The rented room of Ms. Lo Thi Hong Chien's family is not far from Thang Long Industrial Park (Hanoi). The family of 4 has rented a room here for many years, since she and her husband got married and decided to stay in Hanoi to earn a living.
The living space of the whole family consists of only 2 rooms, each room is about 12m2. One room is used to store furniture, cook and as a place for the whole family to gather for meals. The other room is a place for resting and studying for two young children.
The area is cramped, but the room is always full of sounds of a young family. Her two children, one in 1st grade, one in 2nd grade, often voluntarily sit at the table after school.
In the afternoon, after finishing work, the mother returns to the small room, studying with her child, bathing, and preparing dinner.
Ms. Chien said that during the 2/9 holiday this year, the family has not returned to their hometown because the company gave holidays from September 2nd to September 6th, and the children are off earlier according to the school schedule.
Living far from home, Ms. Chien's family still often misses Son La, misses trips back to their hometown to visit relatives. However, each year the family can only return a few times because of the long distance and travel costs.
This holiday, instead of rushing on buses home, the whole family chose to stay in Hanoi.
Ms. Chien plans to take her children to the city, so that the children can immerse themselves in the festive atmosphere, watch the crowds on the street and feel a capital full of flags and flowers. When night falls, the whole family will find a suitable location to watch fireworks.
It could just be a day off by bus, a few ice cream sticks, a simple meal outside and hasty photos taken by the lake.
There is no elaborate schedule, and no specific budget has been set. Ms. Chien just smiled: "Just go, mainly to make the children happy".
But for the worker family in a rented room of just over ten square meters, those simple things have a special meaning.
Because after days of working in shifts, busy afternoons picking up children, cooking rice and worrying about every expense, one day the whole family holding hands walking on the street is already a gift.
Ms. Lo Thi Hong Chien's family's holiday has no expensive trips, no luxurious destinations.
But in the capital during the days of brilliant flags and flowers, the laughter of two children with their parents, a walk around the Lake and a moment of looking up at fireworks together are probably enough to create a memorable vacation.
