On Tuesday Fantastic Năm motorbiked over to Bắc Linh Đàm to do our second mapping project--this time on a "new"/"modern" public space. The area was pretty spread out, and had a beautiful lake and lots of apartment buildings. We found ourselves mapping out the space on motorbikes most of the time, and at times we actually added to the map while riding past the locations. Given the layout of the area, it would have been a really miserable experience if we had tried to map out the area on foot. The way we made our way around this space definitely affected our experience. I think it made us (ok, at least me) feel a little lazier in general to be using the motorbikes...walking short distances started to feel like a major hassle, and I don't think I felt as intimate a connection to the space as I had at Hồ Linh Quan. We definitely didn't interact with people as much as we had at our previous mapping location, and I do feel that the layout of the area contributed to this somewhat.
Some descriptive words: impersonal, big, spread out, new...
Ultimately, I would not want to live here. I didn't like the fact that a motorbike was pretty much required to get around this area, and the fact that I didn't feel a very strong sense of community. Ultimately, I don't feel much interest in returning to this area, unless it is to visit Phuong, who lives 5 minutes away!
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