Holliday in Hanoi

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Holiday in Hanoi (1994 )

This is the story of my last trip to Hanoi.I had traveled there last year and spent aquiet happy time with mydaughter, son-in-law and grandchildren.This time, however, my trip was full of surprises.

It all started when I went into the duty-free shop in Changi Airport, Singapore.This is what happened:Im buying some duty-free presents and Iam standing by the counter to collect mychange. I have my bag of duty-freecigarettes for my son-in-law and just as I

move away from the counter a young manrushes out of the shop and bumps into meas he passes the counter. Suddenly threesecurity guards arrive and take him bythe arm. I think that, perhaps, he isChinese but the shop assistants say No,

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SOME OF THE PEOPLE IN THE STORY

Daughter, Son-in-law (John), granddaughter (Louise)Mr Nam -special xych lo/motor bike driver usuallyworks for John as interpreter and general family help.Noi & Vang xych lo drivers from same village as MrNamMr Binh hotel manager, Tu Ahn- shop keeper at DucLoiCo Hoang (=Miss Hoang) maid in daughters houseMai- English-speaking guide at Van Mieu (TheTemple of Literature)(A non la is a Vietnamese conical hat)

II wrote this story with the intention of translatingit (with help) into Vietnamese.It was intended to be a students bi-lingual readerwith lots of footnotes. I have kept it as a story told,more or less, in the present indicative. I hoped thiswould fit more easily with Vietnamese as the use of tenses is very different from English. I go Perthtomorrow/I go Perth yesterday can make sense tous & is closer to Vietnamese handling of verbs.Originally it had many references to specific streetsbut, as the traffic rules gradually changed, andxych los were banned from some streets, I cut themout.When I was in Ha Noi in 2006 Mr Namscounterpart took me to the shop in Hang GaiStreet; I realized later ours was the only xych lothere. They are now banned there as well. (5356)

Xych lo- pedi cabNon la Vienamese conical hatNem - spring rolls


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he is Korean. We shake our heads andwonder what he has done ..When my plane arrives at Noi Bai Airport

in Hanoi my family is there to meet me. Itis very good to see them again. They alllook happy and well.My family has hired a small bus and,when my cases are loaded onto it, we alldrive to their street. The three childrenall talk at once and tell me all aboutschool, kindergarten and their friends.Because my daughters house is not bigIm staying in a small hotel a shortdistance down the street.In the morning I get up early. While I amtalking to Mr Binh, the hoteladministrator, a man comes in and asksmy help. He is Korean and speaks Englishvery well but he does not speak Vietnamese. I speak Vietnamese a littlebit but I speak French better. Mr Binhspeaks French so I interpret for theKorean man; going from English toFrench. He has just arrived withoutbooking and does not know how long he

will stay. When we have finished theKorean man asks me a lot of questionsabout my family and why I am in Hanoibut he makes me feel uncomfortable andhe keeps staring at my bag so I just laugh

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Non la Vienameseconical hat

Nem - spring rolls


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and say Sorry, my xych lo is waiting forme. I must go. When I pick up my bag Isee that he is still staring at it. It is open

with a plastic duty-free bag inside. It isnot easy to find strong plastic bags in HaNoi so my daughter has given me an oldbag to carry my rain cape. The new duty-free bag is still sitting on my son-in-lawsdesk. He has given up smoking and willgive the cigarettes to Mr Nam who worksas his interpreter.

I can only speak a little Vietnamese but Itell the xych lo driver I want to go toPho Hang Gai. Most of the ex-pats justcall it Silk Street. He remembers mefrom last year and is surprised that Icould speak even a little bit of Vietnamese. His name is Noi and he canspeak English and likes to practice itwhen he can. That is lucky for me becauseI like to ask questions. We go past stallsand I say to Noi Please stop! I want tobuy a scarf; my ears are cold. I go to astall and buy a blue scarf . I see some

interesting packets. I asked the shopassistant What are those? She saysThey are biscuits; very tasty. I sayHow much? and she replies Twentydong. l think that they are very cheap

