I'm sitting having my coffee at the Hanoi Backpackers' Hostel, quite a happening joint in the Old Quarter, feels like we're in the UK. Mostly young people in their early twenties, I'll probably get carded here and tossed out on to the street for being an old dude using their free internet. There is a bank of computers available for free, as well as a bar, restaurant, cheap trips to some of the tourist spots, techno music on the stereo, and pasty white folks as far as the eye can see. Yeesh, it brings out the judgmental side of Glauber.
reminds me of when I was on a bus in southern Spain, not that I would ever be so gauche as to analyze women in terms of 'yes or no', would I or wouldn't I?, (that would be sexist, wouldn't it?) But anyhow, 'IF' I were to think in those terms, that ride in Andalusia was yes yes yes yes, no, yes yes yes no yes yes. Here at the Hanoi Backpackers spot with a bunch of twenty something girls, it's no no no no no no maybe no no no. Hmm, maybe when I was asking about what's up with white people, I was referring to myself? Yeah probably. What's up with me? But it seems like there's a sheen of 'dumb' that envelops a lot of the young tourists I'm coming in contact with. It's that 'spring break in Cancun' vibe, where's the party? '2 for 1 drinks, has anyone seen my Ipod'. OK Glauber, you're officially turning into a bitter old dude. Perhaps I should exit this joint and go do something worthwhile, like try to finsih one of the three tunes that I've got in a state of 'almost there'.
But free internet is so nice to play with on a Sunday morning. I'll leave eventually.
I'm reading a great book at the moment, 'The White Tiger'by Aravind Adiga, young Indian guy, first book, a brutal sardonic look at modern India, prize winner, phenomenal reviews and I'm loving the writing. Highly recommended, especially to those like LM and TWM who have spent time in India. Yowzah!
This has been a songwriting extravaganza for me, and the funny thing is, they are all completely different in tone. There's a jazz thing, a folk thing, a funk thing, a 3 chord comedy thing, an old timey thing or two. Hard to predict which avenue will be the next one, but I'm loving the process of letting it happen the way it wants to. It's like there are all these tunes floating around out there, and if the receptors are tuned and located, the tunes just come into focus. Oh yeah, then I have to work a little.
Lan Anh's mom Mui asked how long I've been working and I said, 'never'. Something about my 'job' is that it rarely feels like a job. I have such a good time making music, I don't have to play shitty bar gigs (that would feel like a job), so it doesn't feel like work. Lucky, just like 'lucky money'.
Speaking of lucky money, I got totally ripped off by a 12 year old girl in Laos named Lili. She was walking around town selling trinkets from a little case that she carried around. A really cute kid, very good English skills, she said she was number one in her class every month, and I totally believe that. She came up to me one day and I blew her off, wasn't interested in a bracelet or some such, but she saw me the next day and said, 'I remember you'. We started a conversation and she was really funny, a little actress.
I still wasn't interested, but once she pulled the 'I'm selling so I can keep going to school' card, she hooked me in. So we're negotiating, and I'm trying to drive her down, because I know she's quoting high. Mostly it was a lot of fun, with much laughter. She's the youngest of a lot of kids, and very charming. I started imitating her facial expressions, you know, the fake 'sad expression' when my offer was too low, and she got the joke, knew that I knew she was acting. We finally settled on a price of about $6 for four little Laotian dolls in natice dress. (made by her parents, she said). When we agreed on the price she said, 'lucky for you, lucky for me'. I was quite happy with the interaction.... perhaps a little less so when I saw the same items at the marketplace and realized she had taken me for at least double of what I could have gotten them for. But hey, she's a pro... girl has a future in sales, I'm convinced of it.
no no no no yes, it's a miracle, no no no.
Neil Young now on the stereo, where am I anyway?
One dollar equals 20,000 dong (insert joke here)
Well, my hotel is on Hang Bac St. so I guess I better hang back and write a bit, before crashing out for a nap. I would have chosen a place on Mai Bong Avenue, but that's not how I'm rolling these days. Damn, there are so many funny names. I swear to God, and the owner must have done this on purpose, but there's an art gallery called COCK Contemporary Old Crafts something or other with a K, I didn't commit it to memory, but after the definition is a big sign saying 'Please Try COCK Today' in huge letters. It's a joke, right? Please tell me it's a joke....
Had a super sweet farewell with the family at Uncle's place, where he hosted a wonderful luncheon for his family and Lan Anh's, maybe 11 people in total. As is the custom, all the guys end up at one end of the table so we can slam beers and have frequent toasts apparently. I had a couple of Heinekins, but couldn't keep up with the guys who were chugging and belching. Ah yes, men!. The food was outstanding, as was the vibe.
