Word Ha Noi June 2013

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Chuyên đề du lịch, ẩm thực Hanoi EDITION

June 2013

Public

Art Nhà Xuất Bản Lao Động




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EDITORIAL aaron joel santos Photo Editor aaron@wordhanoi.com

MADs monsen Art Director mads@wordhcmc.com

francis roux Staff Photographer francis@wordhanoi.com

douglas pyper Staff Writer douglas@wordhanoi.com

hoa le Staff Writer hoale@wordhanoi.com

rose arnold Staff Editor rose@wordhanoi.com

kaitlin rees Features Editor kaitlin@wordhanoi.com

nick ross Chief Editor nick@wordhanoi.com

ADMINISTRATION Duong Vy Bao General Director bao@wordhanoi.com

Le Dang Phuong Trang Chief Accountant accountant@wordhcmc.com

ADVERTISING chau thi huong giang Sales Manager & Office Manager giang@wordhanoi.com

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SUBSCRIPTIONS hai@wordhanoi.com For advertising enquiries please call Giang on +84 934 640668 or Bao on +84 938 609 689 Special thanks to Ed Weinberg, Fabiola Buchele, Francis Xavier, Elisabeth Rosen, Huyen Tran, Nguyen Bao Ngoc, Shane Dillon, Mark Bowyer, Lisa Barthelemes, Kim Megson, Tim McMahon, Max Cooper, Brian Webb, Claire Driscoll, Karen Gay, Douglas Holwerda, Truong @ Bookworm, Lan Ha, Susmita Paul, Jennifer Baxter, David Nguyen and FMP for their contribution to this issue. Word is a registered trademark. No content may be reproduced in any form without prior authorisation of the owners. © Word - Duong Huynh Advertising JSC

© Tất cả hình ảnh và nội dung trong Ấn phẩm này thuộc bản quyền của Ấn phẩm Word (Ho Chi Minh city và HaNoi) của C.Ty CP TM–DV–QC–Truyền Thông Dương Huỳnh. Mọi sự sao chép không được phép sẽ bị xem là vi phạm luật Sở Hữu Trí Tuệ hiện hành của nhà nước Cộng Hòa Xã Hội Chủ Nghĩa Việt Nam.

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Contents

wordhanoi.com

June 2013

024

060

066

034

004 | The Prelude

columns FEATURES

THE TALK 007 | The Big Five 008 | Just In 010 | Exhibitionist 011 | Nerd’s World

026

016 | In the Papers

RISE, FALL AND THE MALL

The destruction of markets in favour of shopping malls has been far from an unprecedented success

028

032

034

THE HEARTS THAT HELP OTHERS

Cancer patients in Hanoi have it tough. Fortunately, a few good souls are working to ease their pain

036

068 | Mystery Diner Japanese eatery Azuma comes under the spotlight 069 | Street Snacker Mushrooms, mushrooms and more mushrooms at Nam 76

PUBLIC ART

Home to the longest mural in the world, when it comes to public art, Hanoi has much to be proud of

INSIDER 024 | 18+ Meet the lead singer of punk-rock sensation, 18+

GIVING GOOD FLOW

Meet acupuncturist Duong Minh Tam

018 | Calendar 020 | Overscene

BIG SCREEN VIETNAM

After years of stagnation, the Vietnamese film industry is coming into its own

012 | The Buzz 014 | Points of View

064

052

CASA ITALIA

The new Italian cultural centre was the ambition of the ambassador, Lorenzo Angeloni

054

WOMAN

Dang Ai Viet has made it her life work to draw portraits of Vietnamese hero mothers, women who lost loved ones in the war

060

THE NON LA VILLAGE

Lang Chuong is the home of the non la, the conical hat that remains an iconic symbol of Vietnam

064

DAY TRIPPER

Ba Vi may not be the best set-up getaway from Hanoi, but one tourist area is trying to change all that

073 | Business Buff 080 | Medical Buff 081 | Book Buff 082 | Cinema 083 | The Alchemist 085 | The Therapist 088 | Travel Promos 090 | TIENG VIET FINAL SAY 094 | Hanoi Pho?

Is the best pho really sold in Hanoi?

096 | The Last Call

Meet Jean-Claude Gallotta, the French choreographer behind the ballet the Rite of Spring


The Prelude W

hen we started the predecessor of The Word, Saigon Inside Out, we modelled the publication on Time Out London. Using the iconic ‘what’s on’ guide as our starting point, we adapted our own offering to the specific conditions of Ho Chi Minh City in 2005. Instead of a whole section with events listings, we created a directory with listings for bars, restaurants, hotels, leisure options and more. We also moved the feature content away from specific events happening in and around the city — focusing more on lifestyle and providing information for people in the dark. The key, though, was to create a city mag, a publication that

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would be a vital resource for anyone living in the big city. It was this philosophy that we brought with us when we launched our second title in Hanoi in October 2009. Eight years on and we are about to embark upon a huge change. Our two publications, Word Ha Noi and Word Ho Chi Minh City, are being combined and in July we will go national with a new title, Word Vietnam. This doesn't mean we will lose our local edge, far from it. Together with a new website that will be launched at the beginning of July, both cities will be equally catered to in the new publication. We will also use this increased focus to cover the whole country in a way that we believe Vietnam hasn’t been covered before. These are exciting times for

us, but they wouldn’t have been possible without our staff, the people who have helped us develop our two publications into what they are in 2013. So for all those both past and present who have played a part in getting us to where we are today, a huge unreserved thank you. You have been the lifeblood of our two publications, the reason we have been able to tick. Words cannot say enough how much we appreciate the work you have put in. In the meantime we hope you enjoy this issue. It’s the last time you will hold Word in its present form in your hands. As ever, if you have any comments, please drop us a line on editor@ wordvietnam.com.

CHUYÊN ĐỀ DU LỊCH, ẨM THỰC HANOI EDITION

JUNE 2013

Public

Art NHÀ XUẤT BẢN LAO ĐỘNG

THIS MONTH'S COVER Illustration by Max Cooper


- Authentic Indian Cuisine Serving both North & South Indian dishes - Cozy & Ambient setting - Halal Food - Free Home Delivery - Indoor Party facilities & Outdoor catering services - For details contact Gopi 0903 266 997 Or Ms Dung 093 657 2277 Add: 47 Lo Su Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi Tel: (84 4) 3935 2400/01 Email: Info@namastehanoi.com Fax: (84 8) 3935 2402 Website: www.namastehanoi.com

June 2013 Word | 5


The Talk Illustration by Melanie Elfert

thE big 5 / Just in / the buzz / calendar / overscene

Amazing Grapes Premium wine sales in Vietnam are bucking the trend

T

wo wine dinners in two different cities, six months apart and both with a focus on premium wines. The first is organised by distributor Daloc at the Park Hyatt in Saigon. They have brought in the owner of a grand cru from Bordeaux, Henri Lurton, and together with a four-course dinner at the Hyatt’s Square One, we get to sample three vintages of Chateau Brane Cantenac, the oldest from 1995. The wines cost hundreds of dollars a bottle. It is a treat. The second wine dinner has a different flavour. Instead of Bordeaux reds we are

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sampling top-end Australian wines, a new world flavour hosted by Jackson’s steakhouse in Hanoi. Distributed by The Warehouse, on the table are wines by Jansz, Giaconda, Yalumba, John Duval, Henschke and Rockford. The price point for some of these hits the VND4 million or VND5 million realm and once again, there is a real element of pleasure to tasting such great wines. It is an extravagance, an extravagance we are told that in these times few of us can afford.

Hard Done By? Yet the fact that both these events are

happening during a period of relative economic hardship says much. In the west the bottom has largely dropped out of the market for premium wines — you only need to look at the well-documented travails of Australian vineyards to see the effects of the global downturn. So the producers are instead turning their attentions to Asia, whose economies have largely escaped the cycle of borrowing, bankruptcy and unpayable debt. Here there is a strong market for premium products, so strong in fact that many of the grand cru producers have turned their attention to China and the countries in its vicinity. Henri Lurton concurs. “We have never seen such an explosion of exports globally,” he explains. “The demand in China for some labels has been phenomenal. It’s a new market for wine. There are some people who know what they like. But there are more who only know price.” And indeed price is part of the reason for the popularity. The need to spend on top-end products is part of an Asian desire to live ‘the luxury lifestyle’ — the more expensive, so the theory goes, the better the quality. It’s a trend that Vietnam has taken on in equal proportions.

Bring Your Own Yet as many a restaurateur will attest, testing times have led to a change in spending habits, particularly on the dining front. Bien Nguyen, the man behind Xu in Saigon, and part of the management team of 1911 in Hanoi, saw 2012 as “a medium to cheap market for wines”. It is, he says, a reflection of the subdued economy. Yet, when there is “corporate entertaining and special occasions put on by the wealthy socialites, we see the Crystals and grand cru come out.” He adds: “These people with money are always looking for value. They have great wine at home. So they’ll most likely bring in their own wine and pay the corkage fee.” With the economic slowdown in Vietnam, it may seem surprising that the market for top-end wines is still ticking along. Yet going premium is aspirational, and once you have a taste for the good stuff, it’s difficult to make a retreat. Instead the belt-tightening has come in a different form — bring your own. The VND300,000 to VND400,000 paid in corkage amounts to a saving that is keeping the retail industry bubbling along, although what the restaurateurs who no longer make the huge mark-ups think about it, is another matter. — Nick Ross


THE

big

watch out out for for this this month month Things to watch

The Polka Dot Queen Yayoi Kusama and her dots are one of Japan’s most famous and award-winning art exports. The flamboyant 84 year old is as famous for her outrageously fabulous outfits as she is for her cheerfully avant-garde art creations. And her international art career spanning over 60 years is finally making a stop in Hanoi. Her Obsessions exhibition at the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange is the first ever showing of her work in Vietnam. The admission is free, the installations are world-renowned, and will be on display until the end of July. If this is what Japanese-Vietnamese friendship celebrations look like, we should celebrate every year. The exhibition will run until Jul. 28. Opening hours every day are from 9am to 6pm. The Japan Foundation is at 27 Quang Trung, Hoan Kiem. Get a preview of the artist at www.yayoi-kusama.jp

The Rite of Spring

Ha Ha Hanoi Hong Kong’s Ha Ha HaNoi comedy night returns for their third incarnation in the capital, featuring a new line-up of comics including American Vietnamese Mary Ho and cameos from three Hanoi locals. Sean Hebert, Ryan Hynek, Nick Milnes and Mary Ho are four regulars of the Hong Kong comedy circuit looking to bring Hanoi an evening of giggles. They’ll make two performances in June. They promise dirty jokes, idiotic stories and thoroughly encourage heckling. Tickets are VND100,000. The first show will be on Jun. 21 at Cama ATK, 73A Mai Hac De, Hai Ba Trung. On Jun. 22 the comics will move to The House of Son Tinh, 31 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho. Both shows start at 9pm

If the summer heat is making you nostalgic for spring, the ballet performance of the Grenoble National Choreographic Centre and the Parisbased Théâtre National de Chaillot may bring you back to that time when everything wasn’t dripping and miserable. Stravinsky’s infamous, The Rite of Spring, directed and choreographed by Jean-Claude Gallotta, experiments with a “carnal and explosive” performance of 19 dancers that embody “forbidden awakenings” and “disturbing palpitations”. Sound promising? We think so. Preceding the main event are two short works, one silent and one involving the phrase “picking the nose of music”. The Rite of Spring will be performed on Jun. 29 at 8pm at the Youth Theatre, 11 Ngo Thi Nham, Hai Ba Trung. The performance will last for one hour. Tickets can be purchased in advanced through L’Espace at 24 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem. For more information go to our feature article on page 96

Luxembourg Celebrates

Piknic Elektronic Back in Action The third edition of Piknic Elektronic, Hanoi’s rare collective outdoor beat music experience, returns to its original venue of Softwater this year. Hoping to embrace the intimate garden and all its accompanying birds and nature, the people behind the Piknic bring five months and 23 Sundays, worth of afternoon electronic music, food, drink and “vibers”. The Piknic kicks off this year on Jun. 2 and will run until Nov. 3. All the events start at 4pm and last until 9pm. Softwater is located at 49, Road 5 An Duong, Tay Ho. See you on the lawn

As part of their 40th anniversary celebrations of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Vietnam, Luxembourg are running three days of cultural events from Wednesday Jun. 19 through to Friday Jun. 21. On Jun. 19 there will be a rock show by Sun Glitters at the Hanoi Youth Theatre. This will be followed by a contemporary dance performance the following day of the Warrior of Beauty. And to round things up, on Jun. 21 there will be a concert at the Hanoi Opera House featuring Luxembourg pianist Francesco Tristano. For more details of the shows and to win tickets, please go to The Exhibitionist on page 10

June 2013 Word | 7


Just In

Zeds Threads Following the creation of their own brand of men’s clothing made to western sizes, Zeds Threads has opened its first store on To Ngoc Van. Selling formal shirts (business and evening shirts), casual shirts in long and short sleeves (including western style designs), denim jackets, denim shorts, Bermuda shorts, and linen shorts, all the clothing is made from 100 percent cotton and 100 percent linen, offering maximum cooling properties for the hot and humid climate of Hanoi. Zeds Threads is also committed to producing clothing under Fair Trade principles with a respect for the environment. This includes providing employment and training to the disadvantaged. Zeds Threads is located at 51A To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho. Opening hours are Wednesday to Friday, 4.30pm to 6.30pm, Saturday 8.30am to 12pm and 1pm to 5.30pm, Sunday 11am to 2pm. The store is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays

Hoi An Fine Art Located in the heart of Hoi An old town, Hoi An Fine Art photo gallery is the first of its kind in central Vietnam. Using only imported archival photo paper, owner Etienne Bossot displays some of his best shots from Vietnam and Southeast Asia (including Cambodia, Laos and Burma). After six years in Hoi An and the creation of the popular Hoi An Photo Tour & Workshop, Etienne opened his gallery to display his work to everyone. More than a photo gallery, this place is also used for every photographer coming to Hoi An to meet and discuss anything related to photography. Hoi An Fine Art Photo Gallery is at 42 Phan Boi Chau, Hoi An, 100 metres from the central market. For more information go to www. hoianphoto.com

Moniq by M in Hanoi Social Club The upstairs of Hanoi Social Club got a lot more interesting last month when up-and-coming designer Thu Madelin opened her clothing and jewellery shop, Moniq by M. All original designs are by Thu and her fashionista friends, and the space offers an intimate collection of clothes that you probably haven’t seen in a million other stores, which is a relief. Moniq by M is on the second floor of the Hanoi Social Club at 6 Hoi Vu, Hoan Kiem. The store is open from 9am until 9pm

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The Jewels of Halong Bay Nearly 10 years after its launch as one of Southeast Asia’s most traditional cruiseliners, Emeraude Classic Cruises has produced a 112-page narrative history that details the remarkable adventure of a colonial French family, a historic paddle steamship and its contemporary namesake. The book — The Jewels of Halong Bay: A Tale of Adventure in French Indochina and a Curious History of the Emeraude — recounts the story of three French brothers who sought and made a fortune in colonial Indochina. Its pictures include vintage shots of life and landscapes in the former French colony, maps, and images of the original Emeraude, which cruised Halong Bay from 1906 to 1937. The story concludes with the resurrection and relaunch of the Emeraude in December 2003. “This story has captivated me since I first saw a postcard of the old Emeraude in the St. Ouen flea market in Paris in 1999,” says Eric Merlin, who built the latter-day vessel and whose research forms a large part of the work. “The story gripped me then, and it’s never let go. Because we’ve heard the same thing from so many passengers, this book became inevitable.” At its core, the book tells the story of the Roque Brothers, who set sail from Bordeaux in early 1858 and whose entrepreneurial skills and daring fueled their fortune. The Roques provisioned the French military during its campaign to establish a foothold in Vietnam. They built businesses in timber and sugar, and finally hit their stride with the development of a shipping company in the 1870s. Published by Nha Xuat Ban Lao Dong, with production by Duong Huynh Advertising, The Jewels of Halong Bay is available for sale at VND315,000 at Emeraude Classic Cruise Sales Office and the Press Club in Hanoi, at the Emeraude Cafe on Halong Bay, on the Emeraude itself and at La Residence Hotel & Spa in Hue. The story is based on research by Eric Merlin, and the text was prepared by Pam Scott, a longtime Hanoi resident


HCMC: +84 8 3933 0065 HaNoi: +84 4 3941 0805 E: info@santaferelo.com.vn www.santaferelo.com

June 2013 Word | 9


The Exhibitionist

Noi Hanoi at Manzi

The Jazz of Charles Pasi Blue jazz rock with a side of harmonica. Charles Pasi, whose claim to fame could include touring with Carla Bruni, if Carla Bruni were your thing, and a track entitled Better With Butter, if butter, as is more likely, is your thing, will visit Hanoi for one night only. The Parisian has gained international acclaim for his live performance and soundtrack writing. If you’ve got an ear for blue jazz, you don’t want to miss Pasi. Charles Pasi will perform at L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem on Jun. 13 at 8pm. Tickets are VND120,000 with half price discounts for students

Noi Hanoi returns after a healthy hiatus this month with its old vim and vigour for poetry of all kinds. The reading will showcase a few seasoned Vietnamese poets as well as a few differently seasoned foreign poets. A platform will also be open for the public to share freely their own works of poetry and whatever else. The group behind Noi Hanoi will also introduce plans for creating a writing centre, offering workshops, and taking over the world. Noi Hanoi kicks off at 8pm at Manzi, 14 Phan Huy Ich, on Wednesday Jun. 26. If you are interested in reading something, email noihanoisubmissions@gmail. com ahead of time

Dutch Artist Introduction Dutch-Hungarian artist Andrea Radai is in Hanoi for a three-month residency, reflecting on the two years (1973 to 1975) she spent here with her parents as a child. Andrea’s work in Hanoi, which follows an interest in both the personal and the collective nature of memory, is also bringing to light some similarities between contemporary Dutch and Vietnamese artists. Impressed by the commonality of artists struggling for public recognition, she will introduce the works of five Dutch artists who are doing interesting work outside of the spotlight. The art of Miloushka Bokma (photographer/video artist ), Lon Godin (painter), Frans van Lent (performance artist/video artist), Mark van den Berg (filmmaker/writer), and her own work as a painter will be introduced. Andrea Radai’s talk will start at 6.30pm at the Goethe Institut at 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Ba Dinh on Jun. 22

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Luxembourg Celebrates To commemorate the 40th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Luxembourg, Luxembourg will be running a cultural performance for three days in June, from Wednesday Jun. 19 to Friday Jun. 21. The final performance will also mark the birthday of His Royal Highness Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg. Here are the details: Sun Glitters Contemporary Musical Performance Wednesday, Jun. 19, Hanoi Youth Theatre, 8pm The sound of Sun Glitters can be defined as a swirling melting pot of many different influences and textures. Reminiscent of Boards of Canada, My Bloody Valentine or Gold Panda, it is also totally unique — his shows are an emotionally charged experience. Sun Glitters visual presentation is dreamlike, in pastel sun-faded colours and hazy shadows. Having performed over 100 gigs in the last 2 years, his new album will be released later this year. Warrior of Beauty by Sylvia Camarda Contemporary Dance Performance Wednesday, Jun. 20, Hanoi Youth Theatre, 8pm Warrior of Beauty is a performance engaging in a dialogue with the audience that revolves around and explores one central question: how to be a warrior of beauty? This dialogue is also a monologue; at once the personal expression of the performer and a mirror held up to each and every member of the audience. How may individuals find themselves in their own true personality? Pianist Francesco Tristano and the Hanoi Symphony Orchestra Classical Performance of Bach, Britten, Mozart and Tchaikovsky Conducted by Le Phi Phi Friday, Jun. 21, The Opera House, 8pm Luxembourg-born Francesco Tristano discovered the piano at the age of five and played his first concert aged 13. He later toured both as a soloist and with renowned orchestras, such as the Russian National Orchestra, the French National Orchestra of Lille and the Philharmonie Luxembourg. Tristano founded the chamber ensemble, The New Bach Players, with whom he has also performed as a conductor. Tristano is one of the last students at New York’s Juilliard School to complete Bach legend Rosalyn Tureck’s master class. He will be playing with the Hanoi Symphony Orchestra and the performance will be conducted by the celebrated, Le Phi Phi.


{ nerd's World}

! n i Win! Win!

** We’re All Kinected * *

W

We have got 12 pairs of tickets for the three Luxembourgorganised events coming up this month. Marking the celebrations of 40 years of diplomatic relations between Luxembourg and Vietnam, the events are bringing the best of this founding member of the EU to Hanoi. To win tickets, simply answer the two questions below and email them to editor@wordhanoi.com by Sunday Jun. 16. Luxembourg is... a) a Kingdom b) a Republic c) a Grand Duchy d) a Monarchy Luxembourg is part of which group of countries? a) The Baltic States b) The Balkans c) The Benelux countries d) The British Isles

By UNIS Design “Design surrounds and absorbs us. The current accessibility of design sites and publications, software and applications, open source, versatile devices and now with the emergence of affordable 3D printing means the consumer landscape is shifting. We’re moving into an era where design and manufacture is slowly being handed back to the people. “For the second United Nations International School of Hanoi Design Exhibition, students created work that responds to design problems by analyzing needs and constraints, researching existing solutions, developing ideas and using a variety of production methods ranging from robotics programming to 3D modeling and printing. New technologies are exciting and change the boundaries, but we must become more discerning in our choices and take charge of the opportunity to create. “To all the staff and students involved… congratulations on a job well done.” — Dorian Gibb, Head of UNIS Technology Department The design exhibition at UNIS was run last month from May 20 to May 24. The works shown here were created by the school’s students

L

ate last month, Microsoft officially announced the soon-to-be-released Xbox One. Three months after Sony’s announcement of PlayStation 4, we saw the ways Xbox One could revolutionise the gaming industry and life itself. With constant advances in the technology surrounding us, is it possible that something created for the sole purpose of entertainment could change everything in our day-to-day lives? While the new system is packing many updates, the Xbox Kinect is the feature that has captured the most sci-fi nerd interest. In the past, tech-savvy gamers have been known to manipulate the Kinect attachment for the Xbox in an attempt to broaden the horizon for future technologies. While some of the possible capabilities of the Kinect are seemingly frivolous — such as a modification which allows the Kinect to function as a virtual changing room or giving users the ability to change the TV channel with a swipe of the hand — others present countless possibilities for not only the functionality of technology, but the way in which we design it as well. Kinect has already made advancements in the field of robotics by providing a commercial platform for motion-tracking technology. There has also been experimentation with the use of the Kinect and interactive

projections. Architects and archaeologists have been able to integrate software, used to map and design buildings, with the Kinect to create a joint piece of equipment that allows them to work on virtually any smooth surface. With further developments in a new and improved Kinect, for which Microsoft claims improved tracking, resolution and the ability to speak to the user, science fiction will be all but science fact.

Sony Nation While the PS4 does have its own version of interactive gameplay called the Move, the potential behind it isn’t as obvious. Be that as it may, Sony may still be providing the better console, as far as user-friendliness is concerned. With the release of the PlayStation 3 in 2006, Sony has been winning the gaming battle. The PS3 has sold over a million more units than the Xbox 360, a win Sony achieved by staying within the technological limits of a userfriendly experience — unlike the raw computing power of the 360, which is plagued by the all-too-common ‘red ring of death’. As of now, the gaming war remains undecided. Microsoft clearly has the edge in technology, but Sony seems to be following the saying, “Everything tastes better when it’s free.” Well, free of hassles at least. — Kyle Phanroy

June 2013 Word | 11


The Buzz Hanoi Cooking Centre Your summer holiday tickets booked, your suitcase packed, your loose ends tied, but your list of ‘things-to-bring-tofriends’ is still incomplete? Worry not, a final shopping opportunity is graciously provided by the Hanoi Cooking Centre. On Sunday, Jun. 9, the roof terrace of the Cooking Centre will turn into a market for the creative works of Hanoi’s designers. Swing by for those last minute packables. The Sunday Market at the Hanoi Cooking Centre is held every second Sunday of the month. This month it is on Jun. 9 from 10am to 3pm at 44 Chau Long, Ba Dinh

Shabazz Palaces

BOO for Superheroes Boo’s newest collection Infamous — selfdescription (sophisticated, liberal, chic and unique) — sounds like the definition of hipster fashion. So jump on the trend wagon and head to their store at 8 Au Trieu, Hoan Kiem and 308 Ba Trieu, Hai Ba Trung. This month will also see them launch a superhero special, possibly the Superman insignia printed on a shirt. As an official partner of DC Comics and Warner Bros they will be selling super-stuff inspired by the Man of Steel movie.

La Casa Summer brings a sale with it at La Casa. Get up to 50 percent off goods at the homewares store on Xuan Dieu for two days only, Jun. 7 to Jun. 9. La Casa is in the Syrena Tower at 51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho. Visit www.lacasavietnam.com.vn for a peak at what they’re offering.