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because the packets are big but Noishakes his head and says Too dear! andI only pay sixteen dong. My grandchildren

will be pleased; they like biscuits.When we are going past Van Mieu (theTemple of Literature) Noi says That bigman in the xych lo, is he from yourhotel? And I say Yes, I think he is.And, although I dont like him, I wave tohim. The man quickly looks away anddoes not wave back. Noi says that he is arude man and I agree and say Yes, andhe is a sticky beak. In the hotel he asks alot of questions and stares at my bag.Most of the Koreans I have met have beenvery polite people but he is strange. Noiagrees with me and, as we go along, heasks the other xych lo drivers about thebig man but nobody knows anythingabout him yet.

I want to go shopping for clothes but firstI must change American dollars for dongso we go to Nang Hang Vietnam. I cash

$50 US and I am given a huge bundle of dong. Usually I would cash only a fewdollars US at a time but today I am goingto buy some silk clothes and somesouvenirs for friends. In Pho Hang Gai it is

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possible to pay for things with Americandollars but I think that it is a littlecheaper to pay with dong even if I have to

carry a lot of notes. Because I have a bigbundle of notes I put it into my duty-freebag until I can sort it into separatedenominations of dong.

Suddenly I feel as if someone is staringat me and, when I look up, I see that theKorean man is standing by the doorstaring at my bag of money. I smile andnod at him but he just keeps staring atmy bag. He is wearing expensive clothesso I do not think that he can be interestedin $50 worth of dong. Why is he staring?He obviously has no manners.

I go to a table and sit down to tidy upsome of my money. A Swedish lady issitting there. I have met her before andwe talk about Ha Noi and shopping shesays that she has bought a pretty silk

jacket in Hang Gai Street and I say that Iam going there now. I make up separate

bundles of dong. It takes me a long time.While I am doing this I see that theKorean man is not doing any banking buthe is using a telephone in the corner. Heseems very excited.

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When we leave the bank we go along thestreet and turn at the roundabout I

always find the roundabouts a bitfrightening as the traffic seems to comefrom all directions at once but I know thatNoi is a good driver because he took mearound Ha Noi last year and we had notrouble at all. This time, however, I hearshouts from others xych lo drivers andNoi swerves, nearly tippping me out of the xych lo. A motorbike has rushed pastus and would have hit us, knocking usinto the path of a big bus, if Noi had notswerved in time. Noi shouts after themotorbike and shakes his fist. Themotorbike disappears up the road.Other drivers and cyclists come around;

everyone has a story about what hashappened. I cant understand everythingthat they are saying but someone hassaid that it was a very big man, maybeChinese. He was wearing a crash helmetso nobody could see him very well.Everyone is smiling and laughing now

because nothing bad has happened andthey are saying that Noi is a very gooddriver and I say my little bit of Vietnamese: Thank you and good luckto everybody and we continue on our

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way. When we get to Hang Gai Street Noistops and wipes his forehead. I go to ashop and buy us two cold tins of Seven Up

and we talk about the bike rider. Noithinks that maybe he was Korean and notChinese and we laugh and say We arevery suspicious people.While we are drinking, however, Noi saysvery quietly Do not look around but Ithink that that Korean man from yourhotel just went into the shop on thecorner. Perhaps he is following you I sayPerhaps hes just going shopping forsouvenirs but I think If he is abusinessman just arrived in Hanoi why ishe in a street of clothing shops andsouvenir stalls? Anyway I have a badfeeling about him and that motorbikerider was acting very strangely at thesame time Noi says: I have a bad feelingabout that man. I have a plan. You wantto go to Duc Loi and there is a back entrance off that little street with marketstalls. If you go down there you couldturn into a tiny lane and then go into Duc

Lois back entrance. I say I know; Ihave had clothes made at Duc Loi. I knowthe back rooms and perhaps we canconfuse the Korean more. I will leave themoney for this trip and a packet of

