Finally, another blog

How on Earth do some people manage to blog every day? More than twice a year is challenging me at the moment it seems. I got a bit distracted and took my eye off the ball, forgetting that this blog is in fact my main focus in life. It will not happen again.

I’ve just returned from a whistle-stop tour of the UK. Thanks to my good buddies helping with all the gear, I managed to get a day kayaking on a bit of rather exciting whitewater (and was surprised to discover I still know what to do), walked over the Welsh hills in appalling weather (an absolute delight – I’m strange like that), took my nephew Jamie walking and climbing in the Peak District, 

and caught up with as many folk en route as I could manage.

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One of the best things about returning home is recognising what the food actually is. Living here, the food constantly surprises me. Here is an example …

Yes, White Fungus Drink. It has lumps of jelly in it and is actually quite nice.

Ice cream is very popular and the local shop causes traffic jams as people spill out into the road trying to get at some. The flavours vary from the ordinary … coconut flavour, chocolate flavour … to the rather unusual … mung bean flavour (yum!) and young rice flavour (young rice?! -  before  I came here I wasn’t aware rice got old). 

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The highlight of the year so far was my nephew Simon marrying Martyna in Krakow. What a wedding! It was lovely and everyone had a wonderful time, not least the happy couple. I think I drank more vodka over two days than in the rest of my life put together but paced myself and survived. 

After the wedding, I headed off to the hills south of Krakow for a spot of walking …

and pottered around town …

A neat a trick if you can do it …

The tornadoes here are strong …

I then went to Wroclaw to see Rich and Aga, who I worked with in Torun just over 3 years ago. It was great to catch up and Wroclaw is lovely. 

While I was there I had the good fortune to witness a world record attempt on the number of guitars playing together. Led by The Animals (of 'The House of the Rising Sun’  fame), they managed to get over 7,000 guitarists to play a Jimi Hendrix song and broke the record. Despite the rain.

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Another big event this year was my 50^th birthday. What?! No way!! I hear you say. Well, in fact, it’s true.

To mark the occasion, I held a party on the café balcony where I live. About 45 fine folk turned up and a good time was had by all (I hope). In fact, some of my younger colleagues enjoyed themselves so much I had a spot of bother getting them to leave quietly. At about midnight I was encouraging them to head towards the front gate but they were rather keen to hang around talking loudly. Later on I noticed a text from my landlord pointing out that they were closing the café and could I ask my guests to leave now. He’d sent it at 11pm. Oops. I gave the family a big bunch of flowers the next day.

You’ll notice I’m Harris Graham here. In Vietnam the name order is the reverse of that in the UK and this causes enormous confusion. I’m often referred to as Mr. Graham and even if I point the error out, people still do it. My landlord often calls me Harris.

Talking of names, I had 4 girls called Chi in one class last term and in another, 2 girls called Nhi and one called Nhu. It made for some confusion. 

The icing on the cake though (pardon the pun), was that my mate Bob was in town and could attend too (we've known each other 30 years). 

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I think I was getting a bit uptight before I went home this summer – I needed a bit of a break and normality, and I think that is largely to do with the traffic. It is rather too hot to walk around Hanoi and the pavements present several obstacles … like trees …

So I drive, like everyone else. That would be fine but the rules of the road aren’t obeyed too closely. In a way it’s fun – there’s nothing that focuses the mind better than approaching a road junction where there are no traffic lights and so traffic is going in 4 directions at the same time. Your mission is to get to the other side in one piece. Essential, as the only ambulances I’ve seen are minibuses with a red cross on the side and I was rather perturbed to see one stop the other day to treat a patient and a 20-something lad jump out of the front in jeans and a t-shirt. To be fair, a nurse jumped out the back but I’m reassured more if everyone looks the part. Must drive carefully …

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Earlier this year there was an added hazard just a few doors down from my flat. There was a sign saying ’Beware of cow’. The sign’s gone now so I suppose the cow has too. Probably eaten.

In fact, livestock are a feature of life in Hanoi. Chickens are everywhere, but it’s a little unusual to see a cow. This one was grazing on the wall beside a main road.

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T-shirts with slogans using mis-spelled English are everywhere in Hanoi. The best I’ve seen was a teenage girl with a slogan that said ‘pervert’ very clearly. My guess is that she thought it said ‘perfect’. I didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth.

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Bike photo of the month: The family run-around. 

I couldn’t tell if the woman is holding a baby or not. It would be quite normal if she was. I’m still waiting for the elusive ‘5 on a bike shot’ and can’t be sure if this is it. Notice the boy on the front in a sunhat – children rarely wear helmets when on the bike with their parents.