I love maps!
My work and apartment complex is the little gray blob to the immediate right of "Quang An" and sits Xuan Dieu Street, shown in yellow and which is the main road into and out of Tay Ho.
From the looks of it, one might think the neighborhood had many "streets" crisscrossing the peninsula. But aside from Xuan Dieu and most of the lakeside roads, most of the streets are actually just small alleys. Some are literally just hallways.
As I was wondering around "the 'hood" last weekend, I stumbled on the street above and noticed a woman off in the distance. As I got closer, I realized that she was one of several people who roam the streets of Tay Ho pushing their large green carts.
As I got closer, I realized that she's the garbage lady! There's actually a whole team of workers who roam the streets of Tay Ho (and presumably Hanoi) pushing hand carts and collecting the garbage. Obviously, with streets so small and narrow, no garbage truck could ever navigate such small spaces.
Amazingly, her cart is about the size of a typical American garbage bin, so she wouldn't get much past the driveway in Phoenix before her cart was full. But that's also when I noticed the garbage she was picking up:
And this:
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And this: |
I guess when you have small trash, you only need small trash disposal! I think the Vietnamese are especially thoughtful with their garbage. Of course, they don't consume anywhere near what the average American might, but once they do, they recycyle everything they can because they must, not because they're particularly "green".
I've actually seen several cartpushers and their carts congregating in various parts of the neighborhood. What they do once their carts are full remains a mystery, but I'll see what I can do to find out and let you know.
Because I'm sure everyone is as incredibly fascinated by this as I am! :o)
I wonder how often the "garbage ladies" come by...weekly? Daily? I notice a scooter or two parked on that "street". Is there much crime in Hanoi, i.e. burgarlies, muggings, etc.
ReplyDeleteP.S. This is the second posting...the first one just vanished. Maybe it will show up later?
I love the neat little piles of garbage.
ReplyDeleteSWEET .. very much like the HuTongs in Beijing, although they look different architecturally ..I wish to see them. ;)
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ReplyDeleteI can answer that Steve. I almost hate to spoil the mystery for you, but your readers will want to know... If you head out to where Xuan Dieu meets the highway to the airport at say, 05:00, you will see a convention of garbage trolleys there. They meet by the hundreds and they line up all along the side of the road in the dark, in the rain, doesn't matter. Then a big truck pulls up and they take turns MANUALLY emptying their garbage trolleys into the back of this truck. They have to do it with their little shovels and by hand. It's really quite a sight. And one can presume that when their trolley is empty, they head back into the maze of back alleys to start all over again. Tomorrow morning, when you're out for your early morning 5k run (eh hemm..), just turn left out of Syrena and check it out.
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