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biscuits in the plastic bag because, if itsits on the seat of the xych lo, he willthink that I am coming back soon. You

can wait for half an hour, then look worried, go and look at the market stallsand then come back looking angry anddrive away. Then you can go to Van Mieuand I will see you there at one oclock after I have eaten lunch. I think that theKorean will go away when he sees that Iam not in the market stalls street. After Ihave finished at Duc Loi I can get a xychlo at the end of the street. Noi says thatthis is a good idea. I leave the plastic bagwith money for Noi and a packet of biscuits in it and go quickly down thelittle street which is crowded with stallsselling souvenirs and religious objects,incense burners, joss sticks etc. Thereare a lot of French tourists milling aboutand buying souvenirs. I hurry round thecorner and go through the back gate of Duc Loi.The old uncle is working at the back he issurprised but he smiles and nods. Last

year he made me a silk suit. I stop andsay Hello how are you. He is verysurprised; last year I spoke noVietnamese at all. I explain that I havebeen learning Vietnamese in Perth,

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Western Australia. I say that I know onlya little and I need a lot of practice. Then Itell him that the xych lo driver and I are

worried about a big man, a Korean, who isacting strangely. The old uncle goes outthe front of the shop and comes back smiling. He says that Noi is sitting in thesecular looking very unhappy. He is agood actor.I buy a beautiful silk jacket for myself andsome pretty blouses and scarves forfamily and friends in Australia.I have to use my credit card after all but Iam pleased with my purchases.One of the young women, Tu Ahn, givesme a cup of tea. I sit and drink and talk. Ilike Vietnamese tea; it is very refreshing.We are sitting and talking when we hear aloud shout and a crash. Tu Ahn runs outinto the street and I peep through thedoor. What an unhappy sight! Nois xychlo is overturned and Noi is lying on theroad with a bad cut on his head. He isdazed and cant speak but he waves hishand towards the seat of the xych lo and I

can see that the plastic bag is not there.

When I say that Nois money is missingsome people shout thief and run aboutbut the man from the shop near the lane

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says that he saw two big men likeChinese but not speaking Chinese comebehind Noi and hit him. They drove

quickly away on a big motorbike. Theshopkeeper thinks that they took theplastic bag but he is not sure. We talk about it while people are helping Noi. Weagree that it is very strange that twowell-dressed foreigners should steal Noismoney and who would want a packet of biscuits and a duty-free bag?The ambulance people come very quickly

on their motorbike. They bandage Noishead and take him away in their sidecarand another driver comes and fixes Noisxych lo. He is very happy to take mehome. I do not want to go to the hotel forlunch and I do not want to go to VanMieu.

I think that it will be nice and peacefulwhen I get to my daughters house but Iam wrong! The maid comes to the doorand tells me that there has been greatexcitement at the hotel. Mr Binh comes

down the road to speak with me. He saysWe had a fire! There was no danger butthere was a lot of smoke in the passageoutside your room so I took away all yourthings. He says it is strange! The girl

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cleaned your room and she remembersthat she locked the door but, when thefire happened, we did not need the key to

get back into your room. Did you comeback here this morning and get a keyfrom my brother? I tell him that Icertainly did not come back to the hoteltoday. He says There is only a littledamage and it will be repaired tomorrow.Tonight you can stop in the hotel aroundthe corner. My cousin runs it so there willbe no problem. The maid smiles andsays that that will not be necessary astonight Louise, my granddaughter, willstay with a friend and, although the roomis very small, the bed is just big enoughfor me.I tell my daughter some of my

adventures and she is not very happy butI explain that I have had no problemsmyself only poor Noi. She asks Mr Nam togo to the hospital and check up on Noiand he soon comes back. He says Noimust have a tough head. They will keephim in overnight but send him home

tomorrow. Mr Nam is from Nois villageso he feels responsible for him.Mr Nam comes in after breakfast and

says that Noi is sleeping. The doctorshave stitched the cut on his head but he

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feels sick and dizzy so he must stay in forone or two nights; no visitors allowed forone day. We have a bus trip to Ha Long

Bay organized for the next day and MrNam says that he will see that Noi islooked after. The trip to Ha Long Bay isvery interesting. We start early and havelunch in Haiphong which is an importantport. It is 165 kilometres from Haiphongto Ha Long Bay and we go across the newbridge built with Australian help.

