you go to the nearby countryside.  The bicycle traffic of the 1990s has now been replaced by a smorgasbord traffic of trucks, vans, and sedans, with the motorbike traffic still ubiquitously in over-dominance. It is said that 80% of the city's population ride motobikes- a lot for a city of 6.5 million!

But despair not for the running addicted- there is light at the end of the tunnel. An '8'-shaped running route that circles Hoan Kiem Lake and passes through many of the city's architectural landmarks and art museums is a must-run for a running tourist.  I tried this route (drawn on the left-hand side) and found the distance to be 6.89 kilometers and relatively traffic-free before 7 in the morning.

As anywhere, but more so in Hanoi, be careful as you run the city streets. As mentioned, the love affair of the locals with motorcycles is the stuff of legend. Look right and look left, before crossing any street.  Then look again! And run early in the morning if you can. If you're lucky, you'll be able to run ahead of both the mortorbike traffic and clean air jams!

Happy 1000th anniversary Hanoi!