By August 31, unless you’ve been to one of the other campsite areas, the streets north of Ba Dinh Square, Hung Vuong and Nguyen Thai Hoc, felt less like a city road and more like a mega-block party campsite. Tiny tents, carton cardboard sleeping arrangements, and entire families made the little squares just become their livable survival section.
She had green bean cakes, bottled water, ration packs, and a purse fan to survive. Her only concern was keeping her phone alive without an outlet nearby.
Not everyone came alone
Nguyen Van Nhat rode into Hanoi from Hoa Lac with a crew of ten, kids included. Instead of panicking, they decided to treat this as a family adventure: adults took turns watching their spot, while others took the kids sightseeing or spirited them away to watch war movies, like Red Rain. Nhat even pointed out food prices didn’t explode, despite all of the holiday buzz. “A rice box is 40,000 dong. Honestly, I expected a lot worse,” he laughed.
Vets are in too
It wasn’t only families investing their time. Pham Xuan Su, a retired soldier from Ninh Binh said spending two nights on the street was nothing compared to the job of coming to honor the troops. He had already been to the 50th Reunification Parade all those years ago in HCMC, he wasn’t going to miss the capital’s most important military variety show.
When Hotels are Full, the Station becomes Plan B
Hotels? Fully booked. Budget-friendly hostels? Prices too, 1 – 1.5 million dong a night right now. So, a few people got inventive. “It’s quiet, lots of food stalls, and at least we have a corner to lay down,” she said. They were still going to move to a place closer to the parade route the next day, hoping to get a better position.
Why This Year was Special
The large ceremony on September 2nd started at 6:30 AM in Ba Dinh Square, featuring Vietnam military and police in one of the largest parades the country has seen in decades. It was all worth it for many to sacrifice sleep and stay on the street at night to experience the events.