The hotel is very comfortable and thefood in the restaurant by the sea is verytasty. Ha Long Bay is very beautiful. Wego on a boat trip out on the bay and look at all the steep little mountains in thewater. I buy some souvenirs: smallfigures made from anthracite. I will haveto be very careful as they are very fragile.We stayed for two nights in Ha Long Bayand return late in the day. When we getto our street we can see that Mr Nam is atthe gate. He usually comes and sleeps inthe house when all the family go away.

He looks unhappy and tells us last nightI was asleep upstairs when I heard glassbreaking. I called out and ran down thestairs but, when I got to the bottom of thestairs, somebody hit me and knocked me

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down. I saw that the office door wasopen and two men were climbing over thewall. I rang the police and they came

very quickly. We do not think thatanything was stolen but please come andhave a look.My daughter and son-in-law look aroundthe office and say Nothing is missing.Then my grand daughter says Mycomputer game disks are not on the tablewhere I left them and the blank disks aregone also.It seems strange but Mr Nam thinks he

frightened the men so they just grabbedsomething small when they ran away. MrNam speaks Chinese and a little Japaneseas well as English and French and hethinks that the men could have beenChinese with a strange dialect.Everyone is very tired and, when Mr Namgoes home, we are all ready for bed. I goback to my hotel to sleep and it seemsnice and quiet.

Mr Nam comes in after breakfast and says

that Noi is now at home and wants verymuch to speak with me in the afternoonafter he has had a rest. I ask if I should goto his house but Mr Nam says that Noiwould like to see me at Van Mieu. This

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seems very mysterious but Im happy todo whatever Noi asks if I can. Mr Nam hashad the morning off and he is going back

to his village so I buy a pineapple and thebunch of roses for Noi. Co Hoangcooks a plate of nem to send to him. Ialso send him a soft cotton hat to wear. Itwill not be too tight or heavy for him. Itwas my fishing hat in Australia and CoHoang has washed it. It will cover thebandage and keep the sun from his eyes.I do not think that he should go out todaybut Mr Nam has said that he insists. I willbuy Noi some sunglasses as I think thathe will get a headache even though thesun is not at all bright. Before Mr Namleaves he organizes a new xych lo driverfor me. His name is Vang. He is big andhe is taller than I am. He says that this isbecause his grandfather was French. Hecan speak both French and English. Hesays that he was a wrestler and is also amartial arts man. He does not think thatanyone will hit him on the head.

I go by xych lo to the local marketbecause I want to buy a non la (aVietnamese hat) and also sunglasses forNoi. Today it looks as though it will rainand I have my daughters yellow raincape

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which is what most of the local peoplewear when they ride bikes or go in xychlos. We go to the market with no

problems: no followers, no accidents. Ibuy 3 metres of pretty cotton clothmaterial, a pair of sunglasses and a nonla which will be useful for gardening.I enjoy going to the market but today it

is very hot and humid and Im tired aftermy adventures yesterday. Vang takes meto the Metropole hotel because it is closeand I want to have lunch. The Metropoleis very expensive but I only want to eatan omelet and it does have clean, westernstyle toilets. While I am there I can buysome special French cakes because thechildren like them and so do I.When I have just finished eating and paidthe bill I see the Korean man from myhotel having lunch at the bar and talkingloudly with another Korean man who hasa scar on his right cheek. They lookedvery cross. I am worried that they mayhave seen me so I go into the toilets. Theroom is full of French women who are

part of a tour group and this gives me anidea. I have left my new hat and the raincape in the xych lo but I have the newmaterial and sunglasses with me. I gointo a cubicle. I am wearing pink trousers

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with a belt and my new pink silk jacket. Itake off the trousers and make thematerial look like a skirt with the belt.

