Commie Girls are Cute:


Hanoi: I wasn't quite expecting Vietnam to look so much like, well, Vietnam as it did when we drove in from the airport; rice fields, people wearing conical hats, lots of mopeds - some with crates of piglets on the back - all of it just like a photo from a travel book. As we got closer to Hanoi there were huge warehouses for Yamaha and Canon too. I guess that makes it a developing country.

Hanoi is manic - it makes New York look quiet. I was overwhelmed at first, simple things like walking down the street became mildly stressful. The sidewalks, when there are any, are full of parked motorbikes which means you have to walk in the road, which are full of fast-moving motorbikes. Crossing the road is another adventure - I've done it about three times on a red stop light where the traffic is stopped (mostly) but usually you have to walk across the street as though playing a game of frogger while legions of motorbikes carrying one, two or even three people bear down on you. To everyone's cedit, I've not seen any accidents so far and on the afternoon of my second day I've acquired a certain nonchalence in wandering through the traffic.

People are friendly although I started to feel guilty taking photo's of them. People live out on the streets here - they cook on the streets, nurse babies on the street, hawk their wares on the street - there are countless little street kitchens and stalls selling food (and those which I've tried - little fried pastries and meaty spring rolls--have been amazing). I keep thinking "photo op" and then I realise I'm being a clumsy rich westerner photographing poor people while they're busy being poor. So I've stopped now. By far the funniest people I've met are the girls selling pineapple slices and bananas. They wander the streets with two baskets balanced at either end of a plank that they balance on their shoulder and they try to pose for photos and get you to hold their fruit so that you'll buy some. So cheeky, so cute. I wonder if I could smuggle some home with me.....

There was this kid waiter too, who was very friendly but who had the most fecund nasal hair I've seen in a long time. There were bushels of it. It looked out of place on him as he looked so young but it was there, like something you'd see peeking around the corner in a German Swimwear catalogue in 1974. It was hard work not talking to it instead of him.

Btw the way, Mosquitos about 25: Priest Nil. I was doing fine until I went to see the Water Puppet theatre which takes place in a standing pond of water. They were all over me like a buffet, to paraphrase Rob Dryden.

I can't post pictures or access the main page of this blog from Hanoi (or any blogs for that matter). The man won't allow it.