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Shabazz Palaces, one of the most widely celebrated hip hop acts of the last few years, prepares to bring modern hip hop to Hanoi on Saturday Jun. 22. When Shabazz Palaces dropped Black Up in 2011, they made one hell of a splash. Universally hailed as one of the albums of the year, the record took hip hop to new levels of deep bass exploration. Bass like treacle, broken disorienting beats and fragmented, woozy raps make up one of music’s most innovative albums in recent memory. With praise and accolades the length of their arm, Shabazz Palaces are one of the finest groups CAMA Vietnam have ever brought to the capital. One not to be missed. See www.camavietnam.org for details of venue and ticketing

Bookworm Too Exhibits Bao Cap Bowls A collection of rare ceramic bowls and plates will be displayed at Bookworm Too throughout June. The pottery stems from and before the Subsidy Era (1976 to 1986) and is no longer produced, making it somewhat of an antique rarity. The pieces on display have been collected by Nguyen Kien who is exhibiting and selling his collection among the bookshelves of Hanoi’s favourite bookstore. Bookworm Too is at Lane 1/28, Nghi Tam Village, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3829 2322


Sexy Summer Promotion From May 17 to May 30, fitness and healthcare centre NShape is running a Sexy Summer Promotion for different kinds memberships. The deals are as follows: NShape Fitness, 71 Nguyen Chi Thanh, Dong Da — 15 percent discount off new memberships and one month free for renewal. Applies for the first 40 registrants of all single gold and gold premier memberships lasting for six months or longer — Buy one year, get one month free, buy six months get two weeks free. Applies for all single silver memberships NShape Fitness & Spa, 14-16 Ham Long, Hai Ba Trung — 25 percent discount for new memberships of six months or longer. One year renewal, get three months free, six month renewal get one month free. NShape are also offering free membership extensions based on successful referals of friends. Check with the fitness centres for further details.

Fortuna Favours Beef For some, the month of June marks the summer break from school, travel to new places and relaxing in the sun. For Fortuna Hotel the month of June marks premium beef cuts. Throughout June and July, too, the fine chefs at Fortuna are fixing their gaze on beef and its accompanying seasonal flavours, and not looking away until all of Hanoi’s beef lovers have been satisfied by the beef culinary experiences. From Jun. 1 until Jun. 30, Fortuna’s beef festival can be enjoyed starting at VND280,000 per portion. Call (04) 3831 3333, ext. 6461 for reservations

Five Life Enriching Journeys Exotissimo are running a series of tours that allow participants to go on lifeenriching journeys throughout Asia. These include the Indonesia, Sulawesi & Toraja Adventure (9 days, 8 nights). Based on two participants sharing, the cost is from VND22,940,000 per person. They also have the China, Tibet and Sichuan tour (11 days, 10 nights) costing from VND61,310,000 per person based on two participants sharing as well as similar journey-style tours through Myanmar, Laos and Japan. These tours run for a limited time only. So, to get full details, contact Exotissimo on hanoiagency@exotissimo.com or xuandieu@ exotissimo.com


Points of View By Mark Bowyer

Smoker’s Paradise Lost? Not yet. Non-smoker Mark Bowyer makes the case for smoke-free bars and restaurants, and the enforcement of Vietnam’s latest round of smoking laws.

V

ietnam is a smoker’s paradise. It’s a tobacco company paradise, too. Both dubious honours when smoking is estimated to kill 40,000 people a year in Vietnam and more than 5 million globally. For the expat smoker, Vietnam’s not only a wonderfully permissive environment, it also provides a big cash windfall. A one-pack-a-day expat living here can save as much as VND10 million per month compared with at home. It may explain why, anecdotally at least, the expat population seems to be disproportionately smoker heavy. For the non-smoker, though, Vietnam is a passive smoking nightmare. In 2012, the authorities announced that existing tobacco regulations would be strengthened. It seemed that from May 1, 2013, Vietnam’s bars and restaurants would be mainly smoke free. Smoking would be confined to designated areas. Some of us got quite excited.

Not So Fast As we enter June, the excitement has faded to disappointment. Only a tiny minority of restaurants and bars have taken unilateral action. Otherwise, cigarette smoke is as ubiquitous as it was before. Those of us that fly the smoke-free flag are often accused of being ‘nanny staters’ — wanting to meddle in the rights and freedoms of others for some personal obsession. But that’s not it at all. Like me, most smoke-free advocates are more selfishly motivated. We’d like to protect our lungs from the noxious impacts and general unpleasantness of passive smoke. I’ve had two goes at cancer already and I’d like the next to be deferred as long as possible, thanks. The individual’s right to smoke is not in question. Non-smokers are simply demanding a right to live a life free of other people’s second hand smoke. And in the bars and restaurants of Vietnam, second hand smoke violations occur on a grand scale. There are a few reasons for this. Vietnam has one of the highest smoking rates in the world. From the outset there will likely be a higher percentage of smokers in a bar in Vietnam than there ever would have been before smoking was banned in bars in most western countries. The second reason is that most bars don’t have proper ventilation. Home-style air-conditioning with no ventilation is the norm. The smoke gets cooled and recycled. On a busy night, as recent testing by The Word proved, the toxicity of the air inside a smoky bar is worse than what was recorded in Beijing during the deadly days of smog earlier this year. After a couple of hours out in Vietnam, it’s not unusual to wake up the next day with a dry

14 | Word June 2013

throat and something like a smoker’s cough — even though you haven’t touched a cigarette.

Workers’ Rights Some smokers reading this might respond “nobody forces you to go to smoke filled bars. If you don’t like them, stay at home”. But non-smokers shouldn’t have to make such a choice. Smoke-free air is everybody’s right. And there’s another more compelling point. There’s an army of young Vietnamese staff in these places, many of whom are young non-smoking women, who don’t have the option that non-smoking customers have of going home. They’re supporting themselves or their families. And in a tough economy, working in a smoky bar or restaurant may be the best available option. The right of bar and restaurant workers to a healthy, safe workplace is the most important smokefree argument of all. This was the issue that forced change in most western countries. Vietnam has done the same — on paper at least. The lungs of Vietnam’s hospitality workers are yet to see any benefit, though. And the forces lined up against serious action on smoking in Vietnam are formidable. The fact that smoking is so ubiquitous is a barrier. Then there is the role of the tobacco industry. Tobacco Asia, an industry website, says Vinataba, Vietnam’s state owned tobacco company accounts for around 40 percent of the market that it estimates to be just under 100 billion cigarettes per year — more than 1,000 cigarettes for every man, woman and child.

Out in Force Reeling from a collapse in smoking in the west, the tobacco industry is investing its marketing future in the fresh young lungs of the developing world. Over the past year or so, some of country’s most popular music venues, packed each night with teenagers, have been enlivened by pretty young girls in short skirts selling and even giving away cigarettes to young revellers. But the regional tide is turning. Singapore has banned indoor smoking in restaurants and bars. Thailand is having success in enforcing its restrictions as well. Apart from the health issue, Singapore and Thailand also recognise the poor national branding and tourism impacts that flow from being a smoke safe-haven. Vietnam’s love affair with the cigarette is a public health catastrophe that will burden for decades a health system already groaning under soaring demand. It could do without the extra load of passive smokers. And those who choose not to smoke have a right to smoke-free bars and restaurants. It’s probably time for some enforcement of the new laws. Mark Bowyer is the owner of the travel website rustycompass.com


80s Fancy Dress Party Pack your Rubik’s cube, invite a friend with a mullet and get ready to disco. Hanoi Rock City is hosting an 80s party on Saturday Jun. 29 and it’s up to you to fill the space in style. With the right attire your entry fee will be slashed in half and a drink is thrown in for good measure. There will be funk, there will be stuff that glitters and maybe you’ll get hooked on some braces. The trip down memory lane starts at 8.30pm on Jun. 29. Come dressed to impress. Entry is VND50,000 with decade-appropriate costume, VND100,000 for everyone else

YNot Furniture One year of bringing slick, modern interior design to Hanoi is being celebrated at the Ynot furniture and interior design showroom in Tay Ho on Jun. 14. They plan to celebrate in style right among their tasteful merchandise. There will be a special 10 percent discount on all products on the day, and the birthday party will kick off at 6pm. YNot is nestled in 27 Lane 1, Alley 1/22 Nghi Tam Village, Tay Ho. Visit www.ynot-design.com for more information

Millennium Jazzes Up the Night Quashing all rumours that Hanoi has only one jazz club, Millenium is continuing its second-Thursday-of-the-month jazz evening at Café Des Arts on Jun. 13. Entrance is free, but for those who want to spice up their night, a special “jazzy” menu will be created for the occasion. Visit cafedesarts.com for more information and find Millenium at 11b Ngo Bao Khanh, Hoan Kiem. The jazz starts at 8pm on Jun. 13

M Gallery Oh the choices at the M Gallery. Seafood set dinners at Café Lautrec, a new BBQ buffet, a seafood set dinner, a BBQ buffet, a seafood set dinner, a BBQ buffet. VND480,000 without wine for the seafood set, while with free flowing wine it costs a cool VND980,000. The BBQ buffet is going for VND500,000 per person. M Gallery is located at 29 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem. The lunch BBQ buffet goes daily from 11.30am until 2.30pm. You can make reservations at (04) 6282 5555 ext. 6421


In the Papers The Best of the VietnameSe Press

HOANG SA ISLAND (VIETNAM)

Have a VND2,000 lunch Poor workers, students and labourers can buy their meals for just VND2,000 at Nu Cuoi 3 social dining shop at 298A Huynh Tan Phat, Q7. After the successful launch of Nu Cuoi 1 at 6 Ho Xuan Huong, Q3 and Nu Cuoi 2 at 46/22 Nguyen Ngoc Nhut, Tan Phu eight months ago, this is the third food shop in the project Tro giup suat an gia re (supporting meals at low prices) by the Ho Chi Minh City Charity Foundation, an organisation that has received sponsorship from benefactors to

cover the VND12,000 extra for each meal. Despite being a cheap-priced meal, the food is deliberately nutritious and consists of a main course, vegetables, soup and rice and banana as dessert. The newlyestablished shop has over 25 volunteers who are students and retired labourers divided into two groups to cook and help serve food. There are areas for diners to wash their hands and a corner for people to read books for an extra VND2,000.

TRUONG SA ISLAND (VIETNAM)

Americans go nuts for local cashews Processed cashew nut products will be sold directly to supermarkets in the US in the near future, marking the first time that local cashew brands have reached American consumers. Dang Hoang Giang, general secretary of the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas), said US retail giant Kroger has committed to buying 100 containers of cashew nuts, salt roasted cashew or bee honey soaked cashew from Vietnamese suppliers for distribution at its supermarkets and retail stores stateside annually. Vietnam exports at least 150,000 tons of cashew products to the US, China and Europe annually but most products are raw materials only.

DaNang to Safeguard Tourists Six agencies in the central city of Danang will collaborate with one another to handle accidents, robberies, fraud, rip-offs and nuisances reported by foreigners. The moves came after a directive from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism requiring central cities and provinces to implement interdepartmental collaborations and set up hotlines to support tourists and punish law-breakers. Nguyen Trung Nghia, Danang Transport Department chief traffic inspector, said taxis in the city were “strictly controlled”, but his office would run inspections to

continue to prevent taxi fraud. Said another high-ranking public order official in Danang, Le Van Kiem, “We want to build an image of Danang as a beautiful and safe tourism city to visitors.” Kiem also announced the establishment of a hotline — (0511) 389 3400 — for tourists to call when they need help. Rip-offs and tourist robberies are common issues in Vietnam and tourism authorities said the travel sector needs more help from local administrations to protect visitors from such occurrences.

Vietnamese to Boycott Coca-Cola Revelations that Coca-Cola has not paid any tax after over a decade of operating in Vietnam has raised a wave of anger locally. The case is similar to the widespread furore which engulfed the UK after Starbucks also avoided tax payments despite profits over a long period. “I have decided not to drink Coca-Cola any more,” said one local citizen who preferred to remain anonymous. “I feel I need to do this. We should not accept an investor who earns riches in Vietnam, but does not pay tax to Vietnam.”

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Coca-Cola’s finance reports showed that in 2004, it had a turnover of VND728 billion and had losses of VND110 billion. In 2006, the turnover soared to VND1.026 trillion. In 2010, Coca-Cola’s turnover shot to VND2.53 trillion, but the firm claimed its expenses were VND2.717 trillion, which meant an apparent loss of VND188 billion. Since it repeatedly reports loss, it does not have to pay any corporate income tax.


Tourism Bodies Want To Keep Visa Waiver In a seminar held last month in Ho Chi Chi Minh City, The HCMC Tourism Association continued to petition the authorities to retain the visa waiver scheme for nationals of seven countries — and in fact to expand it — and not to hike visa fees. Participants at the seminar agreed that the visa exemption for single-entry visits of up to 15 days for Danish, Finnish, Japanese, Norwegian, Russian, South Korean, and Swedish nationals has fostered the development of the tourism industry in the last decade. “It [scrapping the waiver] would have a serious impact on the development of the tourism industry,” the association said. The scheme is likely to be suspended after it had been announced that it caused revenue losses of around US$50 million for the state. In Singapore and Malaysia, citizens of around 150 countries and territories do not need visas. Thailand allows free entry for people from 55 countries.

Get Married for VND1 million Ho Chi Minh City will host the latest collective wedding for 100 couples who are local workers, teachers and labourers on Sep. 2. Couples just need to pay VND1 million for the registration fee and will enjoy a wedding party table, rings, flower vehicles, a photo shoot and make-up. Requirement papers are ID cards and marriage certificates. The programme is organised by the Youth Worker Support Center who will call on benefactors and companies for gifts for couples at the event. Couples can join in a training course on how to build a happy family.

Arsenal to Play Vietnam Arsenal revealed last month that they will become the first English Premier League club to play a game in Vietnam as part of their pre-season tour of Asia in July. Arsene Wenger’s side will play the Vietnam national team in the 40,000-seater My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi on Jul. 17. “Arsenal has so many loyal supporters in Asia and we are delighted to be visiting Vietnam in July to play a match in Hanoi,” said Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis. “Everyone at Arsenal is proud to be the first Premier League team to play a match in Vietnam and to be spending time in this wonderful country.” Arsenal have also announced fixtures in Jakarta, Indonesia and Japan.

June 2013 Word | 17


June 2013 SUMMER SALE

Y

ou’d like some of La Casa’s Italy-by-wayof-Vietnam artisanal housewares, but you can’t rationalise spending gift money earmarked for Father’s Day on yourself, and Dad doesn’t like locally-inspired homewares. This conundrum is what summer sales were made for.

O

Jun. 7 — La Casa

01 Saturday Ze Champagne Unicorns. 8pm @ Hanoi Social Club

02 Sunday 03 Monday

Charles Pasi

ne day Charles Pasi was at the same Devil’s crossroads where Robert Johnson got his guitar-playing wizardry, and the Devil asked him what he’d like for his soul. Charles told him he’d like rock skills as well as jazz chops, and gospel, world music and blues knowhow thrown in. The Devil agreed, and gave him those chiseled cheekbones for free. Jun. 14 — L’Espace

10 Monday 11 Tuesday International School Vietnam Grand Opening. @ No. 6-7 Nguyen Cong Thai

12 Wednesday

04 Tuesday Social Bicycle Ride. 6.30am @ The Hanoi Bicycle Collective

05 Wednesday Amateur Pro Badminton Club. 8pm @ Bach Dang Sport Complex

06 Thursday Beginner’s Wing Chun. 7pm @ The School of Chinese Combat Science (chinesecombatscience.weebly.com)

Yayoi Kusama exhibition (until July 28). 9am-6pm @ Japan Foundation (27 Quang Trung)

13 Thursday

07 Friday La Casa summer sale (until June 9). @ 51 Xuan Dieu

08 Saturday Gold Bell traditional art performances. 8pm @ Golden Bell Theater

09 Sunday

Charles Pasi jazz-rock concert. 8pm @ L’Espace (24 Trang Tien)

14 Friday Musique a la Gare. 8.30pm @ Mango Steak (118 Le Duan, Hoan Kiem)

15 Saturday 16 Sunday Hanoi Cooking Centre Sunday Market. 10am to 3pm @ 44 Chau Long

18 | Word June 2013

Piknic Electronic (every Sunday). 4 to 9pm @ Softwater (49/5 An Duong) FATHER'S DAY!


To have your event included in our calendar, please email news@wordhanoi.com by no later than Jun. 18 with a description of the event and a high-res photo

Andrea Radai

A

fter a career spent moving around from European fine art gallery to Sotheby’s to mountainy painting perch, Radai has come to Hanoi to roost. Goethe Institut is taking the opportunity of Radai’s three-month residency to pay its respects, and use its wallspace to capture some of this Dutch artist’s massive oeuvre.

I

Rite of Spring

It’s not every day a legend comes to town. This month will gather two in one room, as the venerable Jean-Claude Gallotta assembles 19 dancers to explore the “carnal and explosive” qualities of fellow legend Igor Stravinsky’s stillcontroversial 100-year-old ballet.

Jun. 22 — Goethe Institut

Jun. 29 — Youth Theatre

17 Monday

24 Monday

18 Tuesday

25 Tuesday

Hanoi Pub Quizzers R&R Quiz. 9.30pm @ R&R Tavern (256 Nghi Tam St, Tay Ho)

26 Wednesday

19 Wednesday

Noi Hanoi. 8pm @ Manzi (14 Phan Huy Ich)

Everyday People DJ night. 8pm @ Finnegan’s Irish Pub (3rd floor, 32 Luong Ngoc Quyen)

20 Thursday

27 Thursday 28 Friday

21 Friday

Ha Ha Hanoi. 9pm @ ATK (73a Mai Hac De)

AAC Cinema Club. 6.30pm @ AAC Education and Training (aac.edu. vn)

22 Saturday

29 Saturday

Dutch artist talk with Andrea Radai. 6.30pm @ Goethe Institut (56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc)

23 Sunday DJ Link Eva. 9pm @ The Rooftop (83b Ly Thuong Kiet)

Rite of Spring dance performance. 8pm @ Youth Theatre (11 Ngo Thi Nham)

30 Sunday

June 2013 Word | 19


OVER

SCENE

Fusion Oi @ Clickspace The opening of a new venue on To Ngoc Van was aided and abetted by one of Hanoi’s best known food, cocktail and cool vibe events, Fusion Oi

CAMA ASEAN Music Festival @ The American Club Bands from all over Southeast Asia and punters from all over Hanoi descended on the American Club for a day and night of tantalizing sounds, even more tantalizing food and lots of hedonistic, live musicfuelled fun. Photos by Nguyen Bao Ngoc

Luce Wine Dinner @ Angelina

Photos by Nguyen Bao Ngoc

Photos by Nguyen Bao Ngoc

The usual and not-so-usual suspects turned up for a ‘Story of Emotions’, a Pane e Vino-organised wine dinner at the Metropole’s Italian restaurant and bar.

Koto Graduation Event Classes 18 and 19 from the hospitality training school Koto graduated with tears mixed with happiness at an event staged at the Pullman Hotel

Photos provided by Koto

20 | Word June 2013


M: 097 675 06 44 - david.shinn@alliedpickfords.com.vn M: 0122 514 1848 - joel.garbutt@alliedpickfords.com.vn

Angel in the City @ L’Espace Last month’s exhibition at the French Cultural Centre continued the tradition of bringing quality art to the capital

Top-End Australian Wine Tasting @ 88 The Warehouse brought the wines — Jansz, Giaconda, Yalumba, John Duval, Henschke and Rockford — 88 provided the venue and the cold cuts, and the people provided the atmosphere. There were also two people there called Hugo. Go figure!

Photos by Nick Ross

Hanoi: David Shinn HCMC: Joel Garbutt

Photos provided by L’Espace

June 2013 Word | 21


Insider

18+ / give a good flow / public art Photo by Nick Ross



The Many Faces of Hanoi

18+

Hai Vu speaks to Quan Tay, the lead singer of 18+, the latest metal-cum-punk-cum-reggae sensation to emerge out of Hanoi. Photo by Francis Xavier

W

hen it comes to Asia’s heavy music scene, it’s safe to say that Japan, Malaysia, China and Thailand are the Goliaths of the Far East metal movement. Each of these music meccas has given rise to hundreds of metal bands and has introduced tens of thousands of fervent fans to a musical style that was practically unheard of a decade ago within the Eastern musical landscape. The dedication of these artists and their devotees has spawned a vibrant and creative music community that is furthering the metal music genre as a whole. Still relatively new to the game, Vietnam’s heavy metal footprint has yet to make an impression outside of its borders (or even inside its borders). This is not to say that metal music is not making inroads in Vietnam — far from it. One just needs to know where to look. After all, they don’t call it an underground scene for nothing. In Hanoi and in other major Vietnamese cities, there exists a plethora of rabid metal-heads just itching to find a hometown hero they can call their own.

the spectrum from the sugary pop music that is familiar to most Vietnamese music fans. Quan Tay, the lead singer of the Hanoi-based five-piece 18+, is one of those people trying to lay the framework for a musical evolution. “Pop, rap and hip-hop have grown very quickly in Vietnam,” Quan says with some obvious disdain for the more popular genres. “But I chose to play rock music because I see [that] people in Vietnam are gradually accepting it now,” continues the shy boy with the big voice. “I'm not only playing it for fun, though. I have a purpose. I hope I can bring my music to everyone.” However, if that music does not come packaged with an infectious dance

Bucking the Trend

routine, reaching the masses is easier said than done. And Quan and his bandmates are doing much of their work in isolation, although they crave the creative stimulation and inspiration that only collaboration can bring. Like lone wolves whose pack has migrated south without them, 18+ experiences a certain degree of isolation from being rooted in the north. “There are very few rock bands in Hanoi,” says Quan. “So it’s hard for us to grow the rock community here. Metal music is much more popular in Saigon, so we want to go there [to] work with [other artists] and create some good songs, so that we can have one large scene.”

Although the influence of metal on their music is inarguable, Quan is quick to dismiss the notion that they are a metal band since they admittedly draw inspiration from a variety of genres. “We don't play metal,” he explains. “We play punk, nu [metal] and reggae. We came to this sound because every member in my band likes different musical genres. We think that if we play only one style, we would fail quickly, so we decided to find the good things in each type of music and create our own. We practice hard so that we can write our passion into our songs so that it has 18+’s spirit.” I have yet to hear how the band incorporates reggae into their songs, but nothing is excluded in the writing process. Fresh ideas are all par for the course. “The melody and lyrics come from everything that is happening in my life — my thoughts on feelings and love. We play many different styles so that we can satisfy many types of listeners. Our music all comes from our sudden inspiration.” The band, which only recently celebrated its first year together, is putting the recording of their first full-length album on the backburner. 18+ has only one main goal at the moment: they just want to play their music to as many kids as possible. They recently played a number of high-profile shows, including opening for Los Angelesbased metalcore band The Ghost Inside. They were also one of Vietnam’s choices to represent the country at the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Music Festival, where they played a tight set to hundreds of fans and onlookers. Although heavy music is still in its infancy in Vietnam, it is encouraging to know that there are people like Quan Tay who are giving the heavy music genre its due credit. To learn more about 18+ and for a schedule of their upcoming shows, check out their Facebook and YouTube pages: www. facebook.com/18plusmetalband and www. youtube.com/18plusbandchannel

“I chose to play rock music because I see [that] people in Vietnam are gradually accepting it now… I'm not only playing it for fun, though. I have a purpose. I hope I can bring my music to everyone.”

The main obstacle is that Vietnam is still quite antiquated in its ways. If you try to explain to the average citizen that a person can scream atop heavily distorted guitars, while a pounding backbeat plays at blistering speeds — AND the resulting noise can still be categorized as ‘music’, you’d be likely to draw some quizzical looks. Metal as ‘music’, as opposed to an aural assault, is still a foreign concept to most, especially when coffee shops and clothing stores still proudly blast N’Sync and Westlife as if they were the latest and greatest. It would seem that the country is blissfully unaware that its musical tastes are permanently stuck in some kind of 1990s pop culture vortex. Vietnam needs an intervention — someone or something radically different to jar it out of the musical abyss. A new generation of youngsters is attempting to do just that, by creating and promoting music that lies on the opposite end of

24 | Word June 2013

A Smorgasbord of Sound 18+’s music can best be described as a mishmash of many different styles and influences — a smorgasbord of sounds that blend to create a style all their own.


“Vietnam needs an intervention — someone or something radically different to jar it out of the musical abyss. A new generation of youngsters is attempting to do just that, by creating and promoting music that lies on the opposite end of the spectrum from the sugary pop music that is familiar to most Vietnamese music fans� June 2013 Word | 25


Insider

Rise, Fall and the Mall The shopping mall Hang Da Galleria was supposed to be the image of modern Hanoi. Less than two years on it is almost empty. Words by Lisa Barthelmes. Photos by Nick Ross

S

eptember 2011. The breeze of modernity blows through the Old Quarter. Neon spotlights create colourful circles on the facades of the houses in Duong Thanh, and ear-battering techno music makes its way through the narrow alleys. Many residents and curious onlookers have come to watch the inauguration party of Hang Da Galleria, the modernised version of Hang Da market. A woman in a very short dress is hosting the fashion show that takes place in front of the Galleria. Models with white bleached skin are presenting the newest collections on an open-air runway. International brands like French Connection, NafNaf and Birkenstock will open shops here. Among all this grandeur the target customer is clear — Hanoi’s consumptionoriented middle and upper class. Yet 18 months later and the 17,530 sqm, five-storey shopping mall is almost empty. The renovation of Hang Da market was part of the authorities’ overall modernisation plan that aims to turn Hanoi into an Asian metropolis à la Singapore by 2020. With socalled ‘fresh markets’ not fulfilling modern

26 | Word June 2013

hygiene standards or security guidelines, markets, in which vendors have been selling fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and other household items for decades, are now gradually being replaced by supermarkets and shopping malls.

