The Minsk Affair

Since Bina left I’ve been having an affair. I had feared that being here alone would make me do some crazy things, as solitude tends to do with the restless, but I never expected this.

This is a Minsk motorcycle. My affair.



Everyone in Hanoi has a motorbike of some kind. Mostly they’re scooters or mopeds, but some people have motorcycles. The Minsk is an old Russian-built motorcycle that you’ll find all over Vietnam but mostly in the countryside. The people in the cities hate them. In fact, the Vietnamese really look down on the Minsk. Not only are they considered an old vestige of Russian influence, but they’re big, dirty, loud and smelly. However, there are a few Minsk loyalists that really can’t live without them, and this is what makes the Minsk so unique. In fact, the Minsk has it’s own fan club. It’s called the Minsk Club and it’s incredibly active.

Hanoi Minsk Club

I acquired this Minsk by calling a number posted in a café. The girl selling it said she would rent it if nobody wanted to buy it so I went to see it. My goal was to get out into the countryside and explore some of Vietnam’s more scenic wonders. I envisioned myself an Easy Rider with the winds of freedom blowing in my face, a romantic adventurer “finding myself” and being one with the road. (I still haven’t been out of the city limits.) But my starry-eyed dreams persist nonetheless.

I’ve recently decided to join Bina back in the states until she’s recovered from her back injury. I miss her too much and can’t continue this affair any longer. Despite all the Minsk can give, it’s no match for the allure of Bina. I haven’t told the Minsk yet. But it’s been a fleeting fancy for both of us and we must end it. But it has been a fun ride.

National Day!

Last weekend was National Day here in Vietnam. National Day, September 2nd, encompasses several accomplishments for the Vietnamese including the ass-kicking of the French and Americans, as well as holding out from the Chinese for so long. It also includes celebrating Ho Chi Minh’s birth, death, first gray hair and the losing of his virginity. It covers 60years of these kinds of accomplishments and the Vietnamese celebrate it with more pride than you can imagine.

I started the day out early and went to see the parade. I shot a ton of pictures, which I’ve included here for your amusement. It was a great parade. It reminded me of the Independence Day parades we have in the states but without the bands and clowns. Instead, they paraded lots of communist propaganda and giant portraits of Uncle Ho himself. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good dose of communist imagery, full of proud working people championing solidarity, but give me a bright red fire truck instead any day!

Here's a float that depicts a great sense of symmetry.

More "Ho"s than a brothel!

This little kid was so funny. He was full of mischief and kept throwing a soda can into the parade to watch the marchers trip over it.

Long Live Uncle Ho!! (Even though he's dead.)

Lots of people turned out..

The proud armies.

Our wonderful monks!!

Big crowd on the parade route.

It's a parade!!

The intellectual elite.

Here's a picture of an old Green Beret that turned up for the parade. You can see him next to the other foreigner in the background. He's probably still registered as an MIA but doesn't realize it. Anyway, he was really enjoying the parade.

We love Ho!!

Goose-steppin'

More Ho.

The Silk Army.

"Put your conical hats in the air, wave 'em like you just don't care!"

A flag for patriotism.

Power to the people.

Chrystler Tower? No, a communist float!

The Lotus Club

We met this guy named Peter at a house warming party for one of our friends. Nobody really knew whose guest he was, but he was very friendly and liked to talk. He invited us to go with him the next day to a Pagoda outside of town. Well, actually he just told us he was coming over to pick us up in the afternoon! It was a little suspicious and we couldn’t get a straight story out of him as to what, exactly, we were going to do at this Pagoda. "We're going to meet about helping disadvantaged people of Vietnam and discuss ways in which to help,” He said. “There’s going to be a party!” he quickly added in hopes of coaxing us. It felt like we were being recruited into a cult.

The next day Peter called early in the morning and we missed his call. But then he called twelve more times so we finally spoke with him and told him where we lived. We decided to take a giant leap of faith with this guy and let him take us to his cult leader and feed us the cool aid or whatever.

We met him downstairs and climbed into his van. Sitting in the back, crunched together like kidnapped children were three young girls who had also been recruited for the ride. We introduced ourselves but there was very little talking all the way to the Pagoda. Did THEY at least know what we were doing?

It seemed very strange and Bina and I had already decided that this was a big ruse to basically bring us foreigners to the Pagoda and ask us for money. We remained dubious until we got to know Monk Huan.

It turned out that this Pagoda we were brought to does some really incredible charity work with HIV / AIDS patients and was looking for more ways to help a broader range of people. They wanted our advice on how to make the program better. That was it, they wanted to pick our brains about how real NGO’s do it and what we think could be done to help. They even had a name for the “club”; it was called the Lotus Club, named after the lotus flowers that grew in the little pond next to the Pagoda.

It was a really nice place. Monk Huan was a real character too. He had this huge smile and seemed really peaceful. That is, until this cute little puppy walked into the room and was quickly escorted out by Monk Huans foot! I guess the dog wasn’t part of the club.

After the meeting was over we were given a tour of the Pagoda and fed a delicious vegetarian meal prepared by the monks. Vegetarian meals are rare in Vietnam so this was a real treat. One of the ideas the Monks have for the Lotus Club is to open a vegetarian restaurant on the grounds to help raise more money.

Bina and I have both agreed to help out the Lotus Club with different tasks. I’ll try to take some pictures of the Pagoda grounds sometime. In the meantime, here are a few pictures of the meeting and the meal.

