Recalling Hanoi

There is a little gem of a personal blog hidden away on Grapevine that you may have missed.
It’s called Recalling Hanoi (there is also a link in the right sidebar of all pages on Grapevine).

The blog has a very simple premise – it collects stories from people about memories of living in Hanoi.
It’s part of a project started by Julie Vola, a French photographer, whose own story of her connection to Hanoi was what led to the idea for this project.

Here’s how Julie describes the project:

I ask people living in the city to tell me about a place in Hanoi that holds one of their memories. It can be about anything, a personal story intertwined with history; a great event or everyday little stories that our lives are made of. These stories, along with the photographs of the storyteller and the location give depth to each other.

Through this collection I am attempting to create an intimate, multi-layered portrait of Hanoi through its collective memory. It’s not just a place in Hanoi but it’s a place that holds a memory; it’s not just a photo of a random person but a portrait of someone who reveals their self to you; it’s not the big events that make Hanoi’s history, it’s a history of the inhabitants stories which make Hanoi.

Read some of the personal stories that Julie has collected, and then consider participating in the project yourself and sharing a moment of your story and your connection to Hanoi.