Where are the Customers? Whereas this sounds easy in theory, it’s a little different in practice. As of today, Hang Da Galleria remains a failed investment. Upon visiting the Galleria, there are empty shops, no customers and unhappy vendors. The fashion billboards have been replaced by advertisements for a soon-to-open gym. On the 2nd floor all the shops have been demolished. Only a few naked display mannequins are stacked in rows in a corner. The whole place looks abandoned except for the second-hand section on the ground floor, which already existed in the old market. A few customers are trying on clothes and are bargaining with the sellers, but beyond that, there is little activity. “The shops upstairs had to close because there were no customers,” one second-hand shop owner explains. “Hanoians know that

they can get reasonable-priced clothes here — we have a good reputation. Our business is worse than before, but we still have some customers.” It’s an experience that doesn’t match that of the fruit and vegetable vendors, who were relocated to the basement. “Everything got more expensive; on top of that we have no customers,” complains one vendor. “Nobody knows that we are here.” All the vendors have to pay approximately VND2 million a month for water, security and rent, which also affects the knock on prices to the consumers. This is another consequence of the transformation of Hang Da. What was one a state-owned market was turned into private property. Officially it is a public-private partnership with the involvement of the state. The leasing, however, is handled by an international real estate company.

Foresight, or a Lack Thereof So why has Hang Da Galleria not been able to attract the affluent, brand-conscious and trendy crowds out on shopping


sprees? The most striking reason is the lack of consideration for local shopping and consumption habits. Designed with a French colonial veneer, the architect sketches show broad streets surrounding the market. The fact that Hang Da is located in the middle of the Old Quarter, which consists of narrow alleys and chaotic streets, was ignored. Hanoi was developed on the basis of trade networks and every quarter has its own marketplace. These markets do not only play an important role in supplying people with food and goods, they are also places where people come together, gossip and build relationships that depend on mutual trust and loyalty. A large portion of Vietnamese homemakers go to the market on a daily basis, either in the early morning or late afternoon. One can easily observe Hanoians driving directly to a stall or into a market building in order to shop without getting off their scooters. But at Hang Da Galleria you have to park the motorbike outside and pay a small parking fee — VND5,000 on the visit of our photographer. Nobody really wants to invest the time and money. The only people profiting are the many street vendors outside the Galleria. They now have more customers.

It’s Too Expensive Another reason for the failed investment project is that most Hanoians simply can’t afford luxury shopping. “It’s too expensive,” says Phuong, an employee at a local TV station. “I prefer the Made in Vietnam shops. They sell the same clothes anyway.” Aside from shopping, The Galleria hasn’t got much else to offer. “There’s nothing to do [there],” explains 18-year-old My. “There’s no cinema, no entertainment, nothing. ” She adds that she prefers Vincom Towers. In addition, the super-rich fly to Bangkok and Singapore to satisfy their purchasing needs. Prices are generally cheaper, there’s a wider range of products available and they have the guarantee of not buying counterfeits. A shopping culture comparable to cities like Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok or Singapore is not yet present in Hanoi. Yet there are many attempts to create it. As of now, there are about 20 shopping malls in the city, the newest is Trang Tien Plaza by Hoan Kiem Lake. After being shut down a few years ago it

“The failure of Hang Da Galleria has resulted in a debate about the meaning and role of traditional markets in Hanoi. According to one official, the consumption patterns and shopping habits of Hanoi residents have been largely ignored and underestimated” just re-opened in April. It is the second attempt to attract hitherto absent customers. Or, as an Old Quarter resident remembers, “The only reasons we went in there was the air-conditioning and the modern toilets.” The failure of Hang Da Galleria has resulted in a debate about the meaning and role of traditional markets in Hanoi. According to one official, the consumption patterns and shopping habits of Hanoi residents have been largely ignored and underestimated by the policy-makers. There are now plans to preserve some of the daily street markets. Unfortunately, in the case of Hang Da Galleria, there is no turning back.

June 2013 Word | 27


ider Ins

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in stry u d n lm i fi e h on t Roux y r o t is ide s y Franc s n i b e ts th Photos e g . n egso Vietnam M Kim

28 | Word June 2013


I

f asked to describe a typical Vietnamese movie, it is all too easy to imagine a film full of beautiful scenery, poorlyshot war scenes and lots of crying. A film that’s big on morals and bigger on beards. A film where, really, not very much happens for long stretches of time. For years the Vietnamese film industry has struggled to achieve success; the number of films released each year was small, profits were uninspiring and critical acclaim was muted. Audiences, it seemed, just weren’t that interested. Meanwhile, American and Korean blockbusters grew in popularity. But after a year where profits are swelling and more locally produced films than ever before

are reaching cinemas, things may finally be starting to change. But first, a little history.

Cue Flashback Despite being officially launched in the early 1950s, the Vietnamese film industry had to wait until the end of the war in 1975 to make much of an impression. At this time, a series of films conveying authoritiesapproved messages began being released to the masses. Most efforts were glorious accounts of victories in the war, or historical biopics about scholars and mandarins made to reflect traditional values of loyalty, determination and the pursuit of knowledge.

However, while these films — with titles such as Nostalgia for the Countryside, and A Former Student from Gia Dinh — may have been worthy, they struggled to find a wide audience. By the time the first bootlegged videos of Hollywood movies began to reach Vietnamese shores, these old films became increasingly dated. Now, explosions and car chases rather than farming and studying were what audiences expected from a visit to the cinema. In the 1990s the country began its much vaunted ‘opening up period’ as it started to embrace the free market. For the first time Vietnamese movies began to receive funding from private investors. 20 years on

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ach “For y and ieve s ears t mor ucce he V ie e s cine locall s… B tname mas y pr ut af se , th oduc ter film ings ed in a may films year wdustry fina than here has st lly b ev p e st er b rofits ruggle arti efore are d to ng t s o ch are re welling ang achi ng e”

and much has changed. While today filmmakers seemingly have more independence and a better environment to work in, they remain divided on the challenges they still contend with and the likelihood of experiencing real success.

Hanoian director Bui Thac Chuyen, who has helmed the well-received films Awake and Living in Fear, is realistic about the problems he faces. “Because it is still a young film industry, there is a lot of catch-up to do,” he says. “Vietnamese directors don’t have access to the best equipment, there are few studios to shoot in and they cannot produce good enough special effects. Most of the actors are untrained and low paid and funding is hard to find, so budgets are low. The biggest investment in Vietnam is about VND17 billion, but it is normally closer to VND6 billion.” Chuyen says that filmmakers are also being held back by restrictions on what they can and can’t include in their films, despite the approval body becoming more lenient in recent years. Currently cinematic regulations are quite open to interpretation, with a decree forbidding the use in film of any ‘image, sound, dialogue or script which is obscene, depraved, incestuous or contrary to national fine customs and traditions’.

movies than ever before. In fact there just aren’t enough screens to fully accommodate the increasing number of films released — both local and from Hollywood. This means films may have a small window of exhibition, even if they are still doing well at the box office. They have to make room for other films waiting in line, which means some fall short of their full box office potential. And for local films, it’s this potential that ultimately determines how much money producers are willing to spend on the film. The rising popularity is a positive sign, though.” So doom and gloom or reason to be cheerful? The Director of Vietnam’s Cinema Department, Ngo Phuong Lan, is cautiously optimistic. “I have worked in the industry for 20 years and it has changed a lot,” she says. “When I started, the renovation process had begun. This was a positive step. Films today are better-made and there is a wider variety than before. However, now directors rely on private funding for their films. They do not have as much support from the government as before and sometimes they struggle.”

Locally Made and Produced

Money Don’t Buy Art

Despite these challenges, more domestic films are being made. The Cinema Department wants them to account for at least 30 percent of the films screened at multiplexes. This means on your next trip to Megastar, you’re likely to see Vietnamese movies advertised alongside posters for the latest idiotic Gerard Butler rom-com or the latest idiotic Gerard Butler action thriller. “I think the industry is in a critical stage of development right now,” says Victor Vu, the critically acclaimed Vietnamese American director of Inferno and Scandal, a thriller which proved a hit with audiences last year. He adds: “More local films are being produced, more multiplex theatres are being built, and more people are going to the

This battle for investment remains a source of worry for filmmakers, who instead of carefully controlled central supervision now have to deal with profit-obsessed moneymen wanting their say in creative decisions. Chuyen acknowledges that this can be frustrating. “When I have an idea, I have to raise funds from domestic sources and the international filming fund. But they want you to make compromises. For example, most films have to have a bankable Vietnamese star, like a model, even if they can’t act!” While this approach to casting may not guarantee artistic success, it can certainly lead to gold at the box office. This year, Nguyen Quang Dung’s blockbuster My

Teething Problems

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Nhan Ke (Lady Assassins) earned a staggering VND60 billion in February alone. Heavily promoted across the country, it stars several models and provides fans with 90 minutes of swords, sex, blood, swords, martial arts, swords, fighting and blood — all in 3D, a first for Vietnam. “The acting was pretty bad, but it doesn’t matter,” says film fan Hoang Nguyen. “That’s not the main point of the film. The locations and cast are beautiful, the action is exciting and there is some comedy. Sometimes that is what people want to see — they don’t have to think too much, they just want to enjoy themselves. People were happy to see a Vietnamese film that wasn’t made to teach them anything. It’s just fun!” Vu agrees about this trend among cinemagoers: “One thing is for sure, Vietnamese audiences are very supportive of [locally made] films. That’s important. In the last few years, some of the highest grossing films have been locally produced. They have been able to achieve box office success, even outside the Tet season which is traditionally when Vietnamese movies do well.” Lan sees this success as a positive sign for the industry as a whole. “When a film performs that strongly it means that the profits can be channelled back into things like equipment, making the next film even better and generating more profits again.” She adds: “That means we can produce more of our own blockbusters. We can learn from the American style of filming — high production values, exciting set pieces — but we have to make sure that the story is suitable to our audiences. If we learn only to imitate Hollywood then we lose our identity, and a major part of the audience


will reject those films. We should not rely on stereotypes.”

Vietnamese Values “Vietnamese audiences still demand films that reflect their own stories and lives,” agrees Vu. “But because now they are exposed to different genres and films from all over the world, their expectations and tastes are changing. There was a time when most locally-produced films were comedies. Now all genres are being explored — from action, to horror, to thrillers.” A new generation of aspiring directors more familiar with these types of film is now emerging. While according to Lan their best option is still to study abroad, there is a mounting number of training opportunities in Vietnam. The annual Hanoi International Film Festival welcomes entries from domestic filmmakers and organises

workshops and screenings for them, while the Cinema Department is preparing to launch two long-term projects that will bring international directors to the country to lead teaching sessions. “We are doing all we can to support [them], but the industry must climb the ladder by itself. It has to find a way to connect with audiences.” And this is the one thing that members of the domestic film industry all seem to agree on. While money, equipment and bankable actors are essential, nothing is more important than coming up with a plot that engages. If directors can combine high production values with a good story, then the industry can continue to thrive. “At the end of the day, I think the Vietnamese audience is no different from any other audience in any other part of the world,” says Vu. “They’re looking for a good story, told well. That, I think, is the key.”

“The Vietnamese audience is no different from any other audience in any other part of the world. They’re looking for a good story, told well. That is the key”

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Q&A

Giving Good Flow Fabiola Buchele meets professional and experienced needle healer, Duong Minh Tam to find out more about the ancient art of acupuncture. Portrait by Francis Roux How long have you been practicing acupuncture?

How important is health for a happy life?

I learned from the Vietnamese master, Le Van Suu at Nguyen Binh Khiem Institute in Hanoi 25 years ago, and have been treating people ever since.

Your health is everything. Without it you cannot do anything. You only have one chance to get to 100. Health and wellbeing is very important.

What’s the most important thing you learned from him?

How do people jeopardise their health?

Everything I know. Everything from the theory of traditional medicine and also the meaning of people’s bodies. He has taught me all the things I use to cure people.

In general people are not educated about health. They do a lot to put their health at risk. They sacrifice their health to everything else. And then after years and years they spend all the money they made while ignoring their health on buying it back.

There is a simple reason for this decision. My own health. When I was young I had a very bad cough and took western medicine. For a long time. It didn’t help so I decided to do something else. I started looking into the traditional methods of my country and found a cure through acupuncture so I decided to take that route.

Do patients increasingly frequent western trained doctors?

How many patients do you treat and where are they from?

Normally Vietnamese people go to westerntrained doctors first and if they cannot be

It varies, between five to ten people a day. I don’t advertise my services so people come because they have heard of me from someone else. It all still works through word of mouth. They come from other provinces as well as all parts of Hanoi. They hear of me and then try to find me. The other day there was a girl holding only a piece of paper with my name on it, she came from Thanh Hoa and was looking for my name on the wall.

What can acupuncture cure and how? The whole system in your body. Every time you don’t feel well, there is [life force], air that should be flowing, that needs to flow all through. In traditional Vietnamese belief if you don’t feel well, it means the air is stuck. There is a spot that is blocking your system. When you perform acupuncture the flow is brought back.

How do you know where the block is and where you need to set your needle? The master Le Van Suu, invented a machine to measure the heat of the nerves in your body. That lets me read what is wrong with your body, because the nerves represent each meridian in your body. And that represents what part in your body is well and not well. But the machine is just a tool. We could also measure it differently, this just makes it computerised. Touching is another option; finding the nerve by touching essential spots where the meridians come together. Or just talk to people, ask them what’s wrong. (Duong Minh Tam uses what looks like a marker pen that is connected to a laptop via a cable. He presses the tip of this on each finger and toe of his patient for a few seconds. The temperature of the nerves measured this way is fed into some software, the only program on his 90s brick of a computer, which calculates where it hurts.)

Have you witnessed a change in people’s health issues? Yes, stress-related symptoms have become more common as well as mental issues. Especially in recent years I have more and more patients who are stressed. It used to be joint and stomach problems.

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“Normally Vietnamese people go to western-trained doctors first and if they cannot be cured, they come to see me. I believe the two practices go hand in hand and need to be combined”

cured, they come to see me. I believe the two practices go hand in hand and need to be combined. Western medicine is important in emergency cases.

Why did you become an acupuncturist?

What has been your most memorable case? There are many, no one case stands out. Many are interesting and memorable. There was a 60-something-year-old woman from Ninh Binh who could not use her hand. The hospital could not help. She actually had a neck problem that was affecting her hand. It was as if that hand was dead. A single dead body part. I treated her and she got better and now she is nearly 90 and can still use her hand.

How much is a treatment? It depends on the patient’s means and how many sessions are needed. Though I don’t advertise this, if someone comes in and needs help, but has no means I decide case by case to give treatment for free. It is a part of the modesty that many practitioners of this kind of medicine have. Duong Minh Tam’s one room practice and adjoining traditional medicine pharmacy is situated at the end of So 23, 1081 Duong Hong Ha, Ba Dinh


“In general people are not educated about health. They do a lot to put their health at risk. They sacrifice their health to everything else. And then after years and years they spend all the money they made while ignoring their health on buying it back� June 2013 Word | 33


Insider

The Hearts that Help Others Thanks to a lack of funding and resources, cancer patients in Vietnam can often get a raw deal. Hoa Le meets four people who are trying to ease the pain. Photos by Tim McMahon

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hen we arrive at the Vietnam National Cancer Hospital in Tam Hiep on a Tuesday afternoon, Lan is taking care of a twoyear-old girl who is crying in pain. She was diagnosed with kidney cancer three months ago and today she has a high fever. In a small and packed room with 15 patients, Lan is gently applying a hot towel to cool down the child’s body temperature while talking quietly to the young mother, who can’t stop the tears running down her cheeks. Seeing her daughter suffer is unbearable. Taking physical care of patients and giving emotional comfort to themselves and their family has been the main job of Lan for the past 15 years at the Pediatric Oncology Division in the hospital (often known as the K Hospital) where she is the only nurse’s aide. For her, both jobs are equally important because she knows how much the children themselves and the family feel anxious and even lost. Providing emotional support to give them strength and a positive attitude is essential, as essential as the medical treatment. Although we have made an appointment to see her, Lan is busy. She keeps giving us a polite smile saying that we have to wait. “Every day I have about 35 in-patients and many other out-patients to take care of,” explains the 43-year-old nurse assistant with a warm smile. “As you can see, I haven’t finished with one patient and many other patients have already asked for me.” There are many reasons why Lan is so popular among the young patients and their parents. She’s precise and swift when she performs her medically-oriented duties; but at other times, she pampers the young patients, gives them encouragement and shows them love and support. And more importantly, to them, she’s a hero, a bright

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example of someone who herself has successfully fought against cancer.

Determination In 2000, Lan was diagnosed with choriocarcinoma and was told she had to be operated on and undergo a course of injections. “It feels as if the earth under your feet has suddenly collapsed,” she recalls. “For people who don’t know much about cancer, it sounds scary. But for me, it’s even worse as I’d been working in the hospital and watching many people [die]. It’s hard not to think about the worst case scenario.” In a blue coat, the nurse’s aide and mother of two looks beautiful. Her skin is smooth, her cheeks are pink, and her lips are red. She is active and full of energy. Her strong spirit and determination has helped her to fight cancer, move forward and stay healthy. “After a period of feeling depressed, one day I started wondering what I could do to get out of this situation,” she continues. “If crying could have helped get the cancer out of me, I’d have cried every day. But it doesn’t. I knew that I had to fight to live. While the doctors and the technology hadn’t given up on me, I couldn’t give up on life.” Lan had her operation to remove the cancerous cells and then went through six months of intensive chemical treatment. Now she’s healthy and has no concerns that the cancer will return. “I never think about it. I’m feeling great,” she says. “People can wish for a luxury car, or a big house, but for me, the only valuable thing is my health. Material objects have become unimportant to me.” For Lan, each day is precious. She wants to make good use of her time so she can help her patients. Her happiest moment is seeing the children get through the treatment

successfully and check out of the hospital. Her phone is now is filled up with her patients’ numbers and her own small space in the hospital is covered with patients’ beautiful paintings of her. After leaving the hospital the children still call her to talk and seek advice. Unable to afford gifts, many draw her, play her a piece of music or sing her a song. Lan is the physical mother of two, but emotionally she’s the mother of hundreds, of all those who have been through the hospital over the past 15 years.

A Place Where Beautiful Souls Meet In a separate campus of K hospital on Quan Su, three other people are devoting their time and energy to help poor cancer patients — but in a different way. Nguyet Anh, Hop and Thuy founded the Sympameals charity foundation in 2005 where they


“After eight years of constant effort, [sympameals] has now become recognised by many organisations including the Hanoi International Women’s Club and the Australian Embassy. Every day, about 150 coupons for free meals are given away to in-patients” receive donations and give away free meals and milk for the financially worse off patients. All of them are mid-career, successful and extremely busy. Nguyet Anh and her husband Hop are both lawyers at an international law firm while Thuy is the human resource manager at a foreign company. But their determination to help the poor is the power that keeps the charity running efficiently. The idea of the Sympameals came naturally. All three would pass K hospital daily to get to work. They noticed the overcrowding of the hospital, and the poor condition of the people who were undergoing treatment. As Thuy says, “My mother passed away in 2004 of lung cancer. So I know how people feel when they or a family member has suffered from cancer. It’s even more painful when they don’t have

money to afford even a basic meal. At the same time, we saw many people wasting their food every day in restaurants and other places.” And that’s why the charity was born — to build a bridge between the better off and those who are suffering. At first the donors were mostly the founders’ friends and relatives. A modest number of free meals were given to patients. But after eight years of constant effort, the charity has now become recognised by many organisations including the Hanoi International Women’s Club and the Australian Embassy. Every day, about 150 coupons for free meals are given away to in-patients. Sympameals also provides milk to out-patients once a week and helps people, mostly from other provinces, with medical bills and the transportation cost to travel to Hanoi for treatment. When one group of

generous expats wanted to equip the patients’ room with air-conditioning, Thuy coordinated it for them. When a photographer wanted to capture the patients’ smiles, Nguyet Anh and Hop were there to help him. When asked how they are able to manage their time — they all have families and other jobs — Thuy smiles and says: “If we are lazy, less patients will get the help. So we have to try just that little bit more. More patients will benefit.” And with those kind hearts from Sympameals or Lan, more cancer patients are getting the motivation to fight their affliction. As the Vietnamese saying goes: “The good leaves protect the worn-out leaves. The already worn-out leaves protect the worse ones.” To learn more about Sympameals and find out ways to support the patients, go to sympameals. net

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Public

Art 36 | Word June 2013


In the formation of modern day Vietnam, somewhere along the way it was decided that art should be understood by the people, all of them, regardless of education or interest in art. Songs, poetry and paintings should have a clear and direct message and not confuse anyone — this was a Vietnam for the people. Some 50 years later, much has changed in this idealised version of society. The country has moved away from expectations of one commonly shared experience. However, there still seems to be a fine balance between how much the public should be involved in the consideration of art. ‘Who is art for?’ is a question with no simple answer. And though we cannot pretend to have that answer, this month we reveal various snapshots of art made with the public in mind. We bring you the story behind the longest ceramic tile wall in the world and the musings of one large-scale installation artist. We reveal profiles of how land, walls and canvas are manipulated. We take a look at how one group is turning the sounds of Hanoi into art and also at how graffiti culture in Vietnam has its own flavour that sets it apart from the rest of the world. ‘What is the role of art?’ and ‘Who is it for?’ are questions beyond the scope of this cover story. However, we hope that in providing a few different angles of what public art in Hanoi means today, you’ll consider those questions for yourself.

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the woman and the wall The mosaic wall, which snakes through Hanoi for almost 4,000 metres, has a fascinating story to tell. Words by Kaitlin Rees. Photos by Nick Ross

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ou’ve seen it. You have to have seen it. It stretches from behind the Opera House on Tran Khanh Du and runs all the way to the start of Au Co. It’s the nearly four kilometres of small ceramic tiles that take us from central Hanoi out to where the turn off for all the good bread and cheeses are. You’ve certainly seen it but you may not be aware of the story behind the tiles that make up the world’s largest ceramic mosaic, and one of Hanoi’s only examples of public art conceived by an artist rather than commissioned for other purposes. The thing about public art is that someone important has to approve of it. The permission asking process, quite familiar to anyone who has ever had an idea, is what often lies between dreaming and doing. This, coupled with the asking for money process, results in a much higher concentration of dreams to realities of

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examples of public art in Hanoi. One artist who stands as the exception and who waited through the long lines to xin phep is Nguyen Thu Thuy. Somehow the prospect of the glacial wait for the thumbs up and mammoth funds to be raised did not deter her. Thuy spent a year’s worth of work on paper to get permission for the four-year’s worth of work on cement. But, considering that the work was intended to commemorate 1,000 years of history, and given the incredibly long lasting resiliency of ceramic, five years seems miniscule. Perhaps it is this longevity and geologic perspective of time that gave Thuy the patience needed to successfully start and finish putting together small, carefully laid pieces of ceramic for 3,850 linear metres (6,950m²). Thuy says that she wanted people to understand Vietnamese history through the wall’s motifs. And so, when all is

told, passersby may read the nearly four-kilometre long story from ancient to contemporary times. If a four-kilometre long story seems incomprehensible, it seems especially so while zipping by on a motorised vehicle.

The Beginning of Vietnamese Time

The wall begins in 4000 BC — remember those good ole days — with the Phung Nguyen culture that marked the beginning of rice cultivation. Next is a depiction of the Dong Son culture that began around 1000 BC. The wall’s bronze tiles signify the famous bronze casting from this time. In the subsequent passing of time and small pieces of ceramic, one can visually read the story of the Ly Dynasty, the Tran Dynasty, the Le Dynasty, and the Nguyen Dynasty. What this story looks like is a blur of ocean waves, row boats, pagodas, men with swords, and women washing their hair.


All set? Moving along is the representation of Vietnam’s ethnic tribes through the respective embroidery designs. What one sees is a series of familiar geometric patterns that may remind one of some scarves that one has purchased but does not wear as often as one had hoped one would. The ‘typical architecture and culture’ of Vietnam comprises the third aspect of the wall; with sky scrapers, field ploughs, boats in waving water, a cinema reel, the iconic Long Bien Bridge, Flag Tower and Temple of Literature, extravagant village gates, dragons, phoenixes, turtles, elephants, tropical fish, and much, much more. The story we get of Vietnam through these motifs is a muddle of modernity and reverence, with a lot of water.

rioja Flamenco and Halloween Children were asked to submit their

drawings for the fourth section of wall, with the best ones selected for ceramicifying. About 200 children put crayon to paper to produce the dream-like motifs of clouds, playtime, Halloween and Christmas. International artists were similarly recruited, through a slightly more rigorous selection process of the Hanoi-based embassy heads of each country picking someone they liked. In the end, 15 artists from countries including Spain, Italy, New Zealand, Argentina, and Cuba came to stick their ceramic concepts to the wall. Thanks to this we have a Flamenco scene and a bottle of rioja to throw into the mix of Vietnamese history. The final section is a collection of the work of 20 Vietnamese artists who depicted various provinces of the country and the symbolic icons of each place. Thus, Thai Nguyen tea fields and Bac Ninh quan ho

singing, are examples to be caught and contemplated at 20km per hour. To Thuy, the nature of public art is the public for whom it is made and the community spirit of making it. And it cannot be disputed that community is diligently reflected in the cacophony of images and colour across four kilometers of ceramic tile. Although in Vietnam bamboo gets all the symbolic attention for its strong and flexible nature, these individual pieces of a long-lasting material that hide dirt and withstand the rain — pieces that form the longest mosaic wall in all of the world — would seem to deserve some of that symbolic spotlight. And if you’ve made it all the way to the end of this 865-word story, then perhaps you’ll be inspired to read a few pieces of the 7,000 square metre wall a bit more closely next time you’re going out for cheese.