The jacket can be turned inside out andthe other side is cream so I put it on withthe cream side showing. I put my scarf over my hair and put on the sunglasses Ibought for Noi and now I look quitedifferent.The French women are ready to leave.They are in a hurry now to get on theirtour bus one of them speaks to me. I canunderstand her; she is complaining aboutthe guide but I do not speak to her as myFrench is not very good. I just nod andshrug. As I go past the xych lo drivers Ilift my glasses and give a tiny wave toVang. He looks surprised at first but thenlooks at the door of the hotel and smilesand nods. The French men are already onthe bus and complain that the ladies took too long. The ladies all laugh. I sit nextto a quiet man who is alone. The tourleader who is Vietnamese, counts us. Iam nervous but she says happily, in

French , 17, that is correct and the busstarts off.When I look back I can see that there are

some people standing on the front stepsof the hotel. There are the two Korean

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men who are looking around and onelady, who has her mouth wide open,saying something rude in French. She is

tall with fair hair and is wearing pink trousers with the pink jacket .. shewalks down the street and the men followher. Oh dear!

Im very lucky as the first place the tourgoes to is Van Mieu, the ancient Templeof Literature. The tour leader already hasthe tickets so everyone goes straight in. Istay with the group and listen to theguide until we are near the shop. Then Igo around to the toilet block at the back of the shop and change back into my pink trousers and jacket. When the group goon to the next courtyard I go around tothe front of the shop and see Noi drinkingtea with the English interpreter. She iscalled Mai and is his cousin. Noi has onmy green fishing hat and is dressed in hisbest clothes. I hardly recognize him. Helooks pale but smiles when he sees me. Igive him the sunglasses. He tells me that

the two men hit him and took away theduty-free bag. One of them had a scar onhis right cheek and Noi thinks that theother one was the Korean man who wasat my hotel but it is a mystery! Why

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would anyone want to steal the duty-freebag with 4,000 dong and a packet of biscuits. We drink tea and I buy some

souvenirs I especially want to get one of the turtles with the stele on its back; myfriend Josephine will like that. It is amodel of the turtles that line the path andthe inscription is in Chinese characterswhich was the original way Vietnamesewas written until a Belgian priesttransliterated the language. Thiscertainly makes it easier to cope withreading signs.

I take off the scarf and Noi is nowwearing the sunglasses. When the tourgroup returns to buy souvenirs no onerecognizes me.

They go up to the bus. The guide comesin and looks around. She looks at me butI am speaking English to Mai so she goesaway. I tell Noi about the house beingbroken into and that only computer diskswere taken. He says that many of theXych lo drivers are looking for the man

who hit him but they cannot be sureexactly who they are as there are nowmany Koreans in Ha Noi. They are lookingfor a red and yellow motorbike but no onehas seen it.

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We wonder if we should go to the policebut Nor says that he cannot be 100% sureabout the men who hit him. I tell him

about the men on the steps of the hoteland the lady in pink. He says he will go tothe gate and look around. He pulls thehat down over the bandage and walks tothe front gate. When he comes back helooks worried and says that there are twomen in a car at the side of the road andthey look like the Koreans. He says Vangis there with the xych lo and my parcels.I ask the interpreter if there is a side gateand she says Yes there is. Noi goes upto the front gate and gets into Vangsxych lo.They go along the street and around the

corner to the little gate which Mai hasopened. It is raining so Noi has broughtme my daughters yellow raincape and mynew non-la. I put them on and get intothe xych lo but my feet are too big andmy shoes are wrong for a Vietnamese so Ibend over and hide my feet under thecape. Noi gets into another xych lo and

follows us. Vang pedals fast and, as wego along past the corner of the street,some xych lo drivers call out to Vang.I can understand only a little bit but Vangtells me that Mr Nam has an important

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message for me. I should not go homebut go to see him at the bank. Mr Nam isworking for my son-in-law today and he is

standing by his motorbike waiting for John to finish a business discussion. Johnlikes to travel by motorbike now as it isquicker than a xych lo and, of course, MrNam also prefers the motorbike as it isless hard work. Most of Hanoi is flat but amotorbike also has a higher prestiegethan a bicycle.

