Peach Flower

“Tet” is a word of Chinese origin and a phonetic transcription of “ Tiet” a Sino – Vietnamese term which means “ the joint of a bamboo stem” and, in a wider sense, the “beginning of a meteorological period of the year.”

For a peasant people attached to the earth since the distant past, Tet has been and remains first of all a festival of communion with nature. In the rhythm of reason, it marks an interlude for farmer and rice fields to rest after twelve months of labor.  Tet is not to be missed. All members of the family – grandparents, father, mother, brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts – gather together to “eat Tet” under the same roof. Friends and relatives visit one another and exchange greetings and good wishes.

For the Vietnamese, Tet brings a message of confidence in humanity; it brings redemption, hope, and optimism.
Take short push bike with fresh air at middle night to the night flower market to discover Vietnamese people preparing the Peach Blossoms trees for Tet Lunar New Year.

Many villages in the suburbs of Ha Noi specialize in growing peach trees. When Tet draws near, each household in the capital city makes a point of procuring at least a small branch of peach flowers. Petals are single or double according to the variety, and their colors range from a delicate pink to carmine red. Connoisseurs like double petals and tender rosy tones, but popular preference goes to more vivid tints.

Peach blossoms owe their popularity to reasons that vary according to individual age and taste. Most people like them because of the beauty of their slender petals, but some see a symbol of prosperity and good fortune in the vividness of their colors. The older generation believes in the power of peach blossoms to repel evil.

The Vietnamese, as well as their Chinese neighbors, class the chrysanthemum among the “noble” plants because it can withstand cold weather and its leaves remain attached to the branches after they die.

Cam Quat

The Sino-Vietnamese name of this plant is descriptive enough: “thuy tien” means “water fairy”. Every one of its parts – bulb, roots, leaves, and flowers – is endowed with particular grace, and its scent is at once subtle and penetrating.

With Hanoi people, Quang Ba flower market – the first whole sale flower market, it is cut and fasted into the difference small one from early 2am and delivered by Chinese motorbikes. Silent in the fresh air is broken by difference the sounds from difference motors, bicycles… all the market is made busy by the shouting or calling from the flowers sellers with pinky light from the shell phone flash or flash light even from motorbike light to show for the buyers.   They sell difference flowers follow the season of the year as carnations, roses, daisies, peach blossoms, narcissus… for Lunar New Year, sometimes the young couples are curious or buy to present to each others.

Hanoi Night Market

The chance for chatting or buying for yourself flowers that you like then go ahead to the impress food night market.
All the town is sleeping but the vegetable night market is still busy as usual as the daily markets. The vegetable as carrot, cabbage…is still busy and waken up the town by those hard labors. The vegetable night market is so light pale by street yellow light which show up vegetables putting on the top of muddy, the dried food inside the heavy plastic bag with difference spices as garlic, gingers, pepper,… the business between the buyers and sellers are finished so quickly that they only just bargain very short time for deliver quickly to the retailer shop, restaurants, hotels,…; 5.30am is the end of time for the vegetable market because they have to return for selling to the first harder housewife who prepared for the morning meal.

The time return to hotel for relaxing to prepare the new day in Hanoi by bike or by car.