Hanoi in Conversation
Hoàn Kiếm Lake
Ha-My Nguyen Ngoc
by Shelby Gilbert & Grace O'Dea
From tourist traps to ghost stories, hosts Shelby and Grace share a variety of interviews and snippets all based around Hoàn Kiếm Lake. When exploring Hanoi, Shelby and Grace found that Hanoian life revolved around Hoàn Kiếm Lake and the history of the lake made its way into many popular local legends. In this episode you heard from: Vu Loan - journalist at the Voice of Vietnam Traffic Channel Phi Anh - translator & intern at VOV Minh Trà - student at the Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema Additional sources: m.kienthuc.net.vn thesmartlocal.com Nguyễn Ngọc Tiến is the Vietnamese author who writes about Hoàn Kiếm Lake and Hanoi life. His book '5678 Bước chân quanh hồ Gươm' is about Hoàn Kiếm Lake and the history and culture surrounding the area.
Wanting to understand more about the queer community in Vietnam, Shelby and Grace talk to Ha-My, a non-binary person local to Hanoi. Ha-My chats about their life growing up and how they have come to terms with their sexuality and gender identity.
This episode gets into the nitty gritty with the head of the international unit at VOV, Hoa, a woman very passionate about Vietnamese culture and issues. This interview gives a glimpse into some serious issues in Vietnam; from women's rights to abortion. Trigger warning: this episode mentions abortion and other subjects listeners may find distressing.