My Big Fat Trip To Vietnam - Part 1

Twenty hours later, almost there...

If you’re in a hurry, I have one..[counting on fingers]..two…three words for you: It was fantastic! There, now you can go read someone else’s blog.

Otherwise, come sit on my lap and I will tell you about our family’s excellent adventure in Vietnam. But first, a big THANK YOU to my adviser-consultant-savior-and-friend, Vietnamese God [http://tinyurl.com/38hp6n], for organizing the itinerary and the sightseeing programme.

I will not bore you with a detailed account of our trip. I'd just like to submit a few comments and observations to my two or three readers, and hopefully get their feedback.

First observation : I’m too old to undertake such a long journey. I don't know about you, but spending sixteen frigging hours strapped on a narrow chair, hurling through space at the speed of sound, surrounded by screaming babies and eating two suppers in a row at odd hours, is not my idea of fun. So even though I loved my stay in Vietnam, I have no intention of going back for at least another two or three years.

Our first city in Vietnam was Hanoi. There I met God (the Vietnamese one) and KCA, another blogger friend [http://khongcoai.com/]. The highlights in Hanoi were the trade shops in the Old City, the early morning walks around Hoang Kiêm Lake, the Temple of Literature, the myriads of Tintin T-shirts, the water puppets (did you know that their clothes are painted on their body?) [http://tinyurl.com/2e3852]...

Water puppets are actually quite cute and the show's very entertaining.

... and the food, aaah, the food.

Snail vermicelli soup ( bun oc) at Bun Ta, overlooking the Big Turtle Lake
http://www.noodlepie.com/blog/bun_oc/index.html

But of course, a bigger highlight was the realization of my son's Quest: meeting Vietnam's best breakdancing team, the Big Toe Crew, and training with them.

As soon as we arrived at Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi, where we were greeted by God carrying a big bouquet (What a kind, sweet teddy bear of a man!), our first call was for Big Toe leader Thành. When we reached our hotel, we were joined by Thành and some other members of his crew, and we all went for pho and beer on the street. My son Forty and his partner K8 were invited to judge a friendly battle between Big Toe and a rival crew, Halley. The battle was to take place the next evening, at the Soviet-Vietnamese Cultural Centre. You can watch the battle on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP3HUZf7kIc) and see pictures of the event on KCA's blog.

Of course, being b-boys and b-girl, everybody showed attitude.