Dragon was having to improvise our tour a little, but managed to find alternatives that made the whole day a complete success.
Local bananas for local people
For example, we watched some broken eggs turned into amazing, vivid, stunning works of art with a bit of lacquer, mother of pearl and delicate brush work.
Egg shells, some scorched
Typical picture using this method
Mrs M bought a tray, so hopefully she’ll stop nicking the ones off the plane.
I HEARD THAT…
“We go cross bridge now”. Fair enough, but Dragon left out “bridge not maintained, gaps in the walkway (marvellous views through broken concrete slabs 60ft down), rusty, bent railings, shakes with traffic…”
Whilst not for the faint hearted, this was one of those unexpected moments where a bit more of Vietnam was peeled back to educate the Imperialist Running Dog that I am.
Built at the turn of the 19th century by the French Invaders, more as a statement of Colonial power than for practical reasons, the bridge spanned the Red river and gave Hanoi a land link to Haiphong, the nearest port, 100km away. This became logistically important in the V war as a supply route for the North Vietnamese army. The Americans therefore bombed Haiphong and the bridge fairly incessantly. Today, other bridges now cross the river, but this one is seen as a symbol of resilience against the American aggressors as the bridge was never out of action for long having been rebuilt/repaired at least 10 times during the war.
Many people live in the shadow of the bridge, and wholesale companies have small warehouses from which all manner of goods are dispatched by lorry or scooter.
Sadly, the river is home to the poorest of the poor, who cannot afford even a basic shack on land.
And those that can, lead a very simple life, but interestingly keep the flag flying.
Next stop was a real backalley wholesale market with everything from live baby sharks to genuine 😆 Austin Reed shirts. Very impressive how even cheek by jowel with competitors, they seem to make a living. No sign of any bog roll though – I could have made a fortune bringing some home.
Dried fish
Fresh turtle
Squids and crabs
Bhudda’s hand citron, or fingered citron, offered to Bhudda in return for longevity, happiness and good fortune.
Lunch included a novel beer cocktail – not sure about that one.
Suckered into trying this one!
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