Brand New Day

Thursday right at the end  of November, my 4th day in Ha Noi. Sucess! I have bought a bike (no photo yet). Ms Le came through again! She and I were chatting  away in the morning after breakfast. We were talking about arranging a dinner and she suggested that I talk to her mechanic. I of course agreed. I went to see him, he was just around the corner. He had this Vietnamese Honda Win, It is called a Sufat. 110cc and lookjng smart. When I checked the  chain it was the first I found that was in good condition. The steering head bearings were fine as was the swinging arm. It took a bit to start but worked fine after a little persistence. The whole machine was in a very good state. So of course I said yes. I pick it up tomorrow (saturday). The friends boss is getting me a tool kit and they will supply me with spares. Now I have to get maps, a poncho, some bungy cords and maybe a Go Pro. All good.

The rest of the day was spent in a sort of mild celebration. Cold drinks at the Highlands Coffee house then a saunter throught the old quarter and a very nice meal in a backstreet. Ban Bo Nam Bo, a bowl of greens upon  which is layered noodles then on top of this is put some fried meat(beef) mixed with bean shoots and onion and garlic. On top of this is placed a handful of sliced cucumber and peanuts. The whole thing is then bathed in a light suace (nuoc maum ), slightly sweet with a bit of chilli. It was delicious although I think I like Bum Cha better. In the afternoon I had a little nap. In the eveing I walked around the old quarter absorbkng the sites and sounds.... fantastic, vibrant life... tourists everywhere and locals living thier lives on the street. It is such a cacophony of sights  that it would be easy to be overwhelmed if one was not attuned to it. Eventually I wondered back to my favorite resteraunt the "New Day" in Ma May st. I spent a very enjoyable meal chatting with a couple from Sweden (sp?). The food was great the couple were lovely and the whole thing was very nice except for our neighbours, a bunch of French  tourists that were very arrogant and rude. Blowing cigarette smoke on us. I countered with comments like "how can you eat food and  smoke a cigarette at the same time." And describing loudlly the battle of Diem Bien Phu and how the French suffered the worse defeat ever due to thier incredible stupidity. The cigarettes soon disappeared. After the meal I wondered up the corner where the locals had set up a stage. For the next 2 hours I watched the most incredible street cocert of traditional music and dance. It was fabulous. The crowd was almost exclusively Vietnamese all with beautiful smiles on thier faces. I can't adequately describe my feelings, delight, sheer joy, and wonderment were but a few. It was so good to see local people enjoying themselevs in such a way. Old and young no matter. The one bummer is that I did not have a camera with me. I did however end up on the other side of the lens many times with Vietnamese people wanting the "happy bhudda" experience. I also was filmed by what appeared to be a Television crew. They asked if they coukd interview me. I said "of course". Great fun.

So now it is a new day. I am going to try to go to the B 52 museum. I think it is a wreck of a B52 shot down over Ha Noi in the american war. I have seen them in good condition preparing to bomb Laos in 1974  Now I want to see a broken one. I think I might prefer this version. See youse later.