Sunday, January 22, 2012

chúc mừng năm mới.

The Vietnamese New Year is today and 2012 is the year of the dragon according to the Lunar calendar! I was re-reading Graham Greene's, The Quiet American, this week and it has inevitably brought back a flood of Vietnam memories. I have found myself with Vietnam on my mind this week. So, here are some of the things I miss...

Morning Glory. I am not sure I have eaten any since I left which is amazing since I basically ate it every day I was there.
Motorbiking. I so miss my motorbike. Driving the streets. The anonymity in traffic. And the reaction to seeing the American dai driving herself around town.
The exercise culture. Old, young, everyone working out in the morning. Crazy aerobics in the streets. Make-shift free weights on the sidewalks. People running barefoot around Hoan Kien Lake and exercising in their pajamas. 
Scenery. And Beauty. 
Iced Coffee. You can imagine...
Crazy traffic. 
Rain. Rain. And more rain. Or as Forest Gump described, "We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin' rain... and big ol' fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath".
Road-side fast-food.
Public napping. Oh yeah. Everywhere people napping. Out cold. Loved it.
Pho. I mean real pho. Meat sliced so perfectly thin and flavor that just stayed in your mouth. And of course, my favorite place in Hanoi...
The adventure. 

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