Hang'n with Lenin

At dusk, on any given night, Hanoi’s parks and lakes are full of hundreds of young lovers, elderly playing games, reading or sipping tea, groups of women exercising and families playing together. But one park in particular is my personal favorite for many reasons, one being the “in your face” irony of conflicting ideals. Let me explain.

The park was built in 1958 and inaugurated in 1960 with a statue of Vladimir Lenin. At that time, the country was divided into two parts with two different political regimes; the park was named Thong Nhat, meaning "united," to express the governments hope of reunification of the people. In April 1980, on the 110th anniversary of Vladimir Lenin’s birthday, Thong Nhat Park was renamed Lenin Park. Nowadays, Lenin Park is situated on Dien Bien Phu St. Thong Nhat Park has its original name.

Beneath the gaze of Vladimir Lenin, the father of Soviet Communism, a group of teens in saggy jeans practice their break dancing, skateboards fly over curbs, trick BMX bikers bounce around, kids roller blade through cones, and toddlers joy ride in small replicated motorized motorcycles, SUVs, and cars to rent for 15 minutes at a time for 40, 000 with over twenty vehicles to select from. The delightfully ironic scene is so Vietnam, surrounded by rich traditions with a population moving lightening speed into the globalized world, while still tending to old political philosophies. I can only smile and wonder what Lenin would have thought.

One thing I do know, this is Pearce’s favorite place to go. He could cruise around in a motorized vehicle all night. And of course, Eric and I don't mind, we enjoy hang'n like locals.



Click on and watch this small snippet of toddler traffic jams.