“Somehow the prospect of the glacial wait for the thumbs up and mammoth funds to be raised did not deter her. Thuy spent a year’s worth of work on paper to get permission for the four-year’s worth of work on cement”

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Spraying Over the Grey A graffiti scene is just starting to kick off in Hanoi. And yet instead of being treated as vandalism, it’s being viewed as art. Words by Brian Webb

I “Not having the same stigma in Vietnam, this makes for an environment in which graffiti writers have the opportunity to skip the stage of being considered vandals. Instead they are directly perceived as beautifiers of public spaces”

t was a sunny summer day and a friend was taking me to a wall off Doi Can where he said there was some interesting graffiti. He had shown me some pictures that he’d taken — pictures that surprised me for their sophistication. It had been a long time since I’d seen any graffiti that turned my head. Actually, it had been since I had started living in Hanoi. We made the drive down, through the narrow alleys behind the street, to an out of the way wall. The piece that I had been told about was gone, but had been covered by another, equally large and interesting work of art. Calligraphy-like flowers drooped and swooped in dark tones and a smaller, accompanying piece was just to the right. It said, ‘Fallen Soldier’. While we stood around looking, trying to figure out how it had been done and who had done it, two interesting things happened. First, there was a construction site just across the alley, not 20 metres away. The owner of the plot was there along with the workers. He must have thought that I was also a painter because he asked me to follow him. He showed me the inner walls of his future house and asked if I could paint them. After some amount of confused explanation I got him to understand that he would hate both me and his walls if he let me paint. The other interesting thing was the reaction of a man who had been on his phone nearby. He noticed us and asked, “Are you a writer?” (He meant graffiti writer). No, I wasn’t. But it was quite auspicious, since the guy on the phone ended up being Matthew James, aka Phed, the painter of the wall and part of the S5 crew, one of the most active graffiti crews in Hanoi. He was able to lend some insight into the somewhat opaque world of graffiti in the capital.

In Broad Daylight

Among the most astonishing things about this wall, besides its artistic merit, is the fact that it was painted in the middle of the day, within full view of the neighbours or anyone else who wanted to watch. In fact, Phed said that the workers across the way would regularly take tea breaks to watch the work in progress, filled with “genuine curiosity”. “Hanoi is a city really receptive to creative

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people,” he says. And the artists currently working in the city seem to be benefiting from this. Yet this receptiveness has created a culture that is somewhat different from the graffiti movements it originated from. Phed is no stranger to the traditional conception of writing, having grown up in the early days of graffiti in London. “Then hip hop was a complete movement, and graffiti was part of that.” He’s referring here to another idiosyncrasy in Vietnamese street art. Whereas, in the west graffiti emerged as part of a larger movement, which included MCing, break dancing and DJing, in this country it has been largely divorced from any of these, and free from any of the rebellious undertones that were such a part of the inception of graffiti in the west. “That just hasn’t hit here,” he adds. While some purists might tend to look down their noses at the lack of hip-hop context with which Vietnamese writers have started their scene, it does have certain advantages. For example, in the US, neighbours seeing me at a painted wall, suspecting that I had something to do with it, would not have invited me into their house. Instead they may well have called the police. Not having the same stigma in Vietnam, this makes for an environment in which graffiti writers have the opportunity to skip the stage of being considered vandals. Instead they are directly perceived as beautifiers of public spaces.

Echoes

This dichotomy between vandalism and public art that has been played out in so many western countries finally ended up producing artists whose work made it from the wall into the gallery. The perceived value of art produced in the street, often illegally, has risen exponentially. One of the most recent examples was UK artist Banksy’s Slave Labour mural that mysteriously disappeared from its wall in Wood Green in North London, only to show up again at a Miami auction with a price tag of US$700,000. Ironically, the piece was pulled out from the auction at the last minute because of the criticism of the local community in which it was painted. To get to this point, where street art is openly embraced and highly valued, has taken years.


Photos by: Edouard Nguyen http://www.flickr.com/photos/the11342/

Vietnamese graffiti is just starting to come into its own as the global scene becomes more open, tolerant and experimental. “Now they are coming in at a point where it is more legal,” says Phed. Naturally this has had an effect on the way the art has progressed in this country. Rob, or Knee Jerk, is not part of the S5 crew, but a stencil artist who often collaborates with its members as well as other artists on large walls. His view of the scene here is pretty similar. “This is a really good place to be for street art right now,” he says. “Most of the Vietnamese artists are self-taught. They showed an initial interest and delved into it. They’re just artistic.” When asked if they were aware of any of the rivalry, territory wars or hostility between different crews or regions, Phed and Knee Jerk look at each other and both kind of shake their heads. “Not really that I know of,” says Phed, as Knee Jerk chimes in, “Everyone seems to like collaborating.” And indeed, on many of the pieces that can be seen on out-of-the way walls to businesses such as Madake and Hanoi Rock City, you can see paintings that have the marks of several different people, incorporating their different styles into one piece. Many of these are done, not by one crew, but under a wider collective called Gypsy Doodle. Indeed, these particular pieces, as well as the collective itself represent a new concept for graffiti; one that seems to hold out some promise. Right now we’re “in the beginnings of it,” Phed adds with a smile. “It will be exciting to be here when it really kicks off.”

Vietnamese Graffiti To see what’s come and gone on Hanoi’s walls, go to the following links:

www.phedsgarden.com www.flickr.com/photos/the11342/ www.behance.net/Knee_Jerk www.flickr.com/knee_jerk/ www.facebook.com/KneeJerkArt

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Surround Sound Sound is a huge part of how we perceive the city. Rose Arnold meets the Hanoi Soundwalk team who are adding another layer to that. Illustration by Max Cooper

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n art, and in life, our visual sense is given prominence. “Actually our hearing is often much more responsible for our perception of reality than our eyes are,” says artist Max Korinsky, part of a Berlin sound collective. Art has long been dominated by visual art, but sound art is gaining international momentum and recognition as an art form, often used to great effect as public art. The winner of the 2010 Turner Prize was a sound artist, Susan Philipsz, with a piece called Lowlands. Lowlands showcased Philipsz’s disembodied voice singing a lament, played from three locations under the Glasgow bridges, down by the canal. There were no visual elements beyond the location itself. Sound is a hugely important but often underestimated sense; our perception of the size of spaces and physical location of things relies greatly on our sense of hearing. Sound also alters mood and ambience, and is thus used to great effect in films and on TV.

Symphony of the City

But while sound affects us greatly it isn’t always in a good way; it can be a massive irritant. Our brains react to high levels of constant noise over time by filtering it out — this can be tiring. The sound of Hanoi isn’t, for most people, the city’s biggest selling point. Honking horns, constant construction and confused cockerels crowing at all hours. And yes, there’s a beauty in some of the subtler types of sounds; cicadas in the trees, the cries of banh bao sellers, the beating down of ‘big’ rain. But sound as art? Some artists have found inspiration, even in the noise of the traffic. Musician Tri Minh and a number of collaborators produced Hanoi Soundscapes, experimental soundscapes featuring Hanoi noises, albeit in a more chilled out way. Musician and composer, Josh Kopecek, and Mathias Rossignol, a researcher into computers, sound and musical interaction, have recently brought another type of sound art to Hanoi, the ‘soundwalk’. Part of an international project taking place in 11 cities around the world, it is the first time anything like this has been done in Asia. Walking around the soundwalk route you hear different sounds to that of the busy

modern day Hanoi. Sounds from history; old crackly music, street sounds, people talking. “Sound completely affects the way that people perceive the city,” says Josh. “It is like replacing any sense.” The software linking audio to specific locations via GPS was provided by the international team. Participants need a smartphone with GPS capabilities and decent headphones — one of the challenges of doing the project here was providing sound that could compete with the noise from the street. They also need to download the software and to follow the map. The audio is triggered by location, so to hear each bit you need to walk around the area.

Stories Through Time

The theme given to the teams was ‘chronologies’; something all the cities

“The point is that you can’t listen without the location” interpreted in quite different ways. For Hanoi the project involved huge amounts of research. The resultant sounds span hundreds of years of Hanoi’s history going back to the mid-18th century. The Hanoi team were helped in this by prominent historian and politician Duong Trung Quoc who covered, in one very long knowledgeable monologue, everything it was possible to think of in terms of the documented sounds of Hanoi. Where possible original sounds were sourced, where not they were recreated. Dinh Le Van, the team project assistant, described it as a massive undertaking. “But I am very happy to understand more about my city’s history and work on this project. Josh and Mathias are very, very talented, true artists.” The two true artists seem a little bashful, but happy, to hear this. The walk doesn’t provide a complete history, and it is aimed primarily at a

Vietnamese audience who will already have some basic knowledge of the history of the city (all spoken parts are in Vietnamese). “We all agreed to avoid clichés,” says Josh, “to try and find things that were surprising.” “Not to focus on the war, for example,” agrees Mathias. “That was actually one of the ideas about working with history, maybe to let people see that the signs of history are still present,” says Mathias. “If you change the sound do people see the city differently? Can we see it better if the sound is changed?” That all the sound is inherently linked with different locations of the city is key to the soundwalk concept — it isn’t just something to be listened to at home. It is meant to be heard, and experienced, on Hanoi streets. “The point is that you can’t listen without the location. That is quite important,” says Mathias.

Open to Everyone

Despite the definite success of the project — the workshop and walk held as part of the Hanoi Soundstuff Festival were full within days and feedback has been very positive — Josh and Mathias feel that there were aspects they would like to work on and improve. “We really want it to be accessible,” says Josh. As the software needs GPS to work, the walk is only open to those affluent enough to afford a smartphone, a fact none of the team were happy about. Mathias says, “it is unavoidable but we want to maybe lend out equipment. We need funding for that.” There is also disagreement as to whether the soundwalk can truly be described as public art. “Well, you’re experiencing it in the streets,” says Josh. “It cannot be played independently of the place, but at the same time it is private because you’re experiencing it on your own, with headphones.” At any rate, if you have access to a smartphone the soundwalk is open to you. It can be done individually by downloading the software online, or, if there is a group of friends keen to do a walk, if you contact the organisers they may be able to organise drop in sessions at La Place. Instructions for the walk can be found at http://j.mp/hnswinstructions.
The team can be contacted on hanoisoundwalk@gmail.com

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Sweet Street Music Lan Ha catches up with members of hocdan.com, an online forum of guitarists who love performing on the streets of Hanoi. Photo by Nick Ross

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usic drifts through the air; two young men are playing guitars and singing Mua Hong, a famous song by the late musician Trinh Cong Son. It is a late summer Sunday afternoon and Hoan Kiem Lake is already lit up with glittering lights. The two men are members of online guitar forum, hocdan.com, one of the largest forums for guitar lovers in Hanoi. Earlier that afternoon they had gathered at the nearby Ly Thai To Park and still didn’t want to stop playing. “We had an amazing offline meeting today, when over 200 members gathered and played,” enthuses one member, Linh Dung. “We played lots of songs and got the applause of a big audience.” Dung is a new member and says he is not very good at playing guitar, but he still decided to join the club. “I am a third-year student of Hanoi Construction University and I just took a

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three-month course in guitar,” he reveals. “But I am still welcomed by the club members, especially from the leader, Hieu Orion, who always encourages us by saying: just make it easy.”

Playing for the Love of It

Hieu Orion, a famous guitarist in Hanoi, set up the hocdan.com forum in October, 2011 in order to gather guitar lovers in Hanoi to share their hobby and experience. The forum has quickly attracted thousands of people who are mostly students. With much admiration and respect for the street artists he has seen playing during his trips abroad, Hieu encouraged members in his club to follow suit. “Street artists are not common in Vietnam, even in the two biggest cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City,” he says. “Even though we all love musicians Tran Tien and Ta Hai or artist Dao Anh Khanh who are often seen playing out on the street, at first many of my friends refused to join me playing out here. “They said they were not confident because they could not play very well. I had to explain that street artists played firstly to satisfy their love for the art. And that would be the thing


that lures and impresses the audience.” Hieu also set out a slogan for his club that reads “Don gian thoi ma” which can be literally translated as “Keep it simple”. And maybe it is this slogan that has helped attract lots of new members, many of whom have only started to like guitar and learn the first and basic lessons from other members.

Life is Beautiful

The number of members joining the forum’s Sunday offline meeting at Ly Thai To Park has continued to increase. Their meetings have become a common sight for tourists and people living in the area. 60-year-old Pham Thi Hoe who jogs around the lake for exercise every day, loves to hear the guitar group. “We don’t have the chance to enjoy street artists’ performance here in Hanoi and I think what this guitar group is doing should really be encouraged,” she says. “They are making our life more beautiful, I look forward to seeing them every Sunday afternoon.” Meanwhile, these ‘street artists’ are also beginning to love their stage and the audiences they get. One of these is Ngo Tien Huy, age 25, who has just joined three offline

“They are making our life more beautiful, I look forward to seeing them every Sunday afternoon” meetings. “I’ve been invited to perform at many events but it is really special being a street artist,” he says. “It was not like on any stage I had ever performed on before. It was just great.” For another member, Phuong Thao, a second-year student at Hanoi University, performing here helps her relax and release stress. “I’ve never missed a Sunday gathering here since I joined the group,” she says. “The atmosphere here helps me wash away all the sorrows in life.” And after Hanoi, members of the forum

in Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Hai Phong, Nha Trang, and recently Thai Nguyen have also organised street music performances in their areas.

Doing Good

hocdan.com members have also been making each of their offline meetings a good chance to raise some funds to help disadvantaged people. “One of the programmes we organised recently was raising funds to buy warm clothes for poor people in the northern mountainous of Ha Giang,” says Hieu. “This was last winter.” At these special events, as well as playing guitar and singing, they hold ‘flash mobs’ and make speeches calling on people to help these disadvantaged communities. The club also joined international volunteers on the Global Volunteering Day, providing music for the day. “I think this is a way to make our activities more meaningful,” explains Hieu. The group meets at 3pm every Sunday afternoon at Ly Thai To Park before moving down to a spot on the lake close to Den Ngoc Son. You can see photos and clips of their performances on Facebook by looking for Du Ca Duong Pho Ha Noi

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In Conversation with Khanh Dao Anh Khanh talked to Rose Arnold about his current projects and why free access to art is so important. Portrait by Aaron Joel Santos

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ao Anh Khanh is one of the artists who it could be argued has done most for ‘public art’ in Hanoi. His early performance art work took place on the streets and he’s always been keen, where possible, to do work with an audience, rather than behind closed doors. We meet at his studio/home/performance area, a place where art and nature are intertwined; the stilt house covered with vines, the garden a beautiful mix of sculpture and leafy plants, and his canvasses that are leant against every available wall. Plans and sketches for his current project are on the table. He has bought 10 hectares of land in a beautiful valley 80km outside of Hanoi and work has started on the sculptures and buildings. He is enthusiastic and animated about his plans and thoughts. We talk for hours.

On his lifetime ambition

“Gam Troi Valley is difficult to translate into English, it’s like ‘beneath the sky’ but not quite. This sculpture I am working on now is 32 meters high, four meters wide. Huge. I want to make enough space for 200 artists. On the outside it is a sculpture but artists can stay inside. When I organise the opening, there will be hundreds of artists and dancers. It will take ten years this project, I will have the opening on Mar. 23, 2019. I want to make this project all about contemporary art. In the future, after the opening, I want many people to come. It can’t be open every day for everyone but for at least a day a week it should be open to the public. The project that I do is sculpture, land art, installation art. Very big. And theatre, also, I do a lot of experimental theatre. One of the characters of contemporary art is bringing art closer to the people, doing it in public. I love that. Not putting art in the museum.”

on why putting on free shows funded by his painting sales is so important to him

“Free means people don’t have to think about money when they come to see art. Many poor people, they need this. They see this kind of art and don’t understand. They think this art is just for foreigners, they don’t have money, how can they come in? Many people stand outside, they want to come in but they’re scared because it’s not for them. Free? It’s for everyone. So some ong tay, some ba tay, some Vietnamese with slippers come, it’s easy for everyone to come to contemporary art. And for me, I know contemporary art is not supported by the government. So I want to give you the best. It’s an easy way for everyone to come and see. You don’t have to think about who you are. You enjoy, that’s good enough. You don’t enjoy? Never mind, you come and see. You have a

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special day, you see people, see something. That’s good enough. That’s the way I really want to give an opportunity for people to see. So the money is kinda important.”

On how being inspired by art and artists that influenced him

“I grew up in a house on Nguyen Thai Hoc, with a neighbour who was a very famous artist and sculptor, Nguyen Hai. When I was young he was an old artist. As a child I loved to paint, but I knew nothing about sculpture. But I grew up in front of the space where he works. I saw how he worked. It was so impressive! Somedays he worked without end, all the time, day and night. No limit, no time. He didn’t remember to eat, he forgot to shower. Other times the days and nights were for parties, drinking with friends. But when he worked he was 100 percent energy in his work, all day and night on sculpture. I see the energy from an artist making art. I learnt from him, this was an opportunity. I have his influence so I grew up with this strong emotion and feeling of creation, of art. Maybe my neighbour today has no interest in art, but he sees me doing crazy Khanh things, he is interested. He comes to my show, maybe he doesn't understand, but it makes an impression on him. He gets feelings and has questions. And who knows? I want to share art with everyone. Everybody should have the opportunity to enjoy art.”

On whether art for everyone means pleasing everyone

“I want to share art with everyone, I don’t care who you are, where you are from, what level you are. But, at the same time, I don’t want to just follow and make art that everyone [necessarily] understands. I want to do art at a higher and higher level. To look more beautiful, more interesting, more special. In general, the Vietnamese public is still behind the rest of the world, they enjoy art that the world enjoyed a few decades ago. But with artists’ efforts there are a growing number of people who understand more about art, in general or contemporary. That is another thing about free shows. If people pay to see art they maybe want a certain thing, they want to be entertained. Sometimes, the guests they have a lot of money, power. This is not good. They might want something a certain way and I have to follow. Terrible. I do this for free, I don’t have to follow.” An exhibition of Dao Anh Khanh’s surrealist paintings will be on display at the Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts in November 2013. This interview has been edited and condensed


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land Wall and Canvas

Susmita Paul speaks to two artists for whom their environment has become their canvas. Photos by Francis Roux Land Art Phi Long, Vietnamese Artist in residence at eNAME Art Center, Hanoi

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hree years ago in Hue, the canvas Phi Long was using seemed too small to contain his idea. That was the first time he thought of venturing out to create land art. He was unsure of it. “I didn’t connect to the form of land art at the beginning,” he recalls. It was only with time that it would become an integral part of his artistic existence. “Landscape art is a process. I am in it.” The shift, from conventional canvas to open landscapes, marked not only a change of medium, but also a broadening of the artistic mindscape. The primary material of his landscape art is chalk. By virtue of this, he connected to the natural atmosphere while also making his land art vulnerable to the elements of time and nature. The young artist states with a philosophical calm that, vulnerability and disintegration are organic to the cycle of life; there is no meaning in resisting death. “It’s all part of life. So are my land paintings.” When Phi Long moved to Hanoi he carried with him the memory of the “pure, beautiful and calm” mountains of Hue. In Hanoi, unlike Hue, he feels a general lack of respect for people and for nature. Even in his land art, his crucial artistic concept of the interconnectivity between human life and natural life is present. He finds the island-like places on the Red River to be enticing. For him, it is those spaces that harbour unlimited possibilities of land art in keeping with the concepts that populate his mind. In the busy and polluted city, Phi Long searches for an object that will become the originating point for his land art. It can be anything — a tree, a shrub, a broken piece of wood. From that point on, his land art spirals into creation, overshadowing the limits of the landscape. Phi Long refuses to formulate a roadmap of his land art experience. “I am still too young in experience to do so.”

Photos provided by Phi Long

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Wall Art Andrea Radai, Dutch In residence at eNAME Art Center

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t all started with the desire to paint an image of children on the beach. “It was so personal, so delicate, so emotional [an image], that the thought of painting it on a huge canvas seemed to be like an abuse of the emotion [in the image],” says Hungarian-born, Netherlands-based artist Andrea Radai. That was the first time that she painted a very small painting on a huge canvas. The painting was “kind of a hole in the wall where the viewer is meant to be almost sucked in.” This gave her the idea to use walls as her painting space. What she supposed would only be a change of platform for her painting, became a shift in the perspective of the small paintings themselves. Instead of being sucked into the image, the viewer-audience is now left searching for something. “You are not even sure if it’s dirt on the wall, or if somebody left behind some fingerprints. Then you get near and you recognize an image.” She challenges the viewer by purposefully hiding the paintings — behind the curtains or doors, or by either placing them very high or very low on the wall. Instead of standing out as a piece of art, it becomes integrated into the surroundings, thus opening up the possibilities of interpretation for the viewer-audience. Explaining her engagement with emotions of regret, fear and loss, Andrea says that her extra-small paintings on walls are born out of a desire to encompass the ordinary and the tangible humane aspects of life. She believes that this is where the universality of her paintings lies. Her project in Hanoi, Back to the Future, involves painting photographic images of Hanoi taken by her family 40 years ago on the walls of public buildings. The project is in a state of limbo since the necessary permissions from authorities have yet to be received. She hopes that she will be able to leave behind an impression, literally so, on the walls of this city.

Photos by Francis Roux

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The 5hadows Beyond A tattoo artist, a graffiti artist, a motocross biker and a ‘modest-minded’ dreamer, Son 5hadows lives in his own very real world of unreality. Words by Matt Dworzanczyk. Photos by Matt Dworzanczyk, Virginie Bourque and Son 5hadows

“I always believed that what we imagine in our subconscious mind may in fact be true! In my subconscious mind, I imagine that we are not alone in this world and that perhaps some creatures, some other beings, may live among us!”

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he creatures, spirits, beings, or whatever one might call them are presented within an original blend of surrealism, abstraction and urban art; with a slight Vietnamese flair and an edge of vibrant energy by Son 5hadows. A motocross biker, a tattooed graffiti artist, a dynamic tattoo artist and a quiet, modestminded dreamer, Son is many things but he’s definitely not your typical Vietnamese artist. Not bound by limits of particular styles, Son is inspired by nature, by science, by spirituality and by the subconscious mind. “I look as close as I can into things to discover a whole new world within them. I drew one of my pieces after seeing a dirty broom on the balcony. I imagined my tiny self walking through it and discovering a whole new world. I finished the drawing and I turned it upside down — yet again feeling that I had discovered something new.”

Bonne Nuit

While Son has never been shy about showing his works to friends, his sketches previously only occupied the pages of a

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worn out, little notebook which never left his side. It was only recently and not without a lot of encouragement that he decided to open up a part of his subconscious to the public light. Son reluctantly approached the owners of 21North, a bar and art space in Yen Phu Village, about hosting his exhibit there. He was concerned about having enough work to fill such a large space and was fearful that his art would be misunderstood and not appreciated. His worries went away only after receiving an overwhelmingly positive response from 21North’s owners. With a new boost of confidence he spent three months preparing his project. The exhibit was open to the public at the end of April under the title Bonne Nuit. With a completely packed opening night, Son couldn’t have been more pleased. “People were very curious about my art, asking questions and commenting about the drawings!” And whether it’s a sign of success or possible trouble, the special evening appearance by the men in yellow certainly highlighted the fact that Son’s project showed relevance, sparked interest and presented fresh


potential. Or perhaps it only spoke of fear of controversy and lack of understanding? Although always full of love for his country, Son’s art is not intended to be patriotic or even in any way reflective of Vietnam. “My drawings are about people and places that in the physical world don’t even exist.” Though I personally wonder if Son’s subconscious is in fact, even unknowingly to him, a reflection of the collective consciousness of a changing society, looking closer, innovating, experimenting and simply wanting to ‘be’.

The Future

Son is currently clarifying his ideas for his next project. By day he runs a professional tattoo studio and is known as arguably one of the best tattoo artists in Hanoi. On the weekends, he does graffiti, extreme sports, helps local businesses artistically improve their spaces and sometimes he even works with kids, teaching them about arts. He is constantly thinking, constantly observing, constantly existing in two places at the same time. His one side may be drinking coffee

with friends, yet his other side follows the miniature people living in the dirty fence by the cafe. An hour later, as he’s at the shop, upgrading his bike before taking off to the mountains for a new adventure, his mind races while he imagines, or perhaps while he simply ‘observes’ a unique, giant creature guarding a nearby lake, mysteriously floating above it. While wanting to get fully lost in his dreamy world of imagination, physical reality often pulls him back. “Even though I would love to concentrate on creating and drawing, I also need to find more ways to make a living. I really hope that one day I’ll be able to live off my art and only do things that I am passionate about.” And although looking forward to the future, Son never forgets his physical or creative upbringings. Always recognising his mother and never missing a chance to thank her, he fondly reminisces about the times when as a little boy he’d join her during her own art projects. He’d doodle around with arts, slowly shaping the creative style and the spiritual understanding which defines him today.

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Culture

Casa Italia Located diagonally opposite from the Sofitel Metropole, the newly opened Casa Italia is a café, wine bar, museum, language centre and arts space all in one. A project of the Italian Embassy, Nick Ross speaks to the Italian ambassador, Lorenzo Angeloni

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o you mind if I take my jacket off?” says the Italian ambassador as he sits down in the cafe at Casa Italia. It’s the first day of the sweltering summer and the adjustment from Spring the day before to the heat and humidity of the next few months is both sudden and unbearable. Holding an unlit, half-smoked cigar in his hand — “I never smoke before lunch” — Lorenzo Angeloni is at ease as he starts to tell his story. Posted to Vietnam in November 2010 after stints in Germany, Algeria and Sudan, he presided over the opening of Casa Italia in early 2013, an Italian cultural centre that it’s hoped will deliver a well-needed artistic boost to Hanoi to complement that already provided by Germany, France and Japan. Set up as part of the celebrations of 40 years of diplomatic relations between Italy and Vietnam — Italy and Belgium were the first two European countries to create diplomatic ties with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam —the downstairs is devoted to all things Piaggio. The maker of the Vesper has turned the space into a museum documenting its present, past and future. At the time of writing, the upstairs area was being refurbished by Ariston, another Italian producer, who like their motorbike-making counterparts are telling their story to the Vietnamese public. The idea, explains the ambassador, was to not only create a museum telling the story of well-known Italian products, but to also mix it in with some Italian flavour in the form of a café and wine bar. To this has been added some Italian language courses with the cultural institution, Dante Alighieri, as well as an arts space with a number of exhibitions in the pipeline. The combination, he explains, has made it a bit “like a cocktail”. “You put together all the different parts, you shake it up and you see what’s coming up,” he says. “So, it’s a sort of experiment, if you want.”