The Nikko Hotel

We’ve been spending a lot of time at the Nikko Hotel. Not because we’re staying there, but because they have an awesome outdoor swimming pool.

Bina’s been using it as therapy to help her with her back and I’ve just been coming along to enjoy the water and relaxation. We usually go in the evening, around 8:00pm, and are lucky enough to be alone most of the time. It’s so peaceful and quiet. It’s a shallow pool made for doing laps mostly, but there’s a hot tub next to it and beautiful palm trees lining one side. We’ve been to several hotel pools around Hanoi but Nikko is by far our favorite. It’s a Japanese hotel so it’s run very efficiently, cleanly, and with great attention to design and detail. There are Jacuzzis in both locker rooms and they always give us a bunch of towels and robes. There’s even a collection of disposable razors, shampoo, and combs available! It’s like a Metrosexual’s dream locker room!

Here are some pictures of the pool. They’re very dark but then, like I said, we only go there at night. The shadowy figure you see is Bina.




There are also a couple of restaurants in the hotel and one night we decided to try one. This is a picture of my (New England) Clam Chowder and Curry battered calamari! It was really delicious at first, but the more we ate the calamari the more suspicious we became of its freshness. Bina was sick the next day.


But regardless, we love our regular visits to the Nikko. The people at the hotel are really friendly. Of course, sometimes they’re a little too friendly. One time after we went swimming I was in the locker room changing and this Vietnamese guy was standing next to me getting dressed as well. All of the sudden he starts singing “Hello” by Lionel Ritchie! It was a little creepy but the thing is “Hello” is like a modern hit here in Hanoi. (For some strange reason. Other western pop hits include Simon and Garfunkel’s “Sound of Silence” and anything by Celine Dion.) Anyway, so I didn’t really know what to say or do while I was standing there naked next to this guy crooning “Hello” so I just curled up into a ball and started weeping. No, just kidding. I got dressed and left after the second chorus. Despite my discomfort he did have quite a melodious voice. He’s probably a karaoke champion or something.



So if you come to Hanoi and you want to go swimming, the Hotel Nikko is your best bet.

Coffee!

The coffee in Hanoi is some of the best I’ve ever had. They seem to pride themselves on a slow, flavorful cup of coffee that forces you to sit and relax while you dink it. I’ve had several cups of great coffee since I’ve been here and not one of them is exactly like the other. My favorite so far was at a small café called Café 129 a few blocks from my apartment. It was served in a regular size coffee cup but was only a small shot of coffee. An espresso in a big cup. Then the milk was served on the side. Usually they give you condensed milk already mixed in but this one was on the side. I was able to mix in exactly what I wanted and the flavor was incredible. I like my coffee hot so that’s primarily what I’ve been experimenting with. There are classic cappuccinos and lattes, but the hot espresso with condensed milk is my favorite so far.


Bina, on the other hand likes her coffee chilled. So here’s a small photomontage of a cup she had at this café earlier this week.

The coffee comes in a small drip container and placed over a glass of condensed milk. This picture shows the coffee already in the glass. It had been dripping for several minutes. Notice how the coffee and milk remain totally separated.


Then you mix it up.


Pour it into a glass of ice.


And voila! Ice Coffee.

Bamboo Juice

There are a couple of interesting social drinking practices that happen here on a daily basis. My favorite, and one I completely understand, is called Bia Hoi and involves drinking beer from local breweries. There are several Bia Hoi places, equivalent to western bars, but mostly you see people on the sidewalk in makeshift little gatherings around small tables and little plastic stools that sit only about 6 inches high. Different proprieters have different brews and anyone can have a seat and drink for as long as they want. And it’s really cheap. Also, the beer starts flowing early in the morning and lasts all day long, but mostly it’s an afternoon or evening ritual.

The other social drinking practice is very similar in appearance but the drink is very different. I haven’t tried this one yet but hope to soon. The truth is I can’t stand the smell of it so I’m not brave enough just yet. It looks like fresh bamboo, and until I actual know what it is that’s what I’m going to refer to it as. I hear that bamboo juice is very medicinal and tastes “Delicious” and “Nutty”. (I think you’d have to be a bit “nutty” to drink it!! harhar) but that must be what it is. Bamboo juice!

People flock to it in droves and sit around drinking it at different times of the day. It’s so popular that there are places set up right next to each other, one right after the other serving it.

They have this machine that’s basically a giant press that they feed the bamboo through.

The juice is collected underneath and poured into glasses.

The scraps are then collected by different people from the more rural areas and taken away. I don’t really know what they do with the bamboo scraps but I imagine it’s very instrumental to some kind of basket weaving or chair making or something. The people here are really resourceful and recycle just about everything.

The Apartment.

Our apartment is awesome. Bina picked it out before I came and I couldn’t have imagined a better place. It’s amazing. I’m actually struggling day to day with wanting to explore and wanting to just stay in and enjoy the place. It’s not a big apartment but it’s definitely the nicest place I’ve ever lived. There’s a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. Then a really nice big living room area with a sofa that turns into a bed (Note to visitors!) and a balcony that is more peaceful than a religious landmark. We recently bought a couple of chairs and a table to leave out there for morning coffee or late afternoon cocktails. It’s by far my favorite place in the whole apartment. Anyway, enough with waxing poetic about the living conditions. Here are some pictures: