System Back on Line

Apologies. Was off-line for a while. Went home to be with the family.

It was good but exhausting.

Will update you all later.

Take care.

Success?

I had dinner with a friend at a restaurant called "La". It is near to the Cathedral. Nice Western food although a bit pricey for Ha Noi's standards. My friend is an American. Given that both of us had learned the Vietnamese language, we decided that it would be good if we tried to banter with the staff at the restaurant in their language.

At the end of the dinner, my friend asked the staff who had been serving our table whether she could guess which country I was from.

After a while, she said to him (in my presence) that she believed that I was an overseas Vietnamese, who had returned to the country!

Amazing. She thought I was a Viet Kuy (overseas Vietnamese)! My language has clearly improved, which means I actually did concentrate during my class and was not sleeping (well, at least most of the time lah).

On our way back in the taxi, my friend thought it would be fun again to test out our Vietnamese. And again to our surprise, the driver turned around and asked whether I was a Viet Kuy!

Haha. Enough boasting!

Ok. Now I got to work on the appearance per se to pass completely as a Vietnamese.

On a more serious side, I still have a long way to go before I reach some level of fluency (if I can ever do that in the first place) in the language.

Well, I have around six more months to go. Guess I will have to work really hard.

Very hard.

Geez. Not going to be fun.

But no one ever said it was going to be.

On a very happy note, one more day to going home.

To see family and friends again.

To be able to hold the children as well as to hug me wife.

Priceless. Blessed.

And I thank God each day I think of all of you.

See you soon.

Counting Down with Anticipation

Just got back from badminton.

Only 4 of us today, which meant we had a damned good workout.

1.5 hrs of non-stop badminton.

Really shiok at the end of it all. But may pay the price tomorrow morning. Hopefully I can get up for class in time! Nevertheless, it is worth the blood, sweat and pain. No longer young but enjoy sports all the time.

The guys I play with are good. So had to work very hard to compete with them, at least to return the shots. A lot more areas to improve like how to smash a shuttlecock, which still escapes me.

On another happy note, almost time to visit the family again.

Looking forward to seeing nic and the kids as well as mum and dad (from both sides). Counting down with anticipation.

Happy.

Victory at the Jaws of Defeat

I had my first taste yesterday of the passion the Vietnamese have for their soccer.

It was the Asian Cup match between Vietnam and Japan. Japan was the favourite. Vietnam had to try for a win and hope that the results between Qatar and UAE would work in its favour. If Qatar loses or draw, Vietnam would go to the quarterfinals, an unprecedented event in its soccer history.

Was not too keen to go because still feeling the heat and humidity but hard to say "no" as my friend had gone out of the way to get a ticket for me. Reluctantly, I agreed.

Of course, I had to first survive the journey on motorcycle to the stadium, which is around 15 km outside of Ha Noi in the suburbs of My Dinh. A journey that took us close to 40 minutes.

Everyone was trying to get to the stadium. An amazing thing about motorcyclists in Ha Noi is the belief that if there is a gap between the cars or buses, he or she should be able to squeeze through. Just. My friend is one of those chaps who believe strongly in this!

Many a times I thought I was about to be squashed between his bike and a bus or a car.

Scary.

I also realised that it was a bad idea to talk while sitting in a bike on a dusty Ha Noi road.

You never know what you are going to get coming into your mouth, which is made worse in my case given the size of my mouth!

Well. Lesson learned and hopefully remembered by yours truly.

The stadium was as expected packed. Outside was a beehive of activity. Hawkers selling their fare as well as touts trying to sell their tickets at exhorbitant prices. There were many flags and hats with the Vietnamese flag on sale. Sales were brisk.

The game began. Before I could count to 100, Vietnam decided to have a fairy-tale beginning by scoring first. There was delirium in the stadium as an estimated 40,000 voices rose in unison. It was loud. Real loud.

Of course, the Japanese decided that it was time to ramp up the pressure.

Notwithstanding the Japanese clear superiority, the crowd was happy and constantly cheering their team on with cries of "Vietnam, do your best" interspersed with chants and songs. It was a fun atmosphere.

