Walking And Getting Lost In Cau Giay District Hanoi
The Old Quarter is so popular with tourists to Hanoi that other parts of the city are often overlooked in travel guides published throughout the world but on a rainy evening right before the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, where better to get lost than the Cau Giay district?
Located on the outskirts of Hanoi’s southern flatlands, Cau Giay has a veneer of newness and a glistening commercial bustle that belies its traditional suburban roots.
It’s becoming increasingly rare to find winding alleys and paths between the main arterial highways in Cau Giay. In this district, the contrast between young, well-off Hanoian kids and traditional vendors, hairdressers, and shopkeepers is clearer than anywhere else in the city.
Both foreigners and locals alike can get their hands on some of the most expensive fashions around. There are a wide variety of denims, leather products, technology, and homewares for sale on the city’s main thoroughfares.
The cost of living rises steadily distant from Hoan Kiem district. In the Cau Giay neighbourhood, the locals seem to welcome the curious traveller and entice them to remain. Young men who own karaoke establishments on the main street have the charisma of a prince, while families clad in apparel made in Vietnam fill the local coffee cafes.
For me, it’s a taste of actual city life in Vietnam. A district where enterprises are expanding and upgrading their facilities, where fortunes are increasing quickly, and where families spend time together socialising and enjoying the abundance of this district. If you’re looking for a real slice of Vietnamese culture, you’ll find it in the district, which is easy to romanticise.
All throughout the world, people are gripped by a wave of economic fear. Retailers in the Western world’s fashion, technology and grocery sectors have been trying to compete in a global market that is becoming increasingly competitive. The retail industry in the United Kingdom and the United States has become stagnant, resulting in the closure of shops and malls.
There are ways to alleviate this worry in Cau Giay district. Local shopkeepers are taking chances to create companies that cater to a more affluent customer that lives and works in the area. Local market stall owners, small company owners, and grocery store owners show extraordinary creativity and ingenuity.
Most importantly they have a work ethic that is rarely seen in the west today. They use every square inch of space they can get their hands on, offer the best value possible, keep margins low, and turnover high.
A week of strolling about Cau Giay has made it evident that this little-known district is burning on all cylinders, so if you get into the habit of getting lost now and again in Cau Giay for an afternoon, you won’t be disappointed.