TRUC BACH

Not a love story, but good friends

March 2025

“Nothing ever stays the same" - my motto comes alive again. I am going to move within Hanoi due to the upcoming construction next to our building. Having lived in the same neighborhood since I first moved here, I thought it was time to change not only my house but also my hood.

Truc Bach Island came to mind, a neighborhood I have always liked for lunch and dinner meetings, as well as for coffee. Plus, it’s only a 10- to 15-minute bicycle ride to the office. I thought it would be the perfect area to find a new apartment.

However, while the agent showed me different apartments, I suddenly saw the island from a different perspective. How strange that the same place can feel so different depending on your state of mind. What I once liked started to bother me, especially when I imagined myself living my daily life there. I felt that the island, with its limited square meters, was overcrowded with everything. I saw (or at least I felt I saw) more rubbish and dirt on the streets. I smelt the lake (not good at all). I missed trees, plants, and green spaces. And even though the lakeside road offers a great panorama with the funny paddle swan boats, it didn’t excite me at all.

On my way back home from one of the apartment tours, I wanted to share my insights with Cô Lien and asked her to join me for dinner at one of our favorite dim sum places. While we usually order trà đá (cold green tea) with our food, this time we decided to go for a beer. And of course, we went for Truc Bach beer, which isn’t always easy to find. We opened the cans and enjoyed its slightly bitter, refreshing taste.

Over dinner, Cô Lien shared what she liked about Truc Bach and asked me if I knew that during the Vietnam War in 1967, John McCain, later a U.S. senator from Arizona, was shot down and captured in Truc Bach Lake before being imprisoned for five and a half years. A memorial at the lake commemorates the incident and serves as a symbol of his later efforts in the normalization of relations between the U.S. and Vietnam. When President Joe Biden visited Hanoi in September 2023, he paid tribute to Senator McCain at his memorial and placed flowers at the monument. I had missed that part of history as well as the more recent news. In fact, I hadn’t even realized there was a monument.

Talking and eating with my friend is always good, and I could feel that looking for a new apartment had stressed me out more than I wanted to admit. Was it homesickness that I felt as my move approached? Did I already miss my quiet little alley, the friendly greetings from my neighbors, the nearby park, and one of my favorite coffee shops? I think so, to be honest!

A couple of days later, I made up my mind. I’m not going to look for a new apartment in Truc Bach. I’ll still enjoy the island and hang out with friends there, but my daily life will take place in Tây Hồ - in one of those dead-end alleys with flowerpots, herb and vegetable boxes and the parks. Change is good, but right now, it shouldn’t be too big (you see me smiling here).