The capital becomes more charming with loc vung (Barringtonia acutangula) trees shedding their leaves and in the blooming of gentle ban (Bauhinia variegata) flowers that overwhelm the streets. Shimmering and ancient Hoan Kiem Lake is mixed with bright red or yellow colours all around it, stretching from Dinh Tien Hoang to Le Thai To streets.
The spring colours are attached to each glance. From the early morning until the street lights turn on, the steps seem to be slower and lighter. Not just young people, but many elderly also choose this place to enjoy beautiful moments with the colours bestowed by mother nature. Watching fluttering long dresses passing by and teenagers chirping under the shadow of red leaves, it seems that the youth in each person is rushing back ...
In a corner of the lake, a middle-aged woman picked up a red loc vung leaf that had just fallen from the bough. She twirled it in her hand, with her eyes wandering as if something had just arrived in her mind. Seeing me watch the red circles through her hands, she smiled softly and said, the leaf reminded her of many sweet memories of youth, love, dreams and also a hard time in the past. Then, as if we were two old friends, she talked to me about the old red leaves, which were very rare in the past. They were dried and pressed in diary pages. The leaf also had a mission, like a flower, in the first embarrassment when it was presented to the girl by a boyfriend in the class. The leaves seem to be senseless but have extremely romantic visualisations and emotions of a pure youth. Giving the leaf to me, she said, the fallen leaf signals the changing to a new season...
Among those looking for beautiful moments, there was an old man holding an old camera. He wandered around the lake, occasionally inviting people to take photos. His style of invitation was not earnest, not waiting for anyone to agree or not, causing many people to think that he was insane. In the current high-tech era, just with a smart phone, we can have satisfactory pictures, without a need for photographers. Even though the old photographer knew it, he still invited his customers. Because every time at the start of the changing leaf season, when the trees begin shedding their leaves, he misses his job, the profession of taking pictures around the lake, which had helped him earn enough money to care for his children. Now all his children are grown up, he does not have to raise anyone and his job no longer earns him money. The old camera and the beautiful moments become an excuse for his nostalgia...
Hanoi is always beautiful in every season, brilliant in the lush leafy season with vivid colours of blooming flowers, and even in the cold winter, as the leaves leave scraggy branches, it’s still beautiful. The need to live and blend into the beauty of nature has unknowingly opened a healthy entertainment space for the capital citizens. At the beginning of the week, the girls have a weekend coffee and take photos. Not only around Hoan Kiem Lake, West Lake, or local parks, Hanoi streets like Hoang Dieu and Phan Dinh Phung are never absent of the images of long dresses. Everyone wants to keep their own beautiful moments about beautiful and reminiscent Hanoi…
