Hang Quat Street: Spiritualism meets Capitalism

This has got to be my favorite street in Hanoi. Most of the Old Quarter of the city is still largely organized by guilds that were formed hundreds of years ago, each focusing on a different trade. On Hang Quat, it's all about outfitting your inner Buddha, serving as what seems to be a cross between a wholesale market for pagoda builders to your go-to street for the ultimate home alter.

In our goal to bring some of the Vietnamese culture into our home, we decided that a home alter, or as it is sometimes called, a butsudan, needed to be acquired. With that mission, I set out to Hang Quat. I have walked this street for weeks, and had carefully evaluated all of the styles, materials, sizes and quality levels that the various butsudan makers had to offer. I settled on No. 62 Hang Quat, one of the smaller shops next to the only pagoda on the street.


Mrs. Ha, the proprietor, spoke no English, nor did her mother or any of the other people in the immediate vicinity. But, she did pull out an English to Vietnamese translation book, used a "call a friend" option to try to get someone to translate via cell phone, and finally found a man several stalls down who knew enough English to get some of my questions answered.

I selected No. 62 because they had nice wood, not heavily lacquered or painted... the simplest design I could find. Of course, that didn't mean I couldn't pimp my alter! This is half the fun, and so, for just 100,000 VND (~$3) I got some sweet pink neon lights installed, some corner railings and a dragon-themed top molding piece. Once we broke the language barrier, I was invited in the back of the shop for tea and they showed me how to fully outfit the alter, with everything from little wine cups, flower vases, a pot to stick insense sticks in and statues representing whatever it was I was interested in enshrining.

What's interesting is that no matter what religion you are, you typically have some sort of home alter in your home to use as a meditation focus point and a place to honor and pray to your ancestors. So, if you are Christian, you might put a statue of the Virgin Mary. If you're Hindu, maybe it's a statue of Ganesha. I opted for the three Hunn Kings, representing Happiness, Prosperity and Longevity.

While they suggested that we pack everything up, load me and my purchases onto Mrs. Ha's moped to get back to Hanoi Towers, I opted for a taxi. We parted company, promising to come back and say hi with the twins before leaving.

Now my only problem is how I am going to get this thing home...!