Humble Beginnings The refurbishment of what was originally

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the ambassador’s residence started as a vision. Located right in the centre of Hanoi, diagonally opposite from the Sofitel Metropole, Angeloni was sure that the location, “in the heart of Hanoi, was practical and proper for attracting people.” “I had this small dream to convert this corner of Hanoi into an Italian corner,” he continues. “We are just in front of Angelina, which is an Italian restaurant, we have the embassy [on the same street], on the corner we have Valentino, Gucci, Furla, all these Italian brands. So, people who come here can move around in this area if they want to spend a night with Italian brands and flavour. They can come here and be at the heart of this area.” But there was more to this than just the concept of an Italian corner. As Angeloni readily admits, Italy is a country that is not perceived as being “organised” or “systemic”. “I can refer to our friends in Germany,” he adds. “They are recognized for being this kind of country. This is what we are trying to build in Italy now, this kind of representation.” He adds: “The idea was simply this. How to convert a place which was the residence of the ambassador — I spent one year of my life here — from a private place to a public place, and doing this most importantly through the Italian enterprises working here… Piaggio and Ariston are two enterprises that already have their own market share — they’re already well-positioned in the market. So, this is not the main reason why they participated. They accepted the challenge to be part of a common public private project.”

In the Pipeline The result is a centre that, although still in its early days, now has a number of projects on the go. One, which is a public private partnership, is to do something in Hanoi with Italian football, and build on the popularity the sport and particularly its Italian form in Vietnam. Another is an initiative with Italian architecture. Two architectural associations, one from Hanoi and one from Genoa, have

created a contest on how to architecturally reinvent or reimagine the Old Quarter in Hanoi. “The contest will be run here, all the works will be displayed here, and this is an example of how we want to use this location to foster this kind of bilateral initiative.” “[The relationship] is not only bilateral,” adds Angeloni. “We are opening the European Literature Festival here. It’s organised by the Goethe Institut and this year we are going to host the inauguration event. We will have the director of Goethe here, I will talk about what literature is for me — as I am a writer as well — and there will be a professional writer from Spain. A lot of Vietnamese [authors] will be here as well.” “The message I want to pass on is to come


“‘I had this small dream to convert this corner of Hanoi into an Italian corner. We are just in front of Angelina, which is an Italian restaurant, we have the embassy [on the same street], on the corner we have Valentino, Gucci, Furla, all these Italian brands’” here and tell us if this mix is something you can well receive,” explains the ambassador, “The mix of style, flavours, products and taste and language.

A Work in Progress Leaving the comfort of the air-conditioned café, the ambassador leads me upstairs to

the section being refurbished by Ariston. It’s hot, the workers are sweating, but despite the discomfort Angeloni is still in his shirt and tie. You can see the Ariston exhibition gradually taking shape. “You see,” says Angeloni pointing to a cabinet-filled room that has yet to be repurposed. “We’ve still got a lot of space

here that we haven’t used yet.” “What are you going to do with it?” “It’s still early,” he reiterates. “And we’re still not sure. But we’ll do something. I think we’ve already made a good start.” Casa Italia is at 18 Le Phung Hieu, Hoan Kiem. Caffe Italia has an indoors area and an outdoor terrace. It is open daily.

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SOCIETY

WOMAN

This month Fabiola Buchele meets Dang Ai Viet, a 65-year-old artist whose portraits depict the grief and sorrow etched on the faces of Vietnamese mothers who lost loved ones during the war

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orty-eight serene portraits of old women line the walls of two small rooms on the first floor of Ho Chi Minh City’s Museum of Fine Arts. The brush strokes and colours depicting their aging features, solemn expressions and the medal that they all sport on their blouses marking them as a Vietnamese Hero Mothers are gentle and light. Yet they convey a sense of loss and grief none of the sketches of soldiers in battle in the adjacent space ever could. The portraits are part of the ambitious art endeavour of 65-year-old painter Dang Ai Viet. She has made it her mission to visit and paint every woman who has lost her only child or her husband and two children during the war. Over the course of two years, Dang Ai Viet travelled on a trusted Chaley to 63 provinces, covering over 35,000km, painting 1,122 women, the oldest born in 1908. Dang Ai Viet says this is her way of thanking these women who have sacrificed

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what is closest to their hearts for their beloved homeland: “Everybody knows that in Vietnam during the war children went to war and died. They have parents, a father and mother, who served the country by sacrificing those children.”

Hero Mothers In every village and town Dang Ai Viet goes to she needs to work with the local authorities to obtain their official list of Hero Mothers. They get a modest monthly state pension, their healthcare is paid for by the government, and they can seek assistance when opening their own business. Once painted each portrait receives a stamp marking the woman as someone officially honoured by Vietnam. It’s an honour that can hardly compensate the loss, but Dang Ai Viet is adamant that state and society look after those women and give them the thanks and respect they’re due. She is not one for lamentation

and talking of suffering. She is interested in looking on the bright side, highlighting the strength all the women display and quickly dismissing questions about the hardship they may endure or, for that matter, difficulties she herself faced during her motorised adventure. “I never look back, so I would not describe [the motorbike journey] as difficult,” she says. “But a 60-year-old woman on a motorbike, of course it was a challenge. I am a woman, so I was worried about what would happen on the road, but because I am a woman people tried to help and assist me.” In this spirit she will continue her project, as she has so far covered merely a third of all Hero Mothers in the country. And this chronicler of a part of women’s war history is determined to finish the job. The Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts is located at 97A Pho Duc Chinh, Q1, Ho Chi Minh City


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travel

Kerala

Located south of Goa in the far southwest of India, Kerala is known locally as ‘God’s Own Country’ and with good reason. From the cuisine through to the natural beauty, there is something a little special about this province that sets it apart from the rest of India. Words and photos by Jennifer Baxter

A Place Apart Kerala is India and yet it’s not. For one, the literacy rate here is 100 percent — a rarity in this vast country. It’s also one of only two states in the subcontinent to have a non-dissent crushing Communist government — a constant since 1957. Other things set it apart as well. As a sport, cricket here is secondary to a love of football and volleyball. Unlike the rest of India where cows are revered, here beef is widely eaten despite a Hindu majority citizenship. And of course, there are the beaches. As one Kerala local says, “They’re far more beautiful than in Goa.”

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magine trekking through lush, green tea plantations, escaping the noisy chaos of Indian cities and ending the day with a two-hour Ayurvedic oil massage. Imagine spending days lounging in a traditional house boat, a kettuvallum, along canals and sprawling backwaters while soaking up the aromas and spices of flavourful cooking. This is what you will find in Kerala, one of India’s most naturally beautiful states. Located on a narrow strip of coastal land that lies between the slopes of the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, Kerala has high altitude blue mountains and unique backwaters and lagoons. It is also the home of traditional Ayurveda, with spas and treatment centres in most areas, as well

as eco-tourism initiatives and a range of accommodation to choose from. Tourism is more experiential with backpacking, trekking and camping options easily available. Known as ‘God’s Own Country’, a holiday in Kerala needs to be savoured as does the cuisine. A place that you can appreciate for its natural beauty, it is also somewhere to surrender yourself to the taxing pastime of rejuvenation.

The Cuisine Wandering around Cochin, the largest city in Kerala and now known as Kochi, is a great way to get an introduction to traditional Kerala cuisine. The state is known for its abundance of spices and tea plantations,

and the dishes in this two-million-strong metropolis are always prepared with fresh local spices like cardamom, clove, ginger, curry leaves, cinnamon, chilli peppers, coriander and turmeric. Coconuts are a staple in Kerala cooking as is rice and tapioca. Breakfast dishes include puttu (made of rice powder and grated coconut, steamed in a metal or bamboo holder), idli (fluffy rice pancakes) and dosa (a fermented crepe made from rice batter and lentils) usually served with a coconut chutney. Unique and interesting dishes to try are the Kerala fish curry and vegetable manga mappas, which is a medley of fresh vegetables and mango simmered in spices and coconut milk to

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“You can stay in an area so remote and quiet that you simply listen to the layers of sounds from the birds, insects and animals such as wild boars, whose footprints you will inevitably come across if you’re not lucky enough to see them up close” create a thick gravy. The city of Cochin, nicknamed ‘the Queen of the Arabian Sea’, has small, humble restaurants that offer some of the best of Kerala cooking. An established favourite is Dal Roti (Church Road, Fort Cochin). They serve hot spicy masala chai, and are known for their katti rolls, a kebab filling wrapped in paratha (flaky dough pancake) spiced to perfection depending on your tastes. Aruvi Nature Restaurant (Chittor Road in Erankulam) uses no dairy and the spice in the cuisine is typically very mild. They serve only vegetarian food prepared and cooked in an Ayurvedic way. In basic Ayurvedic cooking, how the food is prepared and the food combinations themselves play an important role in their effect on the digestive functions of the body as well as on the mind. At Aruvi’s the servers don’t speak English and wear traditional saris, serving food from large metal cans filled with dal (a thick stew of lentils) and a variety of vegetable dishes you may never learn the name of, but will remember for the rest of your time in India. The food is wholesome, mild and delicious. For more

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western café food with some traditional Indian dishes, the Kashi Art Cafe on Burgher Street and the Tea Pot Café on Peter Celli Street offer a laid back atmosphere with a good selection of local teas.

Munnar Hill Station A four-hour drive from Cochin, past the Cheeyappara and Valara Waterfalls, you’ll reach the misty hill station of Munnar. A popular destination for Indian tourists from the nearby states of Andre Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, it’s an easy escape from the summer heat and has great natural beauty and diverse ecology. It makes sense to stay for at least two nights to fully unwind and relax into the atmosphere of the Hill Station. The beautiful Blue Mountains have the country’s highest tea plantations. You can stay in an area so remote and quiet that you simply listen to the layers of sounds from the birds, insects and animals such as wild boars, whose footprints you will inevitably come across if you’re not lucky enough to see them up close. All along Cross Mountain, white crosses have been planted on the side of the mountain by religious pilgrims,

who make annual visits to the site. At the top is a 360-degree view of carpets of lush, green tea plantations surrounded by cool, thick fog. The serenity and peacefulness of the sweeping view of tea and spices makes you feel as if you’ve escaped from Indian society altogether. A relaxing stay outside of the town of Munnar is Kaivalyam Retreat, Moolakada (www.kaivalyamretreat.com). It is in the middle of a large spice plantation with panoramic views — the owners are warm and welcoming.

Kerala Ayurveda Everywhere you go this state you stumble across massage centres — it seems that everybody is a mystic masseur in ‘God’s Own Country’. Kerala has a range of highend retreats where you can book stays for as long as one month with treatments designed especially for you. You can also test your luck and get a warm oil Abhyanga massage for two hours at somewhere a bit darker and much more humble. One of the top centres in Kerala is Chingoli Ayurveda Hospital & Research Centre in Alappuzha District. They offer both drop in treatments and a fully


Information

customised programme. Ayurveda is one of the oldest medical systems in practice today. It’s based on three main functional patterns, or doshas, that work in nature and in our bodies. These doshas relate to the five elements — fire, air, space, earth and water. It differs from other forms of massage as it uses warm medicated oil and specific strokes relevant to your body’s constitution and imbalances to bring a rebalance to your energy. Abhyanga massage uses warm sesame oil mixed with herbs. The Shirodara uses warm coconut oil and herbs and is gently dripped on the forehead for about 45 minutes to relax your mind and open your third eye.

God’s Own Houseboat: The Backwaters The Kerala backwaters are a maze of lagoons criss-crossed with rivers, shallow pools and canals, all separated from the sea by a narrow strip of sand banks. In many places, the backwaters connect to form large lakes. Renting a kettuvallum, a traditional houseboat, is where the Kerala holiday really takes on a life of its own. Everything slows

down as you hear the symphony of sounds that play the Kerala backwaters. The cool breeze rustling through the trees, the crows chatting among the wind-swept branches, birds chirping in unison and the sound of your personal chef cracking open a chilled beer as you sit quietly enjoying the serenity of the backwaters. A kettuvallum can be rented for a couple of hours or overnight. The overnight rental includes a personal chef and a small staff to open your drinks and make sure you’re comfortable. It is a pure escape from the haggling and honking India is so well known for. These are a few experiences that make Kerala distinctly different from the rest of India. It’s the kind of place where itineraries need to be thrown aside, and checklists binned. You can spend weeks or even months in this province, meandering around on an old rickety bicycle, lounging on a houseboat or simply lingering in a place you love for a few extra days. Jen Baxter also writes a blog called ‘In the Wonder’ about travel and transformation. It can be found at thewanderingjen.com

For information and resources for travel plans and houseboats go to the following links:

T he T ravel P lanners

keralatourpackages.com

Y atrik T ours & T ravel yatrik.com yatrik@yatrik.com

K erala T ourism

keralatourism.org

F lights

Air Asia runs direct daily flights from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to Cochin.

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The Village

The ‘Non La’Village Known for making the best conical hats in the region, a trip to Lang Chuong on market day is like making a trip back into the past. Words by Hoa Le. Photos by Francis Roux

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he early morning rays of sun peak through layers of the Chuong Pagoda’s old brick roof, catching the faces of the women talking, smiling, and negotiating in the pagoda’s front yard — today the place is holding a special market, a cho phien. These villagers are selling non la (Vietnamese conical hats) and every raw material used to make this iconic headware. Nothing else is available here. Mrs Huong is reorganizing dozens of bunches of dry palm leaves, the main material used in a non la. This morning she has already sold twenty bunches for VND50,000 each. “It was a good morning

for me,” she smiles, saying that she has sold palm leaves in this market for over 30 years. Next to her, Mrs Xuan is counting metal rings wrapped neatly on a tiny piece of old newspaper for a customer, a woman who is also from her village. Her ‘stand’ is very simple with small piles of things such as needles, threads in all kinds of colours, metal rings to put on the first rim of the hats, stickers of red rose paintings to decorate the hats, along with many other small items that one can buy for as little as VND1,000. Counting how many items to make the non la that are sold in this market is probably as hard as finding how many times the

number 500,000 is written on a VND500,000 bill (if you have ever tried to count). The number is huge — nearly thirty items just to make one hat. And it’s likely that you’ll need to go to many different sellers in order to buy everything you need. No one single stand will sell everything because “it’s impossible to have it all” as Mrs Huong puts it, or simply it’s just the way the tradition has been carried out from the past in this village. Non la dealers who come to buy conical hats in bulk create the most exciting part of the market. Piles of the hats that are locally made are gathered together for big purchase.

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Lines and lines of the white conical shaped icons are laid on the ground of the yard, making for some beautiful scenery. Held only six times a month on the 4th, 10th, 14th, 20th, 24th and 30th of the Lunar calendar, this market brings quite a festive feeling to both people who come to shop as well as those who are here to sell. “Only on these days can you find nice ‘moulds’, because the people who make them don’t often come here,” says Mrs Huong while pointing to the place where three other ladies are sitting with piles of bamboo moulds. Mrs Tap, one of the three ladies, says they come from Vat village, 4km away from Chuong. “Only our village makes these moulds,” she says when explaining why her products are so popular here. “Each village makes and sells different things. People from Chuong village make the best hats.”

The ‘Perfect’ Hats Well-known all over the country, Chuong village’s hats are said to have all the qualities of the perfect non la: they’re durable, reliable and very, very conical. They’re humble but also elegant. It would be difficult from the first glance to know which hats are nice, which are not, but the locals can point them out very easily for you. Most people here, from the most senior citizens to the youngest, know the ins and outs of making conical hats. “If you come on time, you’ll even see little kids making the hats, too. Some kids are so small that when they sit, their heads are just a little higher than the hat,” says one woman in the village. Most of the grown up villagers say that they can’t recall when they started making hats. Some say it was when they were four years old, others say about six years old. The process of making a beautiful non la is time–consuming. Mr. Quang, who has been sewing hats for 54 years, explains. “The first task is picking out young and tender leaves,” he says. “They have to be cleaned with sand and dried under the sun to achieve the light touch. On sunny days, drying for two days is good enough, but sometimes, the drying process can take much longer.” Today, these leaves can be bought in the market. The next step requires a high level of skill. Locals call it quay la or lop la, which means shaping the stems into the ‘mould’ into which treated palm leaves are arranged by layers. Chuong’s non la normally have two layers of leaves with an additional layer of betel tree spathe. “If this step is not done carefully, the layers will bulge, crumple or tear and the hat will not achieve the right balance,” explains Quang. The sewing process is even more difficult. The workers have to do it by hand, using silk threads to sew small, tight stitches. The best hats are so well stitched that the threads are hardly visible. After that, the hat is lightly exposed to sulfur to make it brighter and prevent infestation from termites. With so many

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steps, even the most skilled non la maker can only finish one hat per day.

A Well-Maintained Tradition As the country becomes more developed, people have shifted their preference to other types of hats, and of course, helmets on bikes. All meaning the golden days of Chuong village are very much located in the past. But come to the village today, and you’ll still feel the vibe: friendly people, big yards surrounded by trees, traditionally designed houses and scenes in almost every household of people grouping together and making non la while chatting away and having fun. When I asked a group of six hat-making women, both young and old, who was the most skillful hat maker in the village, they all pointed to Mrs. Thao. Now in her 60s, she still sews fast and accurately. “My eyes are still good, and so are my fingers,” she says before adding, “Maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe doing this job keeps my eyes and fingers in good shape.” She laughs and shows me her thumb. It is covered in scars from the pricks of a lifetime of using needles. We say our goodbyes to these diligent and welcoming villagers and head back to Hanoi, leaving the fresh air and calm behind.

Getting There To get to Lang Chuong, take Highway 21B out of Ha Dong and follow it south for 10km towards Phu Ly. Lang Chuong is in Xa Phuong Trung, in Thanh Oai District. The market starts at 5am and is completed by 9am

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DAY TRIPPER

Khu Du Lich Long Viet Located in Ba Vi National Park, Long Viet tourism park avoids the errors of its not so tourist-friendly predecessors. Words by Douglas Pyper. Photos by Francis Roux

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a Vi should be a day tripper’s paradise. Beautiful natural scenery, mountains, waterfalls, farms, a national park and the newly completed Lang-Hoa Lac Highway are all in place. But for years the place has been let down by ill-conceived resorts and guesthouses that failed to understand the motivations for a city dweller’s day or weekend break. It doesn’t require a foreign degree in Tourism and Hospitality to realise that holiday makers in Ba Vi are fleeing the stifling pollution of Hanoi in search of clean air and nature. Yet this was missed as resorts opted for plastic recreations of nature in areas that used to support the real thing. Think

concrete paths with plastic, tree-shaped railings, walks that never explain the landscape, or countryside silences broken by the sound of bad music and karaoke. Fortunately the last year has seen an explosion of new locations getting it just right. One of the more unexpected is Khu Du Lich Long Viet. Down an unpaved road just opposite Ba Vi Homestead is a place which entertains, amazes, educates and walks a very fine line between kitsch parody and tasteful homage. Having acquired a small patch of ex-tea plantation as a holiday home for his family, clothing magnate Trieu Tri Dung added increasing amounts of land and features to his property until it grew into the 200,000

sqm wonderland that it is today. By the time you’ve parked outside the site’s grass-roofed guesthouse, and marveled at the entrance arch that resembles the veneer of Hanoi’s citadel, you’ve already passed the horse riding centre. That should give you some idea of the decadence on offer in Long Viet. Trying to list the attractions and features of Long Viet isn’t an easy task, but a starting effort would include a stream and lake, swimming pool, owner Dung’s family house, a seven-storey tower in the ancient Chinese style, a restaurant beneath a stilt house and a number of interactive museums. These museums are housed in beautiful buildings that resemble village dinh and are interestingly themed. One

“By the time you’ve parked outside the site’s grass roofed guest house, and marveled at the entrance arch that resembles the veneer of Hanoi’s citadel, you’ve already passed the horse riding centre. That should give you some idea of the decadence on offer in Long Viet” June 2013 Word | 65


“Down an unpathed road just opposite Ba Vi Homestead is a place which entertains, amazes, educates and walks a very fine line between kitsch parody and tasteful homage”

houses Dung’s private collection of vintage water puppets, another is an ode to 1954 featuring European phones, fans and record players alongside a section on Chinese medicine. A personal favourite is the karaoke dan toc, which turns the traditional setting for Vietnamese plays into a house of Vietnam’s number one anti-social hobby, and to top it all off, has an ode to mandarins and calligraphy on the top floor. Between these intriguing spaces is manicured nature. Trees have been brought in from all over Indochina, lovingly planted and well positioned in the landscape. Each one has a small sign explaining the type and

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in between these natural features, wood and stone sculptures, both antique and replica are interspersed. In conversation the unexpectedly humble owner is more than happy to discuss his numerous passions, and reveal the origin of many of the priceless items in the resort. “I have a thousand puppets,” says Dung. “The used puppets have souls and are very valuable.” At the request of visitors, a puppet performance can be arranged thanks to the fact that Dung has taken the considerable time to train his security guards, tour guides and kitchen staff to do the task. The trees have been sourced from far and wide, with

one particularly large bo de tree standing out. “It takes a few people to form a circle round it,” Long says. “I really liked it so I hired a tank to bring it here.”

Keeping it Real If Dung is starting to sound like some tasteless millionaire megalomaniac then this writer has given entirely the wrong impression. Admittedly, excess on this scale could err on the side of kitsch, but in reality Dung’s genuine passion for history, culture, art and nature shine through strongest. Perhaps, as someone who can have everything, Dung has come to value


the real. He can remember visiting Mai Chau 25 years ago and falling in love with the stilt houses and everyday tools of the local people. Today, he won’t set foot in the place, disappointed by the parody that it has become. He sees the same changes in Sapa, where the tourism boom has brought a wave of modern housing. “They should have local officials come to each house to explain why tourists, westerners, come here,” he says. “They come for the wooden house with the old architecture. They respect that.” While Dung doesn’t feel that Vietnamese culture has been lost, he can certainly track

its decline. And this decline is inspiring him to collect, to educate, to show the value of it. “Vietnamese culture is still here, but in the next couple of years, if no one keeps the old houses, old customs, and old things, it will gradually be lost,” he says. His thoughts then turn to the dai tree plantations in Cambodia being ravaged by Chinese traders. “It is just like in Cambodia with dai trees. Their next generations might have to come to Vietnam or China to look at the trees. To see the Chinese come and take the trees, even the Vietnamese want to cry.” In Khu Du Lich Long Viet, Dung is doing his best to hold back the tears.

Getting There Head down the Lang-Hoa Lac Highway and continue straight through where Hoa Lac used to be. Following this road will take you all the way to the front gate of Ba Vi National Park, where you should turn right. A few hundred metres down this road you’ll see the very large Ba Vi Homestead on your left and the signposted Khu Du Lich Long Viet on your right. You have arrived. The trip is about 40km from Hanoi.

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MYSTERY DINER

Azuma Our roving, undercover food reviewer heads down Giang Vo way to sample some Japanese shabu-shabu. Photos by Francis Roux

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ights up on a sleek dining room, empty except for a couple facing one another in velvet chairs. The man holds up an iPad with pictures of food, while the woman scrolls through various dishes, her lips pursed. They are sitting in front of a wall-length window that offers a sweeping view of Giang Vo Lake. In the carefully designed setting, the unnaturally green water looks almost enticing. Azuma’s scale is daunting, particularly given the paucity of clientele. Walking inside, you feel like you’ve stepped straight onto the set of a Japanese TV drama. As one of many Japanese restaurants in this area of Ba Dinh, Azuma faces stiff competition. Perhaps that’s why the restaurant was so empty — a pity given the quality of the food, which can often be excellent. Or perhaps it’s because no one knows quite what to expect. The lobby of the Lakeside Hotel, where Azuma is based, promises luxury of the old-fashioned sort: glittering chandeliers, a marble floor. Yet seated in a broad armchair, I watched groups of well-dressed guests sweep back and forth. Fortunately the hotel’s Japanese restaurant (there is also a Chinese eatery called Royal Chinese Restaurant) takes a more modern approach. The menus come on iPads, matching the spacious room’s sleek black decor, which is echoed by the dark ceramic

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place settings and low velvet seating.