In the second half, it was clear that Vietnam was fighting a futile cause against Japan. The Japanese was simply too strong but the slightly deflated mood in the stadium changed as the game went on when news started to filter in over the Qatar and UAE game. Soon cries of "draw, draw" began, soon echoed by the masses in the stadium.

When the final whistle blew, it was 1-4 to Japan but the crowd was jumping up and down as they believed that Qatar drew with UAE. We walked out a bit earlier hoping to beat the crowd. As we left, there was an announcement.

UAE beat Qatar 2-1!

As you can imagine, it was pandemonium all around.

Our journey back to my place was like a nightmare as you can imagine. Thousands of bikes on the road with many delirious by the victory at the jaws of defeat. Some young chaps thought it was good to race on the roads. Not too smart in my opinion given the number of bikes on the roads. Not sure whether there were any accidents. Hope not though.

I breathed a sigh of relief upon reaching home.

It was an experience of a life-time. Not sure whether I would want to go back to another game on a bike!

Welcome to the world of Vietnamese soccer!

A Roller-Coaster Ride

Had a busy Saturday. Met some of my colleagues over dim-sum at a Singapore-owned hotel. Not bad. It was one of those "Eat-all-you-want" type of menu. A welcome change to my normal fare.

I had a slower Sunday. It was hot in the morning and afternoon but with a heavy thunderstorm in the night. Managed to get back before the rain arrived. Whew. It would have been extremely wet for me if it had arrived while I was still walking back to the hotel.

Back in the room, I sat down and started thinking. I realised that I have been here almost three months. It had not been easy. The three months of language in Singapore was critical in ensuring that I settled down much faster and with less trauma. The teachers over here are nice and have helped in making life a bit easier on me. A couple of friends in Vietnam also helped as well as my colleagues.

Thank goodness for all these blessings.

But being here away from the family is tough. Damned tough.

Hate it.

Happy Anniversary!

To my dearest wife in Singapore:

Happy 10th Anniversary!

From your hubby in Ha Noi amidst the sweltering heat and the ever present dust particles.

I need a break

Yup. It is that time of the month again.

I am tired. Learning the language is exhausting. While I have improved my level, it is so difficult to be away from the ones I love. Nat is growing up very fast while Ian is a big boy now. I miss them so much. I miss watching them grow up. I miss everything about them. Sigh.

I miss my wife in particular. Two more days to ten years since we first met that fateful day in the Church of the Holy Spirit. It was a special day. It remains vivid in my mind and in my heart. I was standing at one corner. She was on the other corner. Nope, we were not preparing to wrestle or have a boxing match. We were the "outstanding" Catholics because we were standing outside during Mass! But God decided to intervene by ensuring that a mutual friend was in place to introduce us. It was love at first sight (and second sight and third sight and so forth). I went home in a daze (and still am today). Even my mum realised that when she saw me. Chia should also remember the aftermath the very next day when we met for coffee near our offices.

The rest, as they say, was history.

Thank you, babe, for everything. (By the way, I am calling Nicole "babe" here and not Chia in case anyone of you is confused).

I am counting down the days to my next trip back. To be with those I love.

When Modernisation Hits Tradition

Had a busy and relatively interesting weekend.

Met my teacher on Saturday. As part of the learning process, we went to the Temple of Literature (Van Mieu). The Temple is around 1000 years old and was built by kings to be a centre for academic and cultural excellence. During the time of the royal dynasties, Vietnamese around the country would go to the Temple to take their examinations, which would determine whether they had a future as mandarins. It also served as a temple to Confucius and his followers like Mencius.

It is a huge place. It was also very crowded with many Vietnamese families bringing their school-going children to the Temple.

Why this was so? Well. The Temple grounds contain many stone steleas, which have names of the scholars, who passed their examinations, engraved on them. These steleas are held up by stone carvings of tortoises. Many Vietnamese believe that if you are going to sit for an examination, you should touch the tortoises for luck. I saw many Vietnamese doing that on Saturday. However, there were also student volunteers present, whose main duty was to ask people to stop touching the stone tortoises! Not surprisingly so given that the multitude of people touching the tortoises on a regular basis would result in the gradual and definite erosion of the carvings! Hope collides with conservation concerns!

