Laos-girls' school uniform

went to pha that luang - (the most important monument in laos) this morning. saw some school children visiting it with their teachers. i thought their uniform are gorgeous. a great way to train girls to be dainty.

Lao - the 1st woman i meet

I have juz arrived in lao yesterday. greeted by vietiane city with a heavy storm. the cafe i had dinner went blackout twice. but staff is constantly cheery & helpful. this place is indeed relax & calm. met an indian american traveller at a cafe. she shared lots with me about laos & her other experiences. we may meet again when i proceed to luang prabang. looking forward to it.

Trang, the patriot

TRANG is an undergrad who works in the restaurant part time as a waitress. she was extremely enthusiastic in sharing Uncle Ho story with me.

After much description, i decided that i WILL visit Ho Chi Min's museum today. but it was closed. :(

will go away tomorrow before i leave for laos.

Woman's day out

its a public holiday in vietnam today. paul & the woman's union team organised a day out to the country.

the outing reminds me of Singapore in the 70s. the activities they do - singing folk songs, playing passing games & taking turns to say jokes are so nostaglically familiar. what a refreshing & simple way of enjoying one holiday afternoon. (rather than finding the best restaurant & pigging it out.) they ask whether i can perform one song. i search for a long time & decided to perform a "Ra Sa Sa Yang". But hor... a little paisay... at the end of the day i couldn't recall the meaning of this song. boys & girls, anyone can tell me what does it mean?

therefore one note for travellers. u shd hv a list of songs in mind before u take off. that can be an excellent way to interact with other cultures. :)

PAUL, the musician

Like father, like son. both with excellent musical flair. isn't it?

Danny singing

Paul's 2 years old son, Danny, singing nursery rythms with mum, HA, while PAUL is fishing by the side. (we went out for a picnic today together with a total of other 20 + vietnamese women from the Woman's Union).

Dr Van

I met this 84yrs old woman along Hang Bo street. She owns a very unique guest house. its a combo of dental clinic + guest house. Indeed, she was a dentist & therefore her name card wrote Dr Van. One of the photo shows that her daughter is "working" on a patient. Apparently 2 of her 6 children takes after her as a dentist. she has 4 other children who are either some doctors or professor. They are staying in different parts of asia. I was checking out for a new place to stay when i return for stop over in Hanoi again 2 months later. This is gonna be it! This place has all the old vietnam charms & it only cost US$7! unbelievable!!

btw, she looks like my mum!!!!!

Thuy-the dreamer

Another Thuy. A contemporary version. i met her in a shop that sells maps & photos. she has an amazing good speaking american style english. i thought she might hv learn this in university. but she said she picked it up by merely speaking to foreigners.
she ask me if i know kungfu. i say :"no...& why did you ask that?" she says:"a cute girl like you travelling by yourself should know kungfu!"

that's how we get comfortable & started chatting along. thuy is a 23yrs young girl who have dreams of marrying a foreigner. she has an american boyfriend who work as a film producer. comeon...a film producer. i told her not to wait for him...

you might be thinking that she is naive & stupid. on the contrary, she knows everything. she is well aware of the other side of the coin of disappointment.

she said:"we need to have dreams you know, that keeps us going." we hear this everyday, it maybe nothing new. however, when it comes from a young girl who truly believes it, you want to believe it together with her.

PS. she can speaks 10 different languages of "i love you"

Little Thuy Dancing

I took this shot in Paul's house. My English friend in Hanoi. I share the same sentiment as paul. it was a love at 1st sight image. little did i reallize that this is one of the most celebrated old painting of Tran Van Can. You can find out more from this link.
http://www.vietnamartbooks.com/articles/article.html?id=203

Vietnamese Woman

My trip to vietnam has a lot to do with woman. i come here to help a friend - PAUL to make a documentary about abuse vietnamese women.

this is definitely a difficult topic. given the conservative culture of vietnam, very few women are willing to share their family's "dirty linen" with the camera.

Paul has decide to give further thoughts to this project.

On the other hand, i begin to pick up my new fascination for vietnamese woman. during my 3 days stay in hanoi, it had been a series of encounters with amazingly interesting vietnamese females. as such, i have decided to dedicate this travel blog to the charming indo women.