The price for progress is being felt by Hanoi’s streetside traders as the city’s authorities continue their crackdown on pavement clutter.
Many of the capital’s streets are used illegally as impromptu food stalls and for other business activities, clogging sidewalks and forcing pedestrians into the road.
A new city campaign which attempts to reclaim the sidewalks for pedestrians, starting with public awareness measures and moving into enforcement, has seen some improvement with food sellers removing seats from the pavement and moving them inside shopfronts.
So far, the food sellers are reporting a drop in business because customers, including tourists prefer to eat their banh mi or noodle soup perched on a small plastic stool on the street rather than inside a small shop.
Police have been using high-definition AI cameras to spot those disregarding orders to free up street space, with limited success.
Some traders are hiding during street patrols and setting up again when the police have moved on.
And it’s not just in Hanoi where Vietnamese street food is becoming a thing of the past. Da Nang has embarked on a similar clean-up crusade, clearing footpaths of everything that obstructs the passage of pedestrians.