There was a bus stop right outside his place where I could catch the bus into Hanoi, so it was a very convenient place for our farewells. I sat with L A's Mom, Mui for a moment and expressed my deepest appreciation for her generosity and kindness, telling her that celebrating Tet with her family was one of the greatest experiences of my life. She appreciated my sentiments, and then said something that really upset her daughter, who initially refused to translate it. That certainly piqued my interest, so I insisted that she tell me what mom said. Lan Anh said, 'it's political, and she didn't want to translate'. Of course I insisted, telling her that as a translator, that's what she has to do. She reluctantly agreed.
What mom said was along the lines of, 'in the name of Vietnam, and the Communist Party and Ho Chi Minh, she was happy to welcome me to her place'. It was great agitprop from a bygone era, and I was fascinated by the fact that it was the one time Lan Anh had a cross word with her mom. They get along beautifully, easily and comfortably, and this was the one instance where the daughter got upset with her mom. Generation gap is alive and well. Personally, I loved the sentiment as it was a genuine expression of where the mom was coming from. When I was marching on Washington in 1969, she was scurrying for the bomb shelters every time the alarm sounded, so yeah, she's got something to say about hosting an American, and thank you for the honesty. Right on, Mui! (This is assuming, of course, that Lan Anh gave me an accurate translation. For all I know, Mui could have said, Get out you capitalist bastard!) but I'm thinking I got the true picture.
So the whole crew stood with me at the bus stop, flagged down the right bus, hollered in to find out what the fare was, and just like that, I was in a different reality, bombing into Hanoi on a non-English speaking, all Vietmamese bus. I had to scramble to the back with my backpack and guitar, and there I sat for the next hour as the bus filled up and we headed south. Lan Anh had prepped me to 'not go with anyone on a motorcycle', when I arrived at the station, to only use one of two taxi services, to watch my pockets etc. It was no problem at all. We arrived, I paid ten cents to take a piss at the station, said no to a couple of motorcycle touts, and then grabbed a taxi to the Old Quarter of Hanoi. He spoke no English, but I had checked the guidebook and knew the name of the little lake which is the best landmark, so we agreed on that location. And the price was the correc one 200,000 dong. ($10)
LA had told me that Hanoi is real expensive, similar to Tokyo, uh no, dear, not even in the neighborhood. She said I'd have to pay $40 for a room, so that would suck, but I found a nice room in the first place I went to for $15 that includes breakfast and a private bathroom, so I'm feeling pretty OK about hanging in Hanoi for a few days and checking it out. So far, really good here in the old quarter, narrow winding streets, most things still closed for the holiday, which worked out well as it was a breeze for the taxi to get me here, otherwise traffic is gnarly. I'm looking at taking either a one or two nighter tour to Ha Long Bay, 3 hours from here with a national park, a nice cruise around some gorgeous scenery, and not expensive at all. 3 days all meals and lodging for $75.
And then I booked a flight to .... wait for it.... Chiang Mai, for round two of the northern Thailand experience. Not quite ready to let that life go just yet. (plus I have to sing my 'Boom Boom song at the bar with verses such as 'She looks like Beyonce, Don't tell my fiance'. Yeah, they're gonna dig it. I got a great deal on Air Asia, a flight to Bangkok and then Chiang Mai for $170 total. Had to do it... Now I've got 4 full days to play around the north of Vietnam, and that trip to the coast is sounding and looking good. I'm thinking day after tomorrow...
And in a final nod to how awesome it was in Song Cong, this morning I woke up to a music dream in which a guitar player was performing a song for hundreds of adults who had just filled a gymnasium afte some kind of a workout or jogathon. I was watching the guy perform a really grooving song called 'Reach Out, Reach Out Your Hand', and he had the place really going. The vibe was strong and it was lifting the crowd. I was on the side watching and then I woke up. When I did, I thought to myself, 'why didn't I pay more attention to that song, it was really good'. But I grabbed my guitar and notebook at 5am this morning and started working on a funked out, rap styly thing called, 'Reach Out, Reach Out Your Hand'. I think it was one of those things that God is trying to let me hear, so I went for it, and will continue on that tune. It's off to a good start, and I do believe that there is some connection between, washing one's face in the holy rinse, blessing the ancestors, feeling lots of gratitude and a huge burst of creativity that hit me up there. Gonna try to keep it flowing... though at the moment I'm gonna take a nap. Did I mention that I got up at 5 this morning? :-)
From Hanoi beep beep beep
Had a super sweet farewell with the family at Uncle's place, where he hosted a wonderful luncheon for his family and Lan Anh's, maybe 11 people in total. As is the custom, all the guys end up at one end of the table so we can slam beers and have frequent toasts apparently. I had a couple of Heinekins, but couldn't keep up with the guys who were chugging and belching. Ah yes, men!. The food was outstanding, as was the vibe.