That aside, as I walked through the grounds, I cannot but help imagine how it would be like a thousand years ago. For the many Vietnamese who had come to the Temple to take their exams. I wondered how they felt.

And then suddenly it hit me.

There I was thinking of the past and right in front of me was an ATM machine!

Hehe.

The ATM was present to facilitate the buying of merchandise sold by several shops around the grounds.

So we cannot never get away from modernisation. It follows everywhere we go.

Roadside Stories

The streets of Hanoi are teeming with life. Hard to find a quiet corner.

You can see many Vietnamese sitting around the streets drinking coffee or tea chatting with each other. Sometimes chatting with total strangers. Fascinating street culture.

Indeed it is extremely common to have small makeshift tea "shops" at every street corner. Most of them are run by women. These "shops" would sell sticks of cigarettes. Sometimes you might get fruits and simple fingerfood.

As you can guess, such "shops" are also places to get the local gossip!

Progressing ok in learning the language although I wish I can learn a bit faster. But guess I have to pace myself given that I still have a long time to go. Attended a singing session today on Vietnamese folk songs. Kinda fun. Learned some love songs!

One of the love songs went like this - The lovers met and she gave him her conical hat. When she went home, her parents asked her where's her hat. She replied that while crossing a bridge, the wind blew it over the side. The lovers met again. This time she gave him a ring. Again, her parents asked her about the missing ring. She replied that it slipped off her finger and fell over the bridge!

One of my teachers added that it was up to the singer what else you want the lady to lose!

Ok. Enough for now. Later.

Totally Stretched!

It was badminton day today.

Boy, it felt really good after 1.5 hours of uninterrupted badminton. Of course, the body will pay the price tomorrow for all the stretching! Indeed, I think I may have pulled my butt! Yeah, too much information for some of you - (Ah May, you can stop your sighing now please). Ok, I will not elaborate but hey, the people of Ha Noi (at least those who stay near my place) should be afraid as they are going to witness a foreigner walking around in a strange way tomorrow.

Haha. That aside, it was again a very wet day today. The calf and toe muscles had their own fair share of exercises too. The good thing was that nothing fell on my head today! Still looking for a metal helmet though.

Prior to the badminton game, went over to a friend's place for dinner prepared by his wife. It tasted really good. Home cooking is always better in my opinion that to constantly go out in search of meals.

Makes me think of my mum-in-law's cooking. Ok, the stomach is actually growling now as I write!

I am also thinking of Nicole's fish and chips!

Obviously, you are all dealing with a hungry man in Ha Noi!

Well. It is almost time to go and sleep now.

Do take care. Catch you all soon.

Today's blog is dedicated to Ian and Nat. Papa misses both of you.

When Things Start Falling - Wear a helmet

Ha Noi is filled with falling things today.

First there is this pouring rain that makes walking on the streets an experience of a lifetime. I now understand what my teachers meant when they said that they did not like heavy downpours as the streets would become rather dirty.

Yup. They are right on that point! One thing for certain. I am definitely training up my calf and toe muscles trying to tip-toe around things on the ground that I or my feet have absolutely no real interest in finding out what they really are.

The other falling things I encountered today are fruits from trees.

What are the chances of someone being hit on the head by falling fruits?

I guess not too improbable if there are many trees with fruits along the streets.

But what are the chances of being hit on the head twice?

Hmm. Any mathematicians out there who can enlighten us?

Well. I have the luck of the draw to be that statistic today!

The first hit me on the chin on its way down. Yeah. Some of you would say that this is the price to pay for a prominent chin!

The second hit me on the right side of the head.

Both were harmless. No real pain suffered (yeah, the thick skull helped).

But the second fruit was pink and rather ripe. So suddenly yours truly have pink-coloured hair in the middle of Ha Noi.

Hahah. Free dyeing!

It could also explain why people on the streets were giving me strange looks.

What a day.

Lesson - When raining in Ha Noi, either stay indoors or bring a hat (preferably a metal helmet would be the best) along!

By the way, Ah Wong, I saw your comment. Aiyah. I met the guys when I was back at the usual haunt. I was told by Chia then that you were not free that night.