Mr Nam laughs when he sees me tryingto look like a Vietnamese and he takes acomputer disk from his pocket and asksme if it is mine and I say No, I didntbring any disks with me He says that hefound it in the duty-free bag that Ibrought from Singapore. John has givenup smoking and gave the cigarettes Ibrought him to Mr Nam who only openedthe first packet today. He found the disk in the bag and John said it must be mine.We stand there looking at the disk andsuddenly I remember that duty-free shopin Singapore airport and the young

Korean man who bumped into me andwho was taken away by the securityguards.

Perhaps he put the disk into my bag.That would explain why the old duty-free

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bag was taken from poor Noi, whysomeone was searching my room and whythe computer disks were taken from my

familys house. Mr Nam says he thinksthat he should take me on the motorbikestraight to the police now that we have astory to tell them.Noi will follow after he has had a cup of

chrysanthemum tea as he doesnt feelvery well. He will tell John what hashappened when he comes out of thebank. Vang will wait with Noi and thentake home my parcels and non la.I put on the crash helmet and get on the

motorbike. Were just starting off whenthere is a shout from Noi and Vang.Another motorbike is coming along thestreet with two men on it. We cant seetheir faces because theyre wearing crashhelmets but they are big men and thebike is red and yellow. Mr Nam saysHang on! and we go around the corneralong one street, then right into the nextstreet, right again and then we are back in the same street again.

The red and yellow motorbike has beenfollowing us. As we go past the buildingagain Mr Nam yells to the xych lo drivers.They yell back. As we go up the road Ihear a squeal of brakes and a big bump.

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When I look back I see that the xych lo isin the middle of the road and the red andyellow motorbike is lying on its side. One

bike rider is lying on the road groaningand Vang is holding the other man withhis arm behind his back.

We go along the road and I go into thePolice Building, find my son-in-law andtell him the story as I understand it.

Mr Nam is explaining to the policemanthat these are violent men and Noi saysthat he recognizes the man who hit himand took the duty-free bag. We all go tothe police station and they give me achair to sit on and a cup of tea to drink.Noi is looking very pale now so thepoliceman tells him to sit down and drink some chrysanthemum tea. One of thepoliceman speaks French so I tell him myside of the story while Noi and Vang talk to another policeman. They tell John thatthey will get him someone who speaksEnglish but Mr Nam acts as interpreter for

him and, anyway, John understands a lotof Vietnamese. They explain about thebreak-in at the house and I have to tellmy story from the time I was in Singaporeairport duty-free shop. We all write out

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our statements. John writes in Englishand so do I as my French is not goodenough for police statements. We all go

back to the house. Co Hoang has madesome more nem and cut up somepineapple. We are all very hungry andeverything is eaten.

Early next day the policeman comes tothe house and asks us to come down tothe local police station for a few minutes.We sigh but we walk down the street tothe police station. All the xych lo driverslaugh and wave and so do the people withstalls.At the police station we meet a tradeofficial from the Korean embassy. Hespeaks English very well and he says thatthe two Korean men in Hanoi and theyoung man in Singapore are criminalswho had stolen some valuableinformation back in Korea and had takenit to Singapore to sell.When he saw the security guards in theairport the young man dropped the

computer disk into my duty-free bag. Hechose me because I had Ha Noi written onmy flight bag and he knew that the othertwo men were traveling to Hanoi and hadvisas.

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We worked out that one of the menfollowed me to my hotel and stayed therewatching me but I had already given the

duty-free bag to John who had passed iton to Mr Nam. The embassy officialapologises for the trouble we had.He has paid Noi the wages he lost whileunable to work and also gave somemoney to the hotel people to fix my room.He gives John a set of beautiful Koreandolls for the children and to me he gives alovely bunch of roses and a dainty, prettygold brooch. We thank him and walk home. Noi & Vang with the other xych lodrivers are pleased to see us. I am verygrateful to Noi and Vang and will sendthem good presents from Australia. Theywould like some English-languageaudiotapes. John gives them both somemoney because Noi is saving up to get amotorbike and Vang wants to buy afridge. It has all been very exciting andall is well that ends well but I hope thatthe next holiday I have in Hanoi will bequieter and more peaceful.

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Holliday in Hanoi

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