There was a bus stop right outside his place where I could catch the bus into Hanoi, so it was a very convenient place for our farewells. I sat with L A's Mom, Mui for a moment and expressed my deepest appreciation for her generosity and kindness, telling her that celebrating Tet with her family was one of the greatest experiences of my life. She appreciated my sentiments, and then said something that really upset her daughter, who initially refused to translate it. That certainly piqued my interest, so I insisted that she tell me what mom said. Lan Anh said, 'it's political, and she didn't want to translate'. Of course I insisted, telling her that as a translator, that's what she has to do. She reluctantly agreed.
What mom said was along the lines of, 'in the name of Vietnam, and the Communist Party and Ho Chi Minh, she was happy to welcome me to her place'. It was great agitprop from a bygone era, and I was fascinated by the fact that it was the one time Lan Anh had a cross word with her mom. They get along beautifully, easily and comfortably, and this was the one instance where the daughter got upset with her mom. Generation gap is alive and well. Personally, I loved the sentiment as it was a genuine expression of where the mom was coming from. When I was marching on Washington in 1969, she was scurrying for the bomb shelters every time the alarm sounded, so yeah, she's got something to say about hosting an American, and thank you for the honesty. Right on, Mui! (This is assuming, of course, that Lan Anh gave me an accurate translation. For all I know, Mui could have said, Get out you capitalist bastard!) but I'm thinking I got the true picture.
So the whole crew stood with me at the bus stop, flagged down the right bus, hollered in to find out what the fare was, and just like that, I was in a different reality, bombing into Hanoi on a non-English speaking, all Vietmamese bus. I had to scramble to the back with my backpack and guitar, and there I sat for the next hour as the bus filled up and we headed south. Lan Anh had prepped me to 'not go with anyone on a motorcycle', when I arrived at the station, to only use one of two taxi services, to watch my pockets etc. It was no problem at all. We arrived, I paid ten cents to take a piss at the station, said no to a couple of motorcycle touts, and then grabbed a taxi to the Old Quarter of Hanoi. He spoke no English, but I had checked the guidebook and knew the name of the little lake which is the best landmark, so we agreed on that location. And the price was the correc one 200,000 dong. ($10)
LA had told me that Hanoi is real expensive, similar to Tokyo, uh no, dear, not even in the neighborhood. She said I'd have to pay $40 for a room, so that would suck, but I found a nice room in the first place I went to for $15 that includes breakfast and a private bathroom, so I'm feeling pretty OK about hanging in Hanoi for a few days and checking it out. So far, really good here in the old quarter, narrow winding streets, most things still closed for the holiday, which worked out well as it was a breeze for the taxi to get me here, otherwise traffic is gnarly. I'm looking at taking either a one or two nighter tour to Ha Long Bay, 3 hours from here with a national park, a nice cruise around some gorgeous scenery, and not expensive at all. 3 days all meals and lodging for $75.
And then I booked a flight to .... wait for it.... Chiang Mai, for round two of the northern Thailand experience. Not quite ready to let that life go just yet. (plus I have to sing my 'Boom Boom song at the bar with verses such as 'She looks like Beyonce, Don't tell my fiance'. Yeah, they're gonna dig it. I got a great deal on Air Asia, a flight to Bangkok and then Chiang Mai for $170 total. Had to do it... Now I've got 4 full days to play around the north of Vietnam, and that trip to the coast is sounding and looking good. I'm thinking day after tomorrow...
And in a final nod to how awesome it was in Song Cong, this morning I woke up to a music dream in which a guitar player was performing a song for hundreds of adults who had just filled a gymnasium afte some kind of a workout or jogathon. I was watching the guy perform a really grooving song called 'Reach Out, Reach Out Your Hand', and he had the place really going. The vibe was strong and it was lifting the crowd. I was on the side watching and then I woke up. When I did, I thought to myself, 'why didn't I pay more attention to that song, it was really good'. But I grabbed my guitar and notebook at 5am this morning and started working on a funked out, rap styly thing called, 'Reach Out, Reach Out Your Hand'. I think it was one of those things that God is trying to let me hear, so I went for it, and will continue on that tune. It's off to a good start, and I do believe that there is some connection between, washing one's face in the holy rinse, blessing the ancestors, feeling lots of gratitude and a huge burst of creativity that hit me up there. Gonna try to keep it flowing... though at the moment I'm gonna take a nap. Did I mention that I got up at 5 this morning? :-)
From Hanoi beep beep beep
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