All in the Preparation My companion and I sat down, resulting in startled glances from the couple by the window — the only other diners in the restaurant. We defied the menu’s offering of “Ladies’ Lunch Set” and started with the assorted mushroom salad (VND120,000), which looked colourful and appetizing, despite the fact that we couldn’t quite tell what was in it — a situation that anyone living in Vietnam should be well-acquainted with. It turned out to be warm mushrooms tossed with lettuce leaves, strips of red pepper and cherry tomatoes. The salad was decent enough for a starter, although it could have done without the miniature croutons, or the generous squiggles of mayonnaise on top that seem to be a hallmark of modern Japanese fare. The shabu-shabu (VND580,000) on the other hand, was fantastic — revealing what careful preparation can accomplish. A tray of mushrooms and cabbage arrived at our table, along with a massive iron pot. Even the arrangement of these raw vegetables was enticing, with the cabbages set up in a neat row, punctuated by chubby mushroom caps and sticks of tofu. The clear broth was turned up to a boil, and then those mushrooms headed in, along with clumps of enokis and broad stalks of cabbage. The server held up a small bowl

of chopped bird’s eye chillis, glancing at us warily. Of course, they all went in, followed by thin slices of beef and pork generously streaked with fat. Everything simmered for a few minutes, and then it was time to dig in. The clear, slightly salty broth had a pleasantly pure flavour, with a little kick from the chillis. Everything was perfectly cooked, in far less time than it takes with Vietnamese hot pot: the pork collapsed into creamy hunks, the cabbage softened, the mushrooms were delightfully meaty. We added delicate slices of kabocha squash, creamy tofu, a pile of fresh ramen noodles. Then we sat in silence. The only sound was the THE VERDICT splash as we ladled masses of meat and vegetables greedily into our bowls. Azuma’s man at the helm, Chef Food Kajiwara, spent more than two decades cooking in Kyoto before making the move to Vietnam. The sous chef is also Service Japanese. Although he has spent 10 years working in French kitchens, there are no fusion touches on the menu except Décor for a few Korean dishes that seem to have been placed Food, Decor and Service are each rated on a there in a futile bid to scale of 0 to 15. attract diners of that 13 — 15 extraordinary to nationality. I didn’t perfection sample the bibimbap 10 — 12.5 very good to or the cold Korean excellent 8 — 9.5 good to very noodles, but with good Japanese food this 5 — 7.5 fair to good good, why would 0 — 4.5 poor to fair anyone need to? The Word reviews Azuma is located at 23 anonymously and pays for all meals Ngoc Khanh, Ba Dinh. Tel: (04) 3835 0111

12

12.5 9


Nam 76 (76 Lo Duc, Hai Ba Trung and 1B Le Ngoc Han, Hai Ba Trung) could be the solution. There you can buy organic and fresh mushrooms to cook at home. You can also eat at the restaurant and enjoy a range of dishes from a mushroom-as-the-mainingredient menu. The business was started by a couple of young Hanoians who are keen to promote organic and fresh mushrooms. Gourmets will be surprised with the diverse range of mushrooms dishes. Hanoians, who have long associated mushrooms with hotpots or expensive restaurants, will be surprised at the mushroom sticky rice, mushroom soup, mushroom dry noodles, mushroom pâté and even mushroom ice-cream.

New Flavours and Foods

Street Snacker

Funghi Feast Mushrooms aren’t traditionally a staple of the Vietnamese diet but, as Huyen Tran finds out, mushroom-centric restaurant Nam 76 is proving to be hugely popular. Photos by Francis Roux

“I

magine you are on the hunt for mushrooms in the forest, and there appears a rare type like chanterelles or truffle. It would be absolutely breathtaking,” my French friend eagerly tells me, his eyes bright and excited, when asked about mushroom hunting in France. “You can easily find a wide range of edible mushrooms in France’s fields and forests.” “But it’s a pity that in Hanoi, it is not easy to find mushrooms for your meal,” he adds. “Not to mention the mushroom hunting experience. This makes me feel homesick sometimes.”

Hungry for ‘Shrooms It’s not only expats. Hanoians also find it hard to buy good mushrooms that are fresh and grown safely. Many don’t feel happy buying mushrooms in the street markets because there is no record of origin or information available about how they are grown.

As a first-time customer, what dish should you try? The dish that has made the eatery popular since its early days, and which is still considered its soul, is xoi nam or sticky rice with mushroom. There are four versions available: mushroom sticky rice with salted shredded mushroom, or with braised pork, mushroom pâté, or mixed. “Compared to traditional sticky rice with chicken or braised pork, mushroom sticky rice is worth eating for a change as it does not make you feel fat,” says Thuy Lan, the young shop owner. “Also, the sweetness that you get from mushroom sticky rice is really different. It is only achieved by steaming sticky rice in mushroom broth, which makes the sticky rice soft and lightly sweet. Remember to mix carefully and enjoy [the dish] while hot, you will feel both its savoury smell and wonderful blend of taste.” For vegetarians Lan recommends mushroom soup, with its blend of shiitake and oyster mushrooms. She assures us that it changes people’s preconceptions about ‘tedious tasting’ vegetarian food. In summer, the dry rice noodles with mushroom and grilled pork, mushroom nem or mushroomwrapped beef, are great choices. These meats are dipped into a vegetable sauce with cool herbs. There are more western style takes on mushroom dishes too, with pizza with mushrooms, mushroom pâté plus the more surprising mushroom ice cream. The latter are both are homemade by friends of Lan. Another popular dish is grilled ribs with mushroom and special mushroom sauce, favoured by many young Hanoians. “Our hope is to promote organic mushrooms as a healthy daily food as well as to encourage an organic lifestyle,” explains Lan. “It would be great if we could organise eco-tours to invite people to the organic mushroom farm in Soc Son, where fresh mushrooms are grown for our shops.” Nam 76 at 76 Lo Duc is open from around 7am to 9pm, and Nam 76 at 1B Le Ngoc Han is open from 11am to 9pm. Prices of dishes range from VND30,000 to VND55,000. Fresh mushrooms are sold at 76 Lo Duc. Note: the menu is in Vietnamese only but you can ask the friendly employees to translate

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City Guide BUSINESS 072 / bars 074 / Cafes 075 / Eat 076 / Leisure 080 / fashion 083 / home 084 / medical 085 / travel 087 Photo by aaron joel santos

ADDITIONAL FEAT URE S

Business Buff 073 Medical Buff 080 Book Buff 081 Cinema Buff 082 The Alchemist 083 The Therapist 095 Travel Promos 088 70 | Word June 2013


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BUSINE$$ * *

* *

From accounting to advertising to serviced apartments, our selection of some of the city's top businesses

Accounting & Audit KPMG

16th Floor, Pacific Place, 83B Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3946 1600 www.kpmg.com.vn Worldwide firm specialising in auditing, accounting, tax and management consulting services. Also does executive search and selection.

PricewaterhouseCoopers

7th Floor, Pacific Place, 83B Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3946 2246 www.pwc.com Provides business services including auditing, business and technology solutions and tax and legal consulting. Has more than ten years experience in Vietnam and works in all major industry sectors throughout the country.

business groups Icham

Sofitel Plaza, Ground floor, 1 Thanh nien, Ba Dinh Tel: 3715 2393 www.icham.org The Chamber has the main purpose of undertaking activities to support commercial exchanges with Italy and to assist economic agents, as well as to foster the development of economic relations and cooperation among entrepreneurs of the various countries. The Chamber will not engage in commercial activities with the aim of producing profits.

CCIFV

Sofitel Plaza, No 1 Thanh Nien, Ba Dinh Tel: 3715 222 www.ccifv.org A business group with over 240 members that supports the French business community in Vietnam by listening to their members’ needs and expectations. Also promotes Vietnam to French companies and helps them in developing their businesses here.

EuroCham

G/F, Sofitel Plaza Hanoi, 1 Thanh Nien, Ba Dinh Tel: 3715 2228 www.eurochamvn.org

A confederate organisation with strong ties to national business associations in its member countries, Eurocham looks after and provides advice and support for the business interests of European Union members in Vietnam.

Singapore Business Association Vietnam Business Center, Ground Floor, Fortuna Hotel, 6B Lang Ha, Dong Da, Tel: 4772 0833 www.sbav-hanoi.org An association that actively fosters business relations with other business communities while promoting social, cultural, recreational, educational and charitable activities.

housing & real estate CB Richard Ellis (Vietnam) Co., Ltd

6 Floor, BIDV Tower,194 Tran Quang Khai, Hoan Kiem Tel: 2220 0220 www.cbrevietnam.com Finding the perfect accommodation to meet your various demands in Hanoi is made simple thanks to CBRE’s residential leasing team. Our services are inclusive of site finding, travelling fees, contract negotiation and resolving any other issues which arise during the term of the lease, all of which are free of charge for the tenant.

Colliers International Vietnam

9th floor, Vinaplast, Tai Tam Building, 39A Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 2220 5888 www.colliersmn.com/vietnam Represent property investors, developers and occupiers in all matters related to commercial and residential property. Services include leasing and sales, valuation and research, property management and support services. Attempt to accelerate the success of their clients by making their knowledge your property.

Daluva Home

33 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho www.daluva.com/apartment Thoughtfully appointed and decorated, Daluva Home features a cosy bedroom for true rest, plus open living, dining, and work

areas. Extras include two LCD TVs, iPod dock, and outdoor patio. Housekeeping, and daily breakfast from the Daluva Breakfast Menu are also included. Private car and tour booking service available.

Savills Vietnam

6th floor, Sentinel Place, 41A Ly Thai To, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3946 1300 www.savills.com.vn A leading global real estate service provider listed on the London Stock Exchange with over 200 offices worldwide. Provides consultancy services, property management, space planning, facilities management, corporate real estate services, leasing, valuation and sales to the key segments of commercial, industrial, retail, residential and investment property.

insurance AIG

Suite 5-01, Hanoi Towers, 49 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3936 1455 www.aig.com Offers a range of insurance products and services including property, casualty and marine exposure insurance. Also has comprehensive travel and accident coverage, as well as healthcare packages for expats residing in Vietnam.

IF Consulting

CCIFV/Eurocham, Sofitel Plaza, 1 Thanh Nien, Ba Dinh, Tel: 3936 5370 Emergency: 0903 732365 www.insuranceinvietnam. com Specialises in medical, employee benefits and personal lines insurance advice to expatriates. The company has been operational in Vietnam since 1994 and offers free advice and comparative quotes.

international schools Concordia International School Hanoi

CMC Tower, Duy Tan, Cau Giay Tel: 3795 8878 www.concordiahanoi.org International brand, Concordia, has highly performing schools in both Hong

Kong and Shanghai at the top tier of the educational system. All instructors and teachers are native English speakers and admission applications are accepted throughout the year.

Hanoi International School 48 Lieu Giai Boulevard, Ba Dinh www.hisvietnam.com With schooling available for students studying at the elementary through to secondary levels of education, HIS is one of the few private, international education options in the capital. The institution offers Cambridge IGCSE and IB Diploma for students at the secondary level. Located near the Japanese Embassy.

United Nations International School (UNIS)

Ciputra International Village, Tay Ho Tel: 3758 1551 www.unishanoi.org With more than 800 students from 50 different countries, UNIS is a nonprofit IB World School that instructs students from as young as three years old through to grade 12. Established in 1988 by agencies representing the United Nations, the pristine campus has a broad range of facilities and is located in the gated community of Ciputra.

QSI International School of Hanoi

#17 Lane, 67 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho Tel: 3718 6418 www.hanoi.qsi.org With nearly four decades of experience in international education, QSI International School of Hanoi is next in the long line of ‘quality schools’ that have been established by the Quality Schools International. The institution specialises in

I n t e r n at i o n a l School of Vietnam

6-7 Nguyen Cong Thai, Dai Kim Urban Area, Dinh Cong, Hoang Mai Tel: 3540 9183 www.isvietnam.org The International School of Vietnam (ISV) is a notfor-profit, Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 school serving the international and local community of Hanoi. ISV accepts students of any nationality aged 3 and up. ISV offers an international education experience. Highly qualified and experienced international educators are supported by a 21st-century campus with the latest in educational technology plus excellent resources for learning. Class sizes are small.

Want to be in touch with what’s happening in this city? Check us out online at

72 | Word June 2013

instructing pre-school and lower elementary age students.

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL (SIS)

2D Van Phuc Diplomatic Compound, 46 Van Bao, Ba Dinh, Tel: 3726 1601; Block C3, Ciputra, Tay Ho, Tel: 3758 2664; Dilmah Building, Duy Tan, Cau Giay, Tel: 3795 1036 www,kinderworld.net/sis SIS provides international education for students from Primary up to University Foundation Programme. A strong curriculum combines the best aspects of the Singaporean, Australian and Vietnamese curricula, all taught by qualified teachers. Runs various co-curricula activities and prepares students for internationally recognised qualifications: iPSLE, Cambridge IGCSE & AS/A Level, GAC

KINDERWORLD INTERNATIONAL KINDERGARTEN (KIK)

3rd Floor, Hanoi Towers, 49 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 3934 7243; C5 – C11, 1st Floor, The Manor Building, My Dinh, Tel: 3794 0209; Unit 9 – 10, Shophouse CT17, Ciputra, Tay Ho, Tel: 3743 0360 www.kinderworld.net/kik

wordhanoi.com

Hanoi Websites hanoigrapevine. com

The place to go for all things related to the arts in a city that is developing its own, vibrant contemporary arts scene. Has event calendars, event postings, blogs, addresses and contact details, and covers anything from classical music through to installations, rock concerts and more.

infosharehanoi. com

Provides the expat community with essential information for living and working in Hanoi including comprehensive and up-to-date events listings as well as address lists of galleries, cinemas, theatres, hotels, housing agencies, embassies and much more. Subscribe to receive their weekly newsletter.

linkhanoi.com

Event photos, a what’s on calendar, restaurant and bar listings and in fact, pretty much everything you want to know about nightlife in Hanoi can be found on this popular website. Also organize regular events and parties.

newhanoian.com

The city’s best known website, The New Hanoian provides usergenerated listings, reviews and event information on pretty much anything and everything in the capital. Register, create your profile, write a review and receive frequent newsletters.

wordhanoi.com

The online extension of The Word, contains both content from the print edition as well as blogs, events, news, a what’s on calendar, party photos and much more. Also has downloadable PDF versions of the whole publication.


KIK provides International Pre-school education for children from 18 months to below 6 years. The curriculum promotes development of fine and gross motor skills, with experiential and inquirybased, structured formal learning opportunities. Much of the teaching is play-based.

language schools Apollo

67 Le Van Huu, Hai Ba Trung Tel: 3943 2051 www.apolloedutrain.com Established in 1994, Apollo offers high-quality and cost-effective English language classes including general English, English for teens, English for business communication and a pronunciation clinic. One of the country’s leading language centres.

British Council

20 Thuy Khue, Tay Ho Tel: 3728 1922 www.britishcouncil.org The cultural arm of the British government’s presence in Vietnam, the BC offers a variety of English language courses – business writing, corporate training and general English – in a large learning centre close to West Lake.

Language Link Vietnam 62 Yen Phu, Tay Ho Tel: 3733 8402 www.languagelink.edu.vn With four schools around Hanoi, Language Link runs international English language courses endorsed by Cambridge University. One of the top language centres in the capital.

legal services Baker & Mckenzie

13th Floor, Vietcombank Tower, 198 Tran Quang Khai, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 3825 1428 www.bakernet.com One of the first international law firms to establish representative offices in Vietnam, Baker & McKenzie provide on-the-ground liaison and support services to clients interested in investigating, negotiating and implementing projects in the country.

management training G&H Management Services

HKC Building, Suite 701, 285 Doi Can, Ba Dinh Tel: 3762 3805 www.ghmsglobal.com A 100% foreign-invested company focusing on management services and consulting with in-house programs to meet the particular requirements of its clients. Offers teambuilding and academic-based

business and management programmes.

RMIT

Hanoi Resco Building, 521 Kim Ma, Ba Dinh Tel: 3726 1460 www.rmit.edu.vn A leading international provider of skills training and professional staff development, RMIT offers both short and long-term courses, customised courses, and can provide for either on or off-campus clients. Known for its Business MBA which is open to both Vietnamese and overseas students.

market research Cimigo

142 Le Duan, Dong Da Tel: 3518 6696 vietnam@cimigo.com www.cimigo.com Independent marketing and brand research specialist operating in Hanoi and the Asia Pacific region in general. Services include auditing and optimising research programs, knowledge management, developing marketing plans and business models, and assessing market opportunities.

relocation & tracking agents Allied Pickfords

8 Cat Linh, Dong Da Tel: 6275 2824 vn.alliedpickfords.com The international home moving company helps make the burden of moving a lot easier. As the largest home moving company in the world, Allied Pickfords moves over 1,000 families in over 175 countries every day. Available with a full range of services — domestic moves, office moves and storage — whether you are moving within Vietnam or across the world.

Asian Tigers Transpo

Inland Customs Depot Area (ICD), Pham Hung, My Dinh, Tu Liem Tel: 3768 5882 www.asiantigersgroup.com Asian Tigers Group is committed to its mission of moving households without disruption to family life. They also offer pre-move advice regarding customs and shipping.

JVK Indochina Movers

6 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho Tel: 3826 0334 www.jvkasia.com Focused primarily on the international and local movement of household goods, JVK is currently a leader in the field. Has offices in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

{business Buff}

Santa Fe Relocation Services

Suite 821, Vietnam Trade Hotel, 14 Tran Binh Trong, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 3941 0805 www.santaferelo.com With over 150 offices around the world, Santa Fe offers local and international moving, pet transportation, relocation services including home search, orientation, cultural training, immigration services and records management. For more information email info@ santaferelo.com.vn.

serviced apartments Atlanta Residences

49 Hang Chuoi, Hai Ba Trung Tel: 0912 239085 www.atlanta.com.vn Atlanta Residences fully serviced apartments have been created to provide a space where you can ‘feel at home’. Within walking distance from Hanoi’s Opera House and Hoan Kiem Lake, this building offers a panel of 51 spacious apartments for you to choose from. The serviced apartments here offer the luxury of a hotel mixed with the peaceful comfort and privacy of your home, under one roof of course.

Daluva Home

33 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho Tel: 3718 5831 Whether traveling or on a temporary stay, Daluva can provide space & comfort. Thoughtfully appointed Daluva Homes feature a cozy bedroom for true rest, and an open living area that opens up to a terrace with plants.

Fraser Suites

51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 3719 8877 http://hanoi.frasershospitality.com Great location in Syrena Tower on West Lake, Fraser Suites offer a tranquil repose from the busy city. Has several apartments with excellent views and provides gold-standard service.

Sedona Suites

No. 96 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho Tel: 3718 0888 www.sedonahotels.com.sg 175 well-designed, furnished apartments and villas combining the comforts of home with the conveniences of a fine hotel.

Somerset Grand Hanoi

49, Hai Ba Trung, Ba Dinh Tel: 3934 2342 www.somerset.com Internationally-managed accommodation with personalised services and extensive facilities. 185 fully furnished apartments, car park, 24-hour reception and central location.

** Where Do Billionaires Come From? ** By Shane Dillon

I

take an interest when someone is worth a billion dollars, especially if they make it themselves and come from very little. And that is why I was very happy recently to come across a report on the origins of the current 100 richest people in the world. Of the 100 richest, 27 inherited their fortune, so let’s forget about them straight away. Wealth not earned is not very interesting, even if it does make for some interesting people. So that leaves 73 self-made billionaires. Of these around half come from poor socio-economic households and eight of these had no college education. So let’s focus on these eight exceptional people who come from nothing, with a limited access to education, only to become some of the most successful people on the planet. The one thing they all have in common is they worked hard and took huge risks.

The Billionaires Club Number 8: Francis Pinault (US$12 billion) From a lumber milling family who tried several businesses before one deal changed his life. Pinault's holding company Artemis S.A., owns (or owned), among others, Converse shoes and Samsonite luggage. Number 7: John Fredriksen (US$13 billion) Son of a welder and famous for micro-managing his business, now thought to be the largest oil tanker fleet in the world. Fredriksen made his fortune during the Iran-Iraq wars in the 1980s when his tankers picked up oil at great risk and made huge profits. Number 6: Leonardo del Vecchio (US$13 billion) An orphan who recognized trends early. He is the founder and chairman of Luxottica, a US$3 billion (sales) designer and manufacturer of highquality eyeglass frames. The

firm owns the Sunglass Hut and Lenscrafters chains with a total of over 6,000 stores. Number 5: Li Ka-Shing (US$17 billion) An orphan who tried several different businesses and made his fortune investing in troubled times and buying companies in ruin. He is the world's largest operator of container terminals and the world's largest health and beauty retailer. Number 4: Sheldon Adelson (US$22 billion) Son of a taxi driver he began to sell newspapers at the age of 12 and started a candy-vendingmachine business at the age of 16. He is now chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corporation. Number 3:Larry Elison (US$37 billion) Given up for adoption due to illness, he did not meet his natural mother until he was 48. Good with computer design, he is the co-founder of Oracle. Number 2: Invar Kampard (US$41 billion) Son a farmer who started out buying matches in bulk and selling them to other local kids, eventually founded IKEA. Number 1: Amancio Ortega (US$52 billion) Son of a railroad worker, he is a fashion executive and the founding chairman of the Inditex fashion group, best known for its chain of Zara retail shops. Shane Dillon works in financial services and studies economics. He can be contacted at shanedillon@ bluecross.com.vn

June 2013 Word | 73


DROPS] [ BARS * THE TOP * OF

*

Drink and be done by, or as the t-shirt tells us, khong say, khong ve. Our pick of the best drinking haunts in Hanoi Think we've missed somewhere? Email us on editor@wordhanoi.com

Bars & Nightclubs 88 Lounge

CONTEMPORARY WINE BAR 88 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho www.88group.vn 5pm to late A wine bar with a difference, this addition to the watering hole scene in West Lake mixes contemporary design, black ceilings, subtle lighting and an international aesthetic with one of the best wine lists in town. Not surprisingly it is developing a faithful clientele. Well worth a visit.

Cama ATK

MUSIC & ARTS BAR 73A Mai Hac De, Hai Ba Trung Tel: 01262 054970 With well-poured drinks, a foosball table, no smoking and a midnight closing time, CAMA ATK knows exactly what it wants to be — and that’s refreshing. The space is a part time venue for smaller acts and DJs. The venue is hip, comfortable and will likely provide the serious drinker with a reliable place to pull up a stool and take pulls in a relaxed haven.

Cheeky Quarter

LATE NIGHT LOCAL 1 Ta Hien, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 0904 032829 Last building on the right before Hang Buom, this popular with the French (and everyone else) watering hole is a classic. Has the same Old Quarter vibe; small, cosy and personal with funky twists – and an awesome logo. Spread over two floors with good tunes, drinks specials and a foosball table, Cheeky is open till late. Also does tasty paninis into the early hours.

shisha, pool table and dance floor combo so popular on Hang Buom.

FatCat Bar

DJ / LATE NIGHT JOINT 25 Ta Hien, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 5333 6087 www.linkhanoi.com Straddling Bia Hoi Corner and the cobblestoned end of Ta Hien, FatCat Bar is a small establishment from the minds behind the party and event organisers, LinkHanoi. The bar has tables filling the first floor and spilling onto the sidewalk as well as a small loft area for lounging. Nightly cocktail specials, reasonable bottles deals starting at VND500,000 and a DJ on the decks make up the mix.

Funky Buddha

ELECTRO LOUNGE 2 Ta Hien, Hoan Kiem Owned by the people behind Face Club, the low, LED-lit venue has the feel of a VIP room situated in a larger club, only it's not. While techno and trance are the genre's of choice spun in the establishment by live DJs, patrons treat the space more like a lounge than a dancehall and typically order bottle service and cocktails. One of the Ta Hien mainstays.

Hair of the Dog

LATE NIGHT LOCAL / LOUNGE 32 Ma May, Hoan Kiem In the same building as the old Bucket Bar, Hair of the Dog, the first floor offers a large drinking space, graphic artwork, sidewalk seating and a dance floor. Up the spiral staircase, there’s the late-night bar and shisha lounge complete with beanbags. Drawing in a mix of expats, backpackers and locals, when the bars across the street shut down, the mayhem continues in ‘The Dog’.

Half Man Half Noodle

Chime Bar

Level 1, Sheraton Hanoi Hotel K5 Nghi Tam, 11 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 3719 9000 restaurant.hanoi@sheraton.com sheraton.com/hanoi Chime bar is the perfect spot for a refreshing glass of wine and a bite to eat. Offering a wide selection of tapas dishes in a lounge atmosphere, this is a great space to unwind, while listening to some soothing jazz to wash your blues away.

DRAGONFLY

DANCEHALL LOUNGE 15 Hang Buom, Hoan Kiem 93 Phung Hung, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 4926 2177 One of the better venues in the Old Quarter for dancing on the weekends. Although crammed into a small space, cheap drinks and a mix of chart chits makes Dragonfly the regular go-to for younger Vietnamese crowds, tourists and the foreign resident looking to get up on the dance floor. If you don’t feel like dancing, relax upstairs with shisha and friends with one of the two lounges on the second floor. The sister venue on Phung Hung has a bigger menu and an earlier opening hour (11am instead of 6pm) but still keeps with the

74 | Word June 2013

LATE DIVE BAR 62 Dao Duy Tu, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 3926 1943 Often a bit dark and somewhat gloomy, “The Noodle” is still a hit with long term residents. With its all-hour eating options — ranging from cheese toasties and pizzas to grilled cod and bun cha — and its popular happy hour, this Old Quarter old-timer is still up there with the options. Between 11pm and 12.30am, local beers go for VND15,000 and mixers go for VND30,000. Friendly staff and talkative patrons included.

Hanoi Rock City

LIVE MUSIC VENUE 27/52 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho, Tel: 01887 487 426 www.hanoirockcity.com With a downstairs, English-style pub garden area and an upstairs space dedicated to live music and live production, Hanoi Rock City is the only venue in the capital of its kind. Has weekly live events featuring bands both from Vietnam and overseas — established and up and coming. Email jimihendrix@hanoirockcity.com for more information or check out their page on Facebook.

House of Son Tinh

Liquor Lounge 31 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho. Tel: 3718 6377 www.sontinh.com As part of the Highway 4 group, which now has its offices in the establishment’s upstairs areas, this bar-cum-restaurant

outfitted with comfortable, stylish furnishings is famed for its luxurious rice wine liquors and newly created cocktail class. Does regular events on the first floor and also has a creative Vietnamese food menu based on cuisine sold at other restaurants in the chain.

Irish Wolfhound

IRISH PUB 4 Luong Ngoc Quyen, Hoan Kiem Tel: 2212 6821 www.irishwolfhoundpub.com The open-air watering hole with seating on the pavement is a great spot to enjoy a tall dark stout or light pilsner at anytime, day or night. What it lacks in gaudy decorations, it makes up for with a constant stream of regulars, occasional live Irish music and billiards on the third floor. Has a decent food menu and even better pizzas.

La Fée Verte

FRENCH-STYLE CONTEMPORARY Hotel de l’Opera, 29 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem Tel: 6282 5555 lafeeverte@hoteldelopera.com Meaning the green fairy — an allusion to the hallucinatory effects of absinthe which was drunk extensively in colonial Vietnam — understated lighting, a laid-back lounge atmosphere, a good music selection and ultra-contemporary interior design make up the mix at this downstairs bar in Hotel de l’Opera. Expect a good selection of creative cocktails and an extensive wine list. Opens late with a DJ taking to the decks on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

ends open from 11am Located on the lakeside road just below Xuan Dieu and close to the entrance to The Sheraton, this quiet, casual pub offers up a variety of beer, wine and mixed drinks, juice, tea, espresso coffee and milkshakes, all with a nice view of West Lake. Non-smoking indoors.

Spy Bar

HOLE IN THE WALL / IRISH 12A Nguyen Huu Huan, Hoan Kiem Tel: 2269 1107 Fronted by the affable Sean, and with Guinness, Jameson’s and a surprising amount of draught beer flowing from the taps, since its inauguration the tiny Spy Bar has managed to create a dedicated following despite its tiny size. With pictures of spies dotting the wall (both Vietnamese and international) and food delivery available from three restaurants, this is a great place to chill and shoot some well-deserved, Chuong Duong Bridge breeze.

Summit Lounge

ROOFTOP LOUNGE BAR 20th Floor, Sofitel Plaza, 1 Thanh Nien, Ba Dinh Tel: 3823 8888 ext. 5314 While there are a few ‘rooftop bars’ in the capital, few hold a candle to the view on offer at the Summit Lounge. With a chilled but lively ambience, top shelf cocktails, and a Southeast Asian fusion bar menu, the Summit Lounge is a great place to pitch yourself above the madness and peer down at the chaos below in peace. Sunsets are particularly special.

Tay Tap

Meet-up spot 100 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: 3718 6917 www.taytap.com Filled with wooden furnishings and a downstairs bar with two beers on tap — as well as wine, cocktails and spirits on the shelves — this newcomer venue has a grill menu catering to the tastes of both East and West. For those in search of a good old-fashioned Sloppy Joe or grilled cheese, you’ll be glad to know the kitchen is stocked to the ceiling with comfort foods.

Late Delivery Service (LSD)

The Spot

Model Club

Tracy’s Pub and Grill

Tel : (04) 6290 7907 www.lsd.vn The only beverage delivery service in Hanoi operating throughout the night (6pm to 4am). This unique delivery service runs every day and offers a wide variety of spirits, beers and other non-alcoholic drinks for you to order from your home. Affordable prices with delivery available within the six main districts of the city. Product origin and quality guaranteed. CATWALK BAR 45 Hang Bai, Hoan Kiem Lasers, pulsating trance, bottle service and nightly model shows. This venue is largely filled with flashy Vietnamese youngsters or older business types flashing their wads. Bottle service is a must, which is a little pricey, so if you ain't got enough money then you probably won't be sticking around to see the honeys.

Polite Pub

LONG BAR 5 Bao Khanh, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 3825 0959 A bit musty and jaded, despite being one of the oldest pubs in the city, this staple watering hole on Bao Khanh continues to be a hit. Probably the closest thing Hanoi has to an authentic English-style pub, Polite is frequented by a steady mix of locals and expats who find solace in the nightly conversations at the long bar, billiards and live football matches.

Red River Tea Room

LAKESIDE WATERING HOLE 25 Duong Ven Tay Ho, Tay Ho Monday to Friday, 2pm to 11.30pm. Week-

LOUNGE BAR / TERRACE 47 Hang Be, Hoan Kiem. Tel: 3935 1874 A stone's throw from Ta Hien, this barcum-lounge-cum-restaurant has all of the atmosphere present in bars scattered throughout the Old Quarter without being a dive. Enjoy a mixed drink, tacos or a Vietnamese staple starter with the occasional live DJ breaking out classic funk, soul and hip hop in the comfortable furnishings or on the back patio. SPORTS BAR/GRILL 40 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho. Tel: 6675 9838 www.tracyspub.com This Canadian-run, miniscule sports bar on the main drag of Xuan Dieu is perpetually crowded with regulars drinking out front on plastic stools. Notorious for its mouth-watering burgers, cooked fresh to order, Tracy’s is most famous for their draft beers, claiming to serve the coldest draft beer in Hanoi, and always in a frosted mug. For those missing their dose of North American sports, they play all day via satellite on two plasmas.

Tunnel Bar

INTERNATIONAL / FRENCH 11B Bao Khanh, Hoan Kiem Tel: 0936 063303 www.tunnel-bar-hanoi.com Slim but stylish two-storey bar located just at the bend on Bao Khanh. The friendly staff can make a range of well-made and colourful cocktails. Frequent DJ nights and parties are commonplace at this watering hole that caters to both foreign and Vietnamese. Does an excellent happy hour with specials on Ricard.


CAFES

*

If there's any industry where Hanoi excels, it's the industry that is all things coffee. Here is our list of some of the best places to drink coffee, tea and everything else non-alcoholic in this city.

Cafes Ciao Café

RESTO LOUNGE 2 Hang Bai, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 3934 1494 A stone’s throw from the shores of Hoan Kiem Lake, this Saigonese franchise tries it’s hand with a variety of different western dishes at reasonable prices, especially considering the location. Loaded with booths and a steady, young Vietnamese crowd, the establishment is a great place to squash a sandwich or bowl of pasta and people watch. Oh, and they also do coffee, too.

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

INTERNATIONAL COFFEE HOUSE 28 Thanh Nien, Tay Ho, Tel: 3715 4240 www.coffeebean.com Finally the newest addition to the Hanoi coffee scene has opened a little closer to town than the first outlet in Pico Mall. Famous for the exceptional quality of the coffee and tea, the latest Coffee Bean is a multilevel, indoor/outdoor café overlooking Westlake. With its LA coffee and office feel, when you walk in you might just forget that you’re in Westlake.

Cong Caphe

LEFTIST ARTSY CAFE 152D Trieu Viet Vuong, Hai Ba Trung 32 Dien Bien Phu, Ba Dinh, Tel: 6686 0344 With a kitsch, communist-driven theme saturating this quaint cafe, most patrons are young Vietnamese bohemians and artsy expats. Sip on a blended cup of joe with beans from the Central Highlands, knock back one of the many different types of tea available or sip on freshly squeezed juice from the Spartan cups in one of the hippest cafes on 'cafe street'. If you like pre-doi moi nostalgia, here is the place to go. And if you like more space and an outdoor terrace, hit Cong Caphe take two on Dien Bien Phu.

Highlands Coffee

CONTEMPORARY / COFFEE CHAIN 6 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 3938 0444 www.highlandscoffee.com.vn As with any chain that attempts selfreplication, there is a tried and tested formula. At Highlands it is comfortable seating, good Wi-Fi, unobtrusive music and a mid-range, generic atmosphere. It works, too. The Starbucks of Vietnam, a French-influenced, international and pan-Asian food menu sits alongside the teas, coffee and cakes. Has other locations at 49 Hai Ba Trung, The Opera House, The Syrena Centre, Pacific Place and more.

Joma

COFFEE/BAKERY 22 Ly Quoc Su, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 3747 33 88 54 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho, Tel: 3718 6071 www.joma.biz With two branches, Joma has brought a little slice of “home” to Hanoi for expatriates with a contemporary western feel to the counter-style service and atmosphere. The food is all there too: breakfasts, salads, soups, ice cream, muffins, cakes,

cereals and bagels. Starting in Laos in 1996, Joma moved to Hanoi in 2010 and is looking to open in Ho Chi Minh City in 2011. Has a play area for kids up in the West Lake café and bakery.

Kinh Do

PATISSERIE / SIMPLE CAFE 252 Hang Bong, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 3825 0216 A must-go-to place on a lazy day, Mr Chi’s long-standing patisserie is somewhat famous for its honest, home-cooked food, no frills-but-relaxing environment and sour yoghurt fit for celebrities — Catherine Deneuve ate here daily during her time shooting Indochine. Hot fresh milk, exclusive coffee, awesome croque madames and local dishes, too. Replace WiFi with a book and aircon with ceiling fans; eat in, take away, the pastries are great and the price is always right.

Moca Cafe

CAFE / INTERNATIONAL 14-16 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 3825 6334 moca@netnam.vn Set in a deliciously attractive slightly run down colonial villa, the tourist friendly location gives Moca a large amount of guidebook-driven clientele. But don't let this put you off. The faded but charmingly run down French-styled retro interior, good WiFi and some of the best coffee in town makes this a great spot to while away a couple of hours. The food menu mixes Vietnamese fare with sandwiches, western and pan-Asian mains.

Paris Deli

CAFÉ / BOULANGERIE 6 Phan Chu Trinh, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 3934 5269 Time has been good to this airy, bistro-style café and patisserie opposite the Opera House. One of the original international-style establishments to hit the capital, despite its prime location prices remain reasonable — espresso-style coffees cost around VND40,000 — and the cakes and croissants are moreish. Also does filled baguettes and a larger café-cum-restaurant menu. Has a second establishment at 13 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem.

Saint Honore

CAFE / BOULANGERIE 5 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: 3933 2355 st.honorehn@gmail.com Decked out in maroon, dark browns and cream, this cafe and French-style boulangerie is best visited in the morning when that Gallic, fresh-cooked aroma of bread, croissants and patisseries hits you as you walk through the door. Serving all day long, the downstairs space is split into the bakery on one side with a small non-smoking dining space on the other. The homely upstairs lounge area has standard tables as well as sofa seating. Simple but tasty French and international fare is served at meal times.

Segafredo

ITALIAN CAFE 36 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: 3719 1476 www.segafredo.com.vn

Want to be in touch with what’s happening in this city? Check us out online at

Names of some of the world's greatest cities cover the front wall of Segafredo, an Italian cafe and eatery serving up some of the best espresso-based coffee in town. Red and white decor, lifestyle black and white coffee drinking images and an open plan space make up the mix. Besides the caffeine-based drinks, also does granita, teas, shakes and modern Italian fare ranging from panini and focaccia through to pizza, pasta, salads and desserts.

TET Decor Café

ART CAFÉ & ESPRESSO BAR Villa 25, 1,3 Ha, Dang Thai Mai, Tay Ho www.tet-lifestyle-collection.com 8am to 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday Cloistered among the back streets of West Lake and sheltered from the noise of Xuan Dieu, TET Décor Café is a destination for those who appreciate life’s pleasures: coffee, food, art and music. Simple and unpretentious, the café has an old-fashioned warmth and rustic feel combined with unique and inspiring art installations.

THE CART

SANDWICH SHOP/CAFÉ 18 Au Trieu, Hoan Kiem (entrance on street behind Au Trieu) 8B, Lane 1, Au Co, Nghi Tam Village, Tay Ho Tel: 3928 7715 www.thecartfood.com Small a cozy café hidden on the quietest of Hanoian streets, with a new outlet on Nghi Tam, which is more like the big-windowed coffee shops you expect to see in Europe. The Cart serves and delivers tasty baguettes, homemade juices, quiches, pies, muffins and cakes. The delivery service is quick and reliable, which makes this lunchtime favourite ideal for when you need to eat at the desk.

The Hanoi Bicycle Collective (THBC)

44, Ngo 31, Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: 3718 8246 www.thbc.vn Tucked down an alleyway just off West Lake, The Hanoi Bicycle Collective is not just a place for all bicycle lovers, but a café that also sells Spanish tapas served up with gin & tonic, if the mood so takes you. Organising bicycle tours, running yoga sessions and holding music concerts in their upstairs cafe area, they also sell, rent and fix bikes and are an official supplier of TREK and SURLY cycling equipment. Eclectic? Not a chance!

The Hanoi Social Club

6 Hoi Vu, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 3938 2117 Situated on one of the quieter Old Quarter streets just off Hang Bong, The Hanoi Social Club is a cozy midsize café/restaurant where you can forget the heat and bustle of Hanoi. The atmosphere is relaxed and you can imagine, for a second, that you’re sitting in a European café. The food is fresh and internationally inspired, and the design is complimented by the work of Tadioto’s Nguyen Qui Duc. To top it off, the coffee here is said to be up there with the best in the country.

wordhanoi.com


[ EAT

]

THE 100 * * TOP RESTAURANTS

Want to know the best places to eat or drink in this city? Here is our pick of the top 100 restaurants

French Green Tangerine

high class customers with quality Vietnamese-French fusion cuisine.

48 Hang Be, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3825 1286 www.greentangerinehanoi. com A leafy, cobblestone courtyard with dark green castiron backed chairs greets you as you walk into this French era-built villa that houses the main section of this Indochina-styled restaurant. Serving up an enticing mix of classic and contemporary French cuisine, blended in with Vietnamese ingredients and cooking styles, the resultant fare has had customers coming back again and again. A traditional Vietnamese and kids menu is also available, as is a wine list focusing mainly on French wines.

Le Beaulieu

La Badiane

CASUAL FRENCH FUSION 59A Nam Ngu, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3941 1959 A well-appointed lounge bar downstairs and a more typical bistro on the first floor, this Vietnamese-run French eatery is known for is extensive wine list and excellent, but well-priced fusion lunches. The work of French-trained sommelier Hai Ha, Le Paul Conti has so far proved quite a hit. A great addition to the capital.

10 Nam Ngu, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3942 4509 labadiane.hanoi@yahoo.fr A white-washed, colonial era villa replete with period wooden shutters greets you as you enter this contemporary French restaurant. Guests can either dine indoors in aircon comfort or take to the leafy covered terrace out back with its walls lined with art and photography from 21st century Hanoi. The menu here mixes modern Gallic cuisine with a touch of Mediterranean and Vietnam thrown in, all creating an innovative and evocative selection of fare. Has an extensive wine list and an excellent, well-priced three-course lunch menu.

La Verticale

19 Ngo Van So, Hai Ba Trung Tel: 3944 6317 www.verticale-hanoi.com Situated in an art-deco villa that was once owned by a Vietnamese mandarin, this establishment is now owned and run by perhaps the most famous French chef in the country. With modestly priced set lunches and subtle Vietnamese touches on the dishes, which primarily come from carefully selected domestic spices, the up market establishment lures in its

Sofitel Metropole Legend, 15 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3826 6919 Classic French Indochine décor and subtle lighting give the Sofitel Metropole Legend’s signature restaurant an elegance rarely found in Vietnam’s capital. The a la carte menu pits classic French cuisine against contemporary Vietnamese cooking with dishes like Nha Trang lobster with saffron pot au feu, the pan fried veal tenderloin on a lemongrass skewer and the calisson parfait marinated with orange, pomelo and lemon balm. Has an extensive wine list.

Le Paul Conti

indian Foodshop 45

INTERNATIONAL INDIAN 59 Truc Bach, Ba Dinh Tel: 3716 2959 32 Hang Buom, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3993 1399 info@foodshop45.com Lakeside location, low bamboo seating and a history that screams empathy make this eatery one of the most popular Indians in town. Selling an international version of the mighty curry — they even sell pork and beef here — the menu keeps to the northern part of the subcontinent with masala, dopiaza, korma and the more Goan vindaloo taking centre stage. Also has a good range of breads and

47 Lo Su, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3935 2400 www.namastehanoi.com The latest newcomer to the Indian restaurants family, Namaste specializes in dishes from both northern and southern India — using Halal meat throughout. A meal will cost you between VND150,000 and VND300,000 and everything is there, from curries and breads to soups and desserts. Available to dine in or out with a free delivery

Service at this “slow food café” is seriously snail paced, but that is part of the charm of this modest eatery with only a few tables and small stools. Popular as a weekend hangover mainstay for the greasy eggs with cheese, the café is best known for its not-quite Mexican food. But hey, when there’s guacamole, salsa fresca, beans and cheese, what can go wrong? Be sure to try the fresh juices, like the super-booster with beetroot, and the coffee with whipped egg.

Spice

Al Fresco’s

tandoor-cooked kebabs.

Namaste Hanoi

CONTEMPORARY INDIAN RESTAURANT First Floor, 80 Ma May, Hoan Kiem Tel : 3926 0580 Located in the upstairs portion of its sister restaurant, Tamarind, Spice is an impressive extension to the Indian food choices in the city, providing quality non-vegetarian dishes and a comfortable seating area. Includes lounge seating and a colourful dining area with thoughtful artwork and photographs along its walls. Spice is a tropical, artistic, cultural, and attractive addition to the Old Quarter’s dining options. Specializes in seafood and classic Indian dishes.

Tandoor

24 Hang Be, Hoan Kiem. Tel: 3824 5359 tandoor@hn.vnn.vn A long-popular, Indianfood enclave specialising in Northern Indian cuisine. Has an indoor and upstairs, white tablecloth aircon area with a more casual dining and bar space out front. Does excellent kebabs served from an authentic tandoor oven as well as the full range of mainly North Indian curries. Also has a branch in Saigon and does excellent set lunches.

international Café 129

MEXICAN/COMFORT FOOD 129 Mai Hac De, Hai Ba Trung. Tel: 3821 5342

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76 | Word June 2013

AUSTRALIAN / INTERNATIONAL 19A Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3938 1155 98 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 3719 5322 www.alfrescogroup.com With a real ‘diner’ kind of feel, Al Fresco’s serves up munchies-busting Aussie inspired food from a number of locations across the city including their original restaurant at 23L Hai Ba Trung. Topping the menu are the jumbo ribs at VND395,000, with generous helpings of pizzas, pastas, burgers, Tex-Mex, soups and salads going for less. The set business lunch is three courses for VND155,000. See the website for delivery numbers and don’t forget to ask for delivery deals. Have an efficient delivery service, but make sure you ask for knives and forks.

Kitchen

INTERNATIONAL CAFE FARE Ngo 40, Nha 7A Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 3719 2679 hungskitchen@gmail.com Despite a two-storey indoor dining space, Kitchen is all about its leafy, terracotta-tiled terrace out front, a great space for eating the decent breakfasts (check out the breakfast burrito), the creatively titled sandwiches and the selection of international salads. Also does a range of Mexican dishes (available after 5pm) and an innovative smattering of healthy, smoothie-style drinks. Has amiable knowyour-name staff and a

wordhanoi.com

good delivery service.

speak English and French.

Koto on Van Mieu

Little Hanoi

La Restaurant

Matchbox

RESTAURANT / CAFÉ / BAR 59 Van Mieu, Dong Da Tel: 3747 0337 www.koto.com.au All profit is invested back into the cause at Koto, which is a school and workplace for disadvantaged students opposite the Temple of Literature. Authentic Asian and European cuisine comes out of a visible and frenetic kitchen and is served over four big floors of restaurant space. It’s cushioned, comfortable and has a rooftop terrace, too. Wrap it yourself nem, bun bo Nam bo, Koto burgers, pastas, fish and chips, chicken Kievs and sandwiches all under one homely roof.

VIETNAMESE / INTERNATIONAL 25 Ly Quoc Su, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3928 8933 The complimentary warm bread with rosemary is reason enough to visit this homely spot featuring hearty lentil and black bean soups, along with a range of international and Vietnamese options like New Zealand beef tenderloin or tofu with chilli and mushrooms. We aren’t quite sure why the Miele Guide nominated it as one of Asia’s finest restaurants as service is lackadaisical and tables could use candles to improve the lackluster ambience, but the immaculately tasty dishes more than make up for any quips.

La Salsa

IBERIAN / MEDITERANEAN 25 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3828 9052 lasalsa@fpt.vn A small but eternally popular Spanish-themed café and bar with an extensive list of reliable cuisine. Tapas are available, as well as full courses such as veal, and duck with currant sauce. Known for its good, European-style coffee and fantastic first-floor terrace area with views over the cathedral. Western staff

VIETNAMESE / INTERNATIONAL 21 – 23 Hang Gai Street, Hoan Kiem Dist Tel: 3828 5333 littlehanoi@orientalstars. com.vn A tourist hotspot and one for locals, too, Little Hanoi near Hoan Kiem Lake has been going sturdy since 1994 — mainly for its central location, range of sandwiches, pastas and Vietnamese cuisine. Baguettes go from VND95,000 and mango salads VND99,000, not to mention the coffee at around VND50,000, wines and fresh fruit juices. With Indochina-inspired art on the walls and jazz in the background, Little Hanoi is a little escape from the chaos of the central lake. INTERNATIONAL / VIETNAMESE 40 Cao Ba Quat, Ba Dinh Tel: 3734 3098 tmbhanoi@gmail.com Located in the grounds of the Fine Arts Museum, this classy restaurant and wine bar mixes attractive décor with western cuisine, all cooked up by a New Zealand-trained Vietnamese chef. Famed for its salads, good cuts of steak, lamb shank and its various pasta fare, the menu here also incorporates a number of well-known Vietnamese dishes.

Provecho

TEX-MEX / BURGERS / INTERNATIONAL 18 Hang Be, Hoan Kiem Tel: 0912 223966 provechohanoi@gmail.com The successor of My Burger My, this American-run, self-styled burger bar and restaurant fits a lot into a tiny, multi-storey space. Specializing in tasty, American-style, chargrilled burgers from around VND50,000 with a range of additional toppings including jalapeno peppers, smoked bacon, mushrooms, cheddar cheese and avocado, the creative menu also has a good range of Tex-Mex


fare, a number of panAsian dishes and a decent delivery service.

Tamarind

CONTEMPORARY VEGETARIAN 80 Ma May, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3926 0580 tamarind_cafe@yahoo.com Perhaps the only restaurant in Hanoi to cater to vegetarians that doesn’t focus on faux meat, Tamarind features a wide range of juices and shakes in a crunchy granola backpacker atmosphere. Breakfast is served all day and with Asian favourites, like vegetarian pho, Ma-Po tofu and Thai glass noodle salad, along with some falafel and western influences, vegetarians and carnivores alike will find something to try on this menu.

The Bistro

French flair 2/2c Van Phuc, Ba Dinh Tel: 3726 4782 www.thebistro.com.vn A modern eatery offering western cuisine with shades of French influence in a comfortable setting. Think gardens in a courtyard, drink and food deals and a warm indoor atmosphere — you know, just how the French do it.

Green Mango

WESTERN / VIETNAMESE 18 Hang Quat, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3928 9916 www.greenmango.vn Sophisticated restaurant set inside an Old Quarter boutique hotel. Formerly a school, and now also on Cat Ba Island, Green Mango serves Vietnamese and western food, ranging from sandwiches and pasta to lamb chops and VND700,000 Angus rib-eyes. Buy-one-get-one-free deals on cocktails and beers every day from 4pm to 6pm and Lavazza coffee at all hours. With comfy seats and a soft setting, the function room at the back often hosts charity events and semi-formal get-togethers.

Jaspa’s

INTERNATIONAL / AUSTRALIAN Hanoi Towers, 49 Hai Ba Trung (4th Floor), Hoan Kiem. Tel: 3934 8325 www.alfrescosgroup.com Recently refurbished, the Australian-influenced Jaspa's is known for its attentive service, tasty food and large portions. A place with something for everyone, it has proved itself to be popular with both the western and Asian expat communities who come back again and again. The comprehen-

sive menu is a fusion of western and Asian cooking. The cocktails come large. The wine is mainly New World. Also has a spacious bar and lounge area that stays open late for all the live sport.

Au Lac do Brazil

6A Cao Ba Quat, Ba Dinh Tel: 3845 5224 www.aulacdobrazil.com A nicely themed Brazilian churrascaria steakhouse offering all you can eat grilled meat and seafood on the skewer, Au Lac do Brazil is not for the feint of stomach. In typical Brazilian rodízio fashion, waiters bring cuts of meat to the table for patrons to pick and choose, all for a set price. They also offer wine pairings, a salad bar and an a la carte menu, with a creative selection of fruit caipirinhas on hand to wash it all down. The prices aren’t for anyone on a budget, but the amount and quality of meat is more than worth cost.

Café Lautrec

MEDITERRANEAN / INTERNATIONAL Hotel de l’Opera, 29 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem Tel: 6282 5555 cafelautrec@hoteldelopera. com Featuring both à-la-carte and buffet dining as well as an innovative Sunday brunch, this namesake of the French artist ToulouseLautrec provides an exotic ambience for diners to enjoy a mixture of international and Mediterraneanstyle fare. Has an extensive wine list to match the cuisine, which is all served up in a contemporary yet colonial-inspired environment.

Don’s Tay Ho

CONTEMPORARY NORTH AMERICAN 16/27 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 3719 3719 www.donviet.vn A bakery, bistro, restaurant, wine retailer, oyster bar and top floor lounge bar all in one, this lakefacing venue is the work of charismatic Canadian restaurateur and wine connoisseur Donald Berger. Focusing on comfort food done well, the main restaurant menu includes anything from wood-grilled rare tuna steak with fragrant Chinese black bean beurre noir to gourmet pizza and pasta dishes such as the likes of Iberian pata negra ham egg pasta served with crushed roasted garlic and manchego. Does an excellent range of imported oysters and has an extensive wine list.

