Autumn in Hanoi

"Touching" autumn... Hanoi's atmosphere seem to be "fermenting" in the golden sunshine like honey mixed with the wind. It seems that the cold fog makes people suddenly feel wistful with their beloved memories. I have experienced autumn in many different lands, but to me, autumn in Hanoi is special because it has its own unique flavor.

Fall is also the season when trees change leaves. These days, walking on the streets of Tran Hung Dao, Phan Dinh Phung, Tran Phu, Hoang Dieu, Nguyen Tri Phuong... we are immersed in the beautiful rain of leaves. Leaves follow the wind and "play" in the sunlight. Here and there, ripe golden Dracontomelon, called "quả sấu", hide in leaves. It's interesting while drinking coffee in the afternoon, watching falling leaves in the sunlight and then gently land on your loved one's hair.

The autumn sun is very strange, the sunlight are like waves pouring honey into the heart. The sun swoops down, like spreading silk into the flower bouquets on the old bicycles "floating" on the street. The lotus bunches at the end of the season still gently show off their elegant fragrance alongside the bright yellow chrysanthemums at the beginning of the season. The sun ripened the dracontomelon fruits to a bright yellow color on the branches. The sunshine awkwardly gives destiny. The sun shines into the eyes of people who are just falling in love with emotional feelings.

Hanoi's autumn foods have their own unique flavor. "Cốm" from Vong village are as green as jade with an elegant flavor like a gift from nature to Hanoi. Like an ingenious arrangement, Cốm with young green sticky rice grains are so delicious when eaten with aromatic banana "trứng cuốc" and red persimmons. From Cốm, mothers and grandmothers make it into many delicious foods such as "chả cốm, chè cốm, xôi cốm, chim câu hầm cốm"... Fall is also when the Dracontomelon is ripe. They are spirally peeled and mixed with salt and chili, make us feel excited.

Have you ever felt the scent of autumn on the streets of Hanoi? To me, the scent of autumn is a blend of the fairy-tale scent of shiny golden ripe fruits, called "quả thị", the scent of "Cốm" at the beginning of the season and the passionate scent of milk flowers... The scent of autumn is light but spreading all over the atmosphere, entering into every quiet old street and also our dreams.

When mentioning the scent of autumn in Hanoi, we will never forget the scent of ripe guava. This is a guava type with small, oblong shape, and mothers often jokingly call it "guava with a handle". I will always remember the peach guavas, ripe and fragrant, carried by peddlers on the streets. My mother often buys guavas at the beginning of the season to dedicate to the ancestors. The sweet scent of ripe guava mixed with the fragrant scent of incense forever lingers in my memory.

For me, autumn in Hanoi is also associated with the gentle scent of royal orchids. The slender flowers with curly yellow petals bring a light scent in the wind. There are quiet and empty moments of the street, the scent of orchids near and far in the wind brings along the sound of a piano somewhere by our side, making our hearts relax after pressure of working days.

On an autumn night, the sweet scent of milk flowers awakens many old memories. I suddenly remembered one autumn morning, a classmate gave me the first milk flower branch of the season, making my heart flutter. There are the first lovely feelings of life that cannot be named but are always in the mind.

The taste of Hanoi's autumn makes me feel a little sad, a little nostalgic... Those memories are along with every street and row of trees in Hanoi. And... I believe that, no matter how many years pass, autumn in Hanoi will always be a corner of sweet memories in the minds of those who have been to this land.

Source: Vy Anh/Economy & Urban Newspaper