Crooked alleys and the Cagie Blocks
Hanoi is a maze of crazy narrow alleyways filled with a bunch of scooters and motorbikes, and hundreds of apartment blocks dating back to 1960s.
The apartments were made with reinforcement concrete. Due to the lack of living space, lots of residents had to create couples of rebar “cages”, sticking out their apartments. They called them “Tiger cage blocks” in a “friendly” way.
These pictures just perfectly portraits a crowded Hanoi, as you said, “a crazy maze”. And the apartments look so old btw, I wonder how long it have been standing still like that.
The “cages” look unique. They remind me of my younger days when our house had one. I’d love to explore the alleys myself!
Nice post. I love to see post about old Hanoi like this. It reminds me of the good old day in Vietnam.