El Gaucho Steakhouse

99 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 3718 6991 www.elgaucho.com.vn This welcomed eatery combines traditional Argentinian recipes and preparation with great service in a contemporary and thoughtfully designed space over three floors. Already with two venues in Saigon — one near the Opera House and the other in Saigon South — the essence of this popular chain is quality top grade meats off the grill. Steak is the mainstay, but everything from chicken, pork and seafood is also up for grabs. Add to this a backdrop of low Latin music, low, subtle lighting and an extensive wine list and that’s another reason to head to El Gaucho.

Halia Hanoi

SINGAPOREAN / CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL Pacific Place, 83B Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3946 0121 www.halia.com.sg A secluded courtyard in the heart of Pacific Place plays host to one of the capital’s best restaurants. A two-floored venue split into a downstairs tapas and bar area,with a refined dining space located on the level above, the menu includes Singaporean specialities such as the shrimp satay salad and the chilli crab spaghetti. A panEuropean classical menu mixed in with light Asian flavours is also on offer, with dishes such as panbraised Alaskan cod with sea winkle crust and the braised pork belly in shoyu and sweet mirin making an appearance. Has an extensive wine list.

Hemispheres steak & seafood grill

Sheraton Hotel, K5 Nghi Tam, 11 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 3719 9000 restaurant.hanoi@sheraton. com www.sheraton.com/hanoi The newest Steak & Seafood dining experience in Hanoi. Hemispheres Steak & Seafood Grill offers a wonderful menu covering both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Choose from Black Angus, US Prime Sirloin, Rib Eye, Rump and Tenderloin grilled to perfection. Prefer Seafood – no problem, Lobster, Oysters, Prawns, Fresh Fish, Clams and Crabs are all available for your dining pleasure, as well as an impressive array of wines by the glass & bottle from our “Wines of the World” selection.

June 2013 Word | 77


* * * TOP 100

Want to know the best places to eat or drink in this city? Here is our pick of the top 100 restaurants in Hanoi. Feel we're missing something or have included the wrong places? Simply email editor@wordhanoi.com

Nineteen 11 Jackson’s Steakhouse

23J Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 3938 8388 www.alfrescogroup.com Then newest venture from the team behind Jaspa’s and Pepperoni’s is an all-day eating and drinking lounge fit for all occasions. It has three floors for different vibes – lounge bar, restaurant and “boardroom” – but fine imported steads can be found on each, as well as seafood and a huge wine list. A popular venue.

May Man Chinese Cuisine

PAN-CHINESE 2nd Level, Fortuna Hotel, 6B Lang Ha, Ba Dinh Tel: 3831 3333 www.fortuna.vn Elegant and luxurious, May Man has long been regarded as one of the best Chinese restaurants in Hanoi. Showcasing a selection of authentic Chinese culinary delights and Yum Cha at its finest, with seven private dining rooms this is a place to get dressed up for. Has extensive a la carte menus, dim sum menus and set menus. Reservations recommended.

Millenium

PAN-FRENCH / INTERNATIONAL 11B Ngo Bao Khanh, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3828 7207 Clean and fresh with a fine-dining vibe, the Millennium restaurant is the minimal and chic result of a Café Des Arts makeover. The street’s new go-to for a high standard of eating and drinking goes over two floors and has a welcome and inviting three-level outdoor terrace high up amid the concrete and cables of the Old Quarter.

Ming Palace

PAN-CHINESE Sofitel Plaza, 1 Thanh Nien, Ba Dinh Tel: 3823 8888 A fine dining destination at the Sofitel Plaza serving Cantonese and pan-Chinese cuisine in a sleek modern setting with private dining rooms. With more than 80 dim sum selections available along with Chinese entrees, Ming’s is an ideal eatery for those hungry for higher end Chinese fare.

78 | Word June 2013

INTERNATIONAL / ASIAN The Opera House, 1 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3933 4801 www.nineteen11.com.vn Named after the completion date of the Opera House under which it is located, walk inside and a labyrinthine-like, bare-brick wall hallway leads you through to the main dining area. With dark browns, deep yellow tablecloths and a refined ambience aided by background classical music, the menu takes in western, panAsian and seafood fare and even has its own section dedicated entirely to foie gras. Has a 100-strong old and new world wine list that includes Bordeaux vintages and also boasts a cheaper, outdoor garden space next to Highlands Coffee.

PRESS CLUB

CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL 3rd Floor, 59A Ly Thai To, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3934 0888 www.hanoi-pressclub.com 11.30am to 2pm and 6pm to 10.30pm. Closed Sunday lunch Wooden flooring, paneling and bold but subtle colours pervade this traditional but contemporary, fine-dining 70-seater venue close to the Opera House. Serving up quality cuisine for over a decade, Press Club boasts a bar area, two private dining rooms, including a wine room, a library and a vast selection of cigars, all in an elegant atmosphere. Does four excellent wine pairing menus, put together through the aid of the Press Club’s extensive new and old world wine list. Also hosts a popular firstFriday-of-the-month party.

italian Da Paolo

CLASSIC ITALIAN 18 Lane 50/59/17 Dang Thai Mai, Tay Ho Tel: 8585 1443 This airy, contemporary looking Italian restaurant next to the famed lawn chair and coconut café on West Lake has all the right ingredients to become a classic. Run by the long time former manager of Luna D’Autunno, it features

scrumptious woodfired oven pizzas from VND120,000 and other Italian delicacies. Open every day for lunch and dinner, delivery is also available.

Luno d’Autunno

CLASSIC ITALIAN 78 Tho Nhuom, Hoan Kiem. Tel: 3823 73338 lunadautunno@gmail.com This old-favourite Italian restaurant has been going for 10 years. It uses traditional wood ovens to prepare some of the city’s finest pizzas, which range from VND60,000 to build-your-own-skies-thelimit. Set inside a large, thoughtful space with over 35 covers and an outside courtyard, seasoned chefs also make fresh pastas, soups and cheeses — the latter often bought by other restaurants. Monthly photo exhibitions and opera nights make it well worth a visit, as does the large wine list and choice of desserts.

Mediterraneo

PAN-ITALIAN 23 Nha To, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3826 6288 leo@mediterraneo-hanoi. com This long-running, cozy restaurant near the cathedral serves all the traditional Italian fare you could need — homemade mozzarella and fresh pasta, spinach and ricotta ravioli, cold cut boards, soups, salads and fish. Throw in an extensive wine list, a traditional wood fire oven and a balcony spot looking over Hanoi’s trendy café scene and you’re onto a winner.

Pane e Vino

Pan-Italian 3 Nguyen Khac Can, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3826 9080 www.panevino.com Just a stroll away from the Hanoi Opera House and Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart of Hanoi, Pane e Vino serves up authentic Italian food and has done for as long as anyone can remember. Renowned for the highly rated, oven fresh pizzas and large variety of pasta and salad dishes — look forward to fine food done well at this eatery that has the feel of Europe. Huge wine lists, friendly staff and a loveable owner.

Angelina

CONTEMPORARY ITALIAN Sofitel Metopole Legend Hotel 15 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3826 6919 There are only two truly top-end, contemporary Italians in Vietnam and Angelina claims pride of place in this elite group. This doesn't mean that prices here are off limits — take a similar eatery in Europe and here you are paying a third, which all makes a meal here a special affair. The carpaccios are to die for, the pastas are all home made, the pizzas are woodfired and the steaks are chargrilled. Does a great three-course set lunch for VND520,000++.

Japanese & Korean Ky Y

JAPANESE RICE EATERY 166 Trieu Viet Vuong, Hai Ba Trung Tel: 3978 1386 Sushi, soba, sake. Buy a big bottle of sake and the staff will put your name on it and keep it until next time. Dine at the downstairs bar or in one of the private rooms with sliding doors for an authentic Japanese experience. Although Ky Y specialises in rice-style working man’s fare, it’s hard to go wrong with anything on the menu, but the Japanese omelets, tempura and saucy eggplant dishes are perennial crowd pleasers.

Singaporean Rasa Singapura

SINGAPORE PERANAKAN CUISINE 63 Truc Bach, Ba Dinh Tel: 3715 2992 www.rasasingapura-hanoi. com By the shores of Truc Bach Lake is the newly opened Singapore Peranakan Restaurant with its authentic, Straits fusion fare emanating from Singapore, Malacca and Penang. Boasting the mouthwatering nasi lemak as its signature dish, all the fare here is home-cooked by the owner / partner who spent five years living and studying

in Singapore. This is tasty, home-cooked, well-priced fare in a pleasant but tranquil setting.

Vietnamese Highway 4

Vietnamese / Ethnic 5 Hang Tre, hoan Kiem Tel: 3926 4200 575 Kim Ma, Ba Dinh Tel: 3771 6372 54 Mai Hac De, Hai Ba Trung Tel: 3796 2647 25 Bat Su, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3926 0639 31 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 3718 6377 Always busy, often hectic, this multi-floored restaurant is for diners who don’t mind loud noises and sitting on the floor. It’s best for groups so you can order an array of dishes ranging from the more exotic frog legs, buffalo and ostrich, to the trusted standbys; catfish spring rolls, papaya salad and fried tofu. But it’s the exclusive Highway 4 flavoured rice wines that can be taken as shots or mixed into cocktails that keep this place crowded.

Old Hanoi

GOURMET VIETNAMESE 4 Ton That Thiep, Hoan Kiem Tel: 1355 9096 Gordon Ramsay once filmed a show at this restaurant in a renovated French villa and now the ribs carry his namesake. But it’s the twist on old world favourites, think fried snail spring rolls and miniature vegetarian banh xeo, in a casually elegant setting that make this spot near the train tracks standout. Be sure to try the roll-your-own cha ca spring rolls and check the schedule for live traditional music.

Pots ‘N Pans

57 Bui Thi Xuan Street, Hai Ba Trung Tel: 3944 0204 www.potsnpans.vn Brought to you by a group of former disadvantaged youth from Hanoi’s own KOTO, this unique fine dining restaurant, bar and lounge blends the old with the new. Vietnamese fusion cuisine, like profiteroles with green tea and café fillings, a private chef’s table with a kitchen view, and an extensive wine list combined with

modern formal styling bring a unique experience to Hanoi.

Satine

29 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem Tel: 6282 5555 ext. 6414 satine@hoteldelopera.com Situated in the heart of Hotel de l’Opera’s 8 storey central atrium, Satine offers a high class dining experience. Signature Vietnamese dishes from around the country will be presented to guests including some of the country’s best kept culinary secrets passed down by generations.

Restobars Daluva

CLASSY FUSION 33 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho Tel: 3718 5831 www.daluva.com A popular hang-out for expats and trendy Vietnamese in the Xuan Dieu area on West Lake. This bar and restaurant offers casual dining with a classy twist, as well as wine, tapas, events and attractive décor. Additional services include catering, BBQ rentals, playroom, kids menu, takeaway and local delivery.

Ete Bar

FRENCH LOUNGE 95 Giang Van Minh, Ba Dinh Tel: 0976 751331 www.etehanoi.com A favourite among those who roam further west of the city centre, this multistorey restobar has been going strong for more than two years. It has balconies, mezzanine seating and a long bar guarding exactly 50 different cocktails. For many the Ete burger is right on the mark as are the sandwiches, tartines and salads. It’s always crowded — especially during the weekends. Amiable staff, pleasant vibes.

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J.A.F.A.

be complete without a large wine list to match.

INTERNATIONAL The Clubhouse, Ciputra Tel: 3758 2400 One of the larger and more comfortable bars in Hanoi, J.A.F.A. is a great place for drinking cocktails by the pool. The beverages are not the cheapest, but this is made up for by service and ambiance. They also have a full menu featuring familiar western dishes such as pizza and cheeseburgers and cater for large parties or dinner functions. Periodic buffets and drink specials are also offered.

imported beer, Tiger draft, a decent international cum Vietnamese food menu, happy hour specials and live sport make up the comfortable mix. The venue also gets involved in the local community through regular events. Has a second Le Pub at Third Floor, 9 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho.

La Petit Tonkinoise

ART DECO / INTERNATIONAL 58A Tran Quoc Toan, Hai Ba Trung Located on the corner of Quang Trung, this large new cafe, restaurant and bar is housed in a restored colonial building. The beautiful courtyard is liberally decorated with plants, fans, blowlight jets of water, and shade is provided by tasteful cream parasols. Inside, a non-smoking, air-conditioned room is the perfect place to escape the heat. Western and Vietnamese fare is on offer, they have a huge range of wine, beer and coffee and they serve excellent fries too.

JACKSONS STEAKHOUSE

23J Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3938 8388 www.Jackson_steakhouse.com This new addition to the city from the Alfresco’s Group is definitely the meatiest yet. In the shape of a four floor, chic restobar — which has a bar lounge on the ground, a restaurant vibe on the second and third, and a “boardroom” on the fourth — Jacksons Steakhouse serves of well presented plates of imported Oz and New Zealand steaks as well as seafood. Of course, the large restaurant wouldn’t

Ola de Tapas

SPANISH 26 Lan Ong, Hoan Kiem Tel: 8585 2563 Nestled just off the main Old Quarter drag, this bar and restaurant daubed in the colours of the Spanish flag is the first genuine Iberian tapas bar in town. Sells a range of fare from paella through to tapas, a selection of tortilla and Spanish mains, and also serves lethal but tasty sangria. Spanish tempanillos and reds make up the enigmatic mix.

Le Pub

BRITISH / INTERNATIONAL 25 Hang Be, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3926 2104 www.lepub.org Dark red walls and even darker brown seating run through the homely and casual Le Pub, one of the few bars in town with a regular stream of clientele. A long list of

Puku

INTERNATIONAL / CAFE 16-18 Tong Duy Tan, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3938 1745 This spacious spot on food street is open around the

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clock, offering Aussie-inspired comfort food along with more eclectic Irish nachos, cottage pies and pan-Asian fare. Upstairs is fit for social gatherings and live music while the nosmoking downstairs space is filled with people working and socialising. Serves as community centre, catering both to ravenous backpackers who’ve just arrived off the night train from Sapa and locals looking to meet up.

R&R Tavern

BAR, CAFÉ AND MUSIC VENUE 256 Nghi Tam, Tay Ho www.rockandrolltavernhanoi.com Come grab a drink at the newly revamped R &R to enjoy a taste of American style brew and their comforting Western dishes. The pub still lives up to its old name, providing an array of drinks, buzzing chatter, and of course, some quality live rock music. Its upstairs area is equipped with a sound system and stage setup for weekly shows and events while the downstairs area houses a classic bar that

gives a finishing touch to the friendly community environment.

Rooftop

SKYLINE LOUNGE 19th Floor, Pacific Place, 83B Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3946 1901 therooftop@vnn.vn If location counts for anything, then here it is spectacular. With a 270-degree view over the whole of the city, the up-on-high theme of the Rooftop is used to its full. The bar is pretty cool, too, with bare brick, sofa-style seating, glass fronted wine displays and a private room out back for more intimate drinking. Also does day-time office lunches, coffee and decent bar food.

Southgate

CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL 28 Tong Duy Tan, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3398 1979 www.southgatehanoi.com An American-run casual yet sophisticated restobar on Food Street with a great outdoor terrace area, a shared indoor bar space, a chef’s table and upstairs seating. Matched by con-

temporary décor, the creative food menu focuses on doing comfort food well, while a decent new and old world wine list and innovative cocktails make up the mix. Popular with the media and artsy set.

TADIOTO LOUNGE BAR AND CAFE

12 Truong Han Sieu, Hai Ba Trung Tel: 6680 9124 www.tadioto.com Alternative and nostalgic restaurant bar with a dim lit conversational ambience. This French-style villa is adorned with old-world architectural styles and hints of engaging contemporary artwork along its walls. Enjoy a glass of wine to complement a variety of succulent light dishes in this combination café, bar, and gallery. Includes lounge seating, two bars, an outdoor patio, and two multi-purpose rooms for small gatherings. Tadioto is an exciting, intimate venue for live music, literary readings, and art showcases.

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Oasis; Red Apron

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Segafredo; Tracy’s; Kitchen

03

Vine Cellar Door

04

Mandarin; India Palace

04

Yuki’s

05

Al Fresco’s; Tay Tap

05

Kitchen Art

06

House of Son Tinh

06

Santal Spa; Bamboo Village

07

Don’s Tay Ho

07

City Zoo; Better Day

08

Da Paolo; Coconut Cafes

08

Collective Concepts

09

La Salsa

09

Binh’s Salon

10

White Cloud

10

L’Atelier

11

Cielo

11

Pure Heaven

12

Bobby Chinn

12

International SOS

13

Le Marrakech

13

Ham Long Mini Market

14

Daluva

14

Module 17

15

Joma

15

George’s Fashion

16

Hanoi Rock City

16

Veggie’s

17

Love Chocolate Cafe

17

Zenith Yoga

18

El Gaucho

June 2013 Word | 79


{Medical Buff} ** Varicella * *

LEISURE Time to release all that pent up energy - it’s not all work and propping up the bar, you know. Here are some ideas for better ways to spend that free time

book shops Bookworm

44 Chau Long, Ba Dinh Tel: 3715 3711 Bookworm has been the cornerstone of Hanoi’s literary scene since 2001. It has been around the block quite a bit and now shares a space with Hanoi Cooking Centre. With over 15,000 new and secondhand fiction and nonfiction titles in stock, the shop also buys used books and offers free travel advice.

Cinemas Cinematheque

C

hicken pox or Varicella is a contagious disease caused by the virus Varicella-Zoster. Anyone who is not immune and has not been vaccinated can get the disease. It exhibits symptoms of fever, body weakness, headache and loss of appetite two days prior to the appearance of blister-like, itchy rashes noted first on the face, trunk and spreading throughout the body, including the inside of the mouth and genitals. The rashes turn into scabs a week later. It is spread through the air by coughing and sneezing and through contact with the fluid in the blister. The infected person is contagious two days before he or she develops the rash and until all the blisters have formed scabs. A susceptible person can develop the disease 10 to 21 days after exposure to the virus.

Prevention and Complications Varicella can be prevented by getting the vaccine. Two doses are recommended for children and adults. Although infection can still occur in vaccinated persons, the results are albeit mild — less blisters or no fever

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— and uncomplicated. Medications provided are basically to relieve symptoms like fever (Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen) and itchiness (calamine lotion, antihistamines). Antiviral medication (Acyclovir, Famciclovir, Valacyclovir) is recommended only for those at risk of serious complications. Severe complications that may occur include dehydration, pneumonia, skin and soft tissue infection, brain infection, sepsis and death. Persons at high-risk of developing complications are those at extreme ages (infants and elderly), pregnant mothers and immunocompromised persons (people with cancer, HIV/AIDS, transplant patients). Seek a consultation with your physician if you have chicken pox and are pregnant, immunocompromised or develop any of the following symptoms: prolonged fever (greater than four days), difficulty breathing, a stiff neck, difficulty waking up, disorientation, frequent vomiting and rashes that become tender, warm, red or oozing with pus. This article was provided by Family Medical Practice, 298 I Kim Ma, Ba Dinh

22A Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3936 2648 Not a movie theater per se, but a private film club that charges a membership fee in return for entrance to a wide selection of movies, new and old. The management has an eclectic taste and shows films from all over the world.

Clubs & Societies American Club

21 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3824 1850 www.americanclubhanoi. com A bit worn around the edges, but the facilities are still useful and the grounds pleasant. They host frequent events that are open to the public. Wide lawn, volleyball and basketball courts may make the place worth a visit.

Cooking Classes Hanoi Cooking Centre

44 Chau Long, Ba Dinh Tel: 3715 0088. www.hanoicookingcentre. com Hanoi Cooking Centre

Word tries to keep its listings as accurate as possible, but we can’t do this without yourself. So, if you see anything which needs updating or revising, please email us on listings@wordhanoi.com

*

is a school, retail outlet and café, where you can find classes on not just Vietnamese cooking, but international cuisine, held in a beautiful setting. They also offer culinary tours.

Hidden Hanoi

137 Nghi Tam, Tay Ho Tel: 0912 254045 www.hiddenhanoi.com.vn A wide range of Vietnamese culinary classes are offered in these well-appointed and clean facilities. The knowledgeable staff will guide you through the secrets of Vietnamese cooking in an open air courtyard.

Highway4 Cooking Class

31 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 3715 0577 The well-known restaurant also offers one-off cooking courses in the kitchens at their Truc Bach location. Don’t worry if you forget some of the tricks, as the class includes a recipe booklet.

KOTO

Lane 52/28, House 9, To Ngoc Van Tel: 3747 0377 www.koto.com.vn This charitable organisation, which helps street kids gain the skills to succeed in the hospitality industry, also offers cooking classes to the public on Tuesdays at their training centre. Learn how to make some of the items on their menu at home. Pick up is also available at their Van Mieu location.

swimming pools Army Hotel

33C Pham Ngu Lao, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3825 2896

Four Seasons

14 Dang Tien Dong, Dong Da Tel: 3537 6250

Hanoi Club

76 Yen Phu, Tay Ho Tel: 3823 8115 www.hanoi-club.com

Horison Fitness Center 40 Cat Linh, Ba Dinh Tel: 3733 0808

Melia Hotel

44B Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3934 3343

Olympia

4 Tran Hung Dao, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3933 1049

Sao Mai

10 Dang Thai Mai, Tay Ho Tel: 3718 3161

Sofitel Plaza Fitness Center 1 Thanh Nien, Tay Ho Tel: 3823 8888

Than Nhan

Vo Thi Sau, Hai Ba Trung, (Inside the park)

Thang Loi Hotel 200 Yen Phu, Tay Ho

Cycling The Hanoi Bicycle Collective (THBC)

44, Ngo 31, Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 3718 8246 www.thbc.vn Tucked down an alleyway just off West Lake, The Hanoi Bicycle Collective is a place for all bicycle lovers! An official supplier of TREK and SURLY cycling equipment, the joint not only sells but also rents and fixes bicycles. To add to the eclectic, community spirit they also organise bicycle tours, run yoga sessions, hold music concerts in their upstairs cafe area and run a great menu of

Spanish tapas served up, if you so wish, with gin & tonic. Quite a mix!

Fitness Elite Fitness

51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 3718 6281 www.elitefitness.com.vn The luxury gym features top-of-the-line fitness equipment, separate cardio and spinning areas and an


{ book Buff }

indoor swimming pool with a retractable roof. The spacious studios and natural light make it a welcoming place to squeeze in a work out, but be prepared to pay. This place is top of the range.

** Books of the Month * *

Vietclimb

So 40 Ngo 76 An Duong, Tay Ho Tel: 5321 9235 www.vietclimb.vn Although a little hard to find, VietClimb is a French-owned, 200-meter climbing gym with stateof-the-art courses. There are 100 different climbing routes within the gym that are changed every few months. They offer clinics, classes and children’s events. Membership and group rates are available, but be sure to check out the three-month pass.

Bookworm’s Trung recommends some Vietnam-flavoured reading to give you a kickstart to the summer

Hairdressers & Salons Dinh Hair Salon

2A Cua Bac, Ba Dinh Tel: 09877 18899 A small but popular hair salon that serves both expats and locals. The many repeat customers go back because of Dinh’s willingness to both follow instructions, or to be creative when asked. Services include scalp massage, shampooing, colouring and styling.

TA Salon

Hanoi Club, 76 Yen Phu, Tay Ho Tel: 3716 1754 / 3758 2940 (Ciputra). Hotline: 0912 267613 Multi-functional hair and body salon with a range of treatments running from haircut, highlights, shampoo, straightening and perm to hot stone foot and body massages, a range of facials, waxing, bikini lines and body scrub. With a first salon in Ciputra, TA number two is at the Hanoi club. Popular with both western and Asian expats as well as A-class Vietnamese.

Yoga & Meditation Zenith Yoga

Floor 3, 111 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 0904 356561 A premier studio offering some of the best yoga, pilates and tai chi in town. Kids’ yoga, prenatal yoga and meditation are also available. Professional instruction along with a peaceful atmosphere creates one of the most zen places in Hanoi. Drop in classes are available for VND200,000 and a month unlimited class pass costs VND1.8 million.

M

ay was a month when Vietnamese-flavoured books came to the fore. Ones to watch for in the future are ex-expat Elizabeth’s McLean’s prize winning collection of historical short stories, Imagining Vietnam, that features women as protagonists and the multi-prize winning Kill Anything That Moves, a non-fiction expose by Nick Turse, which is not about recent environmental concerns but about the suppressed massacres that were pre and post My Lai. An autobiography by Nguyen Thi Binh, Family, Friends, and Country, is the most exciting publication for Vietnam buffs. It is translated by Lady Borton and, to paraphrase from her introduction, Nguyen Thi Binh broke stereotypes. She captivated the world. During the American War, US leaders had led westerners to believe the Viet Cong were barefoot, filthy barbarians. Then on Nov. 4, 1968, there appeared on the world stage at the Paris Conference on Vietnam the Viet Cong’s official representative — a petite, demure woman of startlingly direct beauty in an ao dai. She spoke quietly, calmly, forcefully. The world listened. The story follows the life of the author from her birth in Quang Nam Province in 1927, through her activist years during the French re-occupation of the country after World War II and the following American invasion. She was imprisoned and tortured for three

years, but her spirit was not broken and her intelligence so impressed Ho Chi Minh that he chose her to represent Vietnam in Paris. An excellent read with scholarly footnotes that make easy understanding of this volatile time in Vietnam’s recent history.

For the Kids Perhaps the most famous Vietnamese children’s story is Diary of a Cricket by To Hai that was first printed in Hanoi in 1941. Ask any of your Vietnamese friends about it and most will wax lyrical. It’s the story of a cricket who has many adventures as he travels with assorted friends, in nine chapters and 150 pages, through an animal world that is full of hazards and happinesses, war and peace. The recent English translation of the classic is excