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Hanoi, Vietnam
Monday, March 26, 2012

Early in the morning, citizens of the Vietnamese capitol go to one of the many parks in Hanoi to do their morning excercise. A loosely adapted mix of Tai Chi, aerobics and dancing (not totally unlike what they do on town squares in Cambodia) is what the majority does, but since badminton is quite popular in Vietnam, a few feathers get whipped around each morning as well. And that morning, one of the whippers was me.
After excercise follows breakfast. If you're in a hurry, or have very special requests (such as, you know, eggs or hot coffee) I wouldn't recommend going to the café run by Hua Sua school, which is staffed by students of a school for disadvantaged youth. The food was delicious, though, but make sure you go there for lunch or dinner, when you've plenty of time and are not overly hungry.
The French quarters, part of the Olde Towne, is where shopping is done. All kinds of handicrafts and knickknacks from nearby China can be purchased. They also have weasel coffee. A dollar will let you have a taste of what coffee is like when the beans have passed through the digestive systems of a weasel. I can safely say that that was the best shat-out cup of joe I've ever had.
For dinner we visited a nearby restaurant with all the solemnity and cosiness of a Bavarian brewhouse. I was recommended the pork balls, and after having been reassured it wasn't actual pig's testicles, but rather something similar to Swedish meatballs, I gave it a try. All I can say is: I don't like spam!
The first try to get to the Ho Chi Minh Complex (the governmental area, including the mausoleum and embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh himself) was postponed due to a visit from none less than the president of Chile. The following attempts were thwarted by lack of opening hours and/or a vastness of people resulting in some estimated two hours in line.
An old tradition (or old charter, or something) in northern Vietnam is the art of water puppet performance. Even though it was in Vietnamese, the various stories of harvests, fishing, karps turning into dragons and other significant events in everyday traditional Cham life were pretty straightforward and easy to understand, and the skill of the puppeteers left nothing to desire.
Although our little group had been decimated throughout the Vietnamese leg, and most of us would continue together, it was nevertheless time to have our last supper together to say farewell to Annika and the three generations of aussies, and of course to Tuyen. Koto, a learning restaurant similar to Friends in Cambodia, offered great service and an extremely yummy seabass, before we took off to a small club featuring a rather bland live band. Bland, that is, until the unexpected guest appearence of an excellent, modest and ruggedly handsome Swedish guest vocalist.
Applause, handshakes and promises of record contracts followed. Will I pursue a career in the South East Asian record industry? Will I move to Hanoi? Nay, on the contrary; I will leave Hanoi and cross the border to yet another country: Laos.

Pictures & Video

1 Morning badminton
1 Morning badminton
2 Rainbow bridge 3 Weasel coffee 4 Pho 5 Last supper
5 Last supper
Tuyen, Joan, Chez and I
6 Guest vocals
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