Prague’s Little Hanoi
 Pho at the Dong Do restaurant
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 Shopping outlets in Little Hanoi
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Getting the first bee sting of your life while alone at a bus station in a foreign country, not being able to find the friends you were planning to meet, and knowing you’re about to miss the bus you can’t find, isn’t the best way to start the day.
I was supposed to meet Tai – one of Maria’s students – and Peter – a Prague native who was assisting Maria with the student activities. Our destination was Little Hanoi – the Vietnamese community on the southern outskirts of Prague. I knew which bus we were supposed to take, but I couldn’t find it. Luckily Tai found me just a minute before the bus was leaving (it was at a small terminal hidden behind a wall of tall shrubs). We ran back to the bus and got on just in time. The ride was about 30 minutes, and it was my first time venturing out of Prague’s tourist areas. As we left Smichov station, the beautiful old buildings gave way to row upon row of communist-era concrete apartment buildings. Peter explained to me that after the Velvet Revolution, President Václav Havel hoped that people would abandon these buildings (he referred to them as “rabbit cages”). But as drab and unpleasant as they were, people had been living in them for decades and had created communities around them. So instead the buildings are being renovated and painted bright, cheerful colors.
While Peter educated Tai and I about the history of the area, we educated him about Vietnam. My knowledge of Vietnam is limited to two subjects: the Vietnam War, which I studied off and on for years, and phở – Vietnamese beef noodle soup – my favorite food. But Tai did most of the talking, since he is a 2nd generation Vietnamese-American. Tai was also our ticket into Little Hanoi: to get in, you have to pass through an entrance and either 1. have a wholesale vendor’s license, or 2. look Vietnamese (or be with someone who looks Vietnamese).
It turned out the “Sapa” building at the entrance used to be an office building where Peter had worked many years ago, and he hadn’t been back in at least 10 years. So for him it was an unusual experience, coming to a place that was familiar in some ways and very unfamiliar in others. As for me, I was happy that the pain in my hand from the bee sting had subsided (but since it was my first sting, the swelling and itching had just begun).
Our first stop was the Dong Do restaurant for lunch, which of course meant phở. Peter was very curious, as he had never had Vietnamese food before, and I was excited to have my first bowl of phở in Europe. It was a restaurant with a full menu, not a specialty phở shop, so the phở wasn’t amazing, but it was still very enjoyable. One of the best aspects of phở is there’s something about it that inspires lively conversation. Peter told us stories of life under communism, and Tai shared stories of his father’s life in the South Vietnamese army during the Vietnam War.
After lunch Tai took us for a quick tour around the markets (this was his second trip to Little Hanoi). It’s primarily a wholesale, business-to-business district, not a retail market, so there’s nothing especially attractive about the surroundings, which consisted of simple concrete and metal buildings. They primarily sold imported clothing, which wasn’t something I needed, but it was still fun to look around.
If you’re visiting Prague and want to venture out to Little Hanoi, the article here has more information, as well as directions. Remember though, you need to either look Asian or have a local vendor’s license to get in. There’s also another group of Vietnamese shops in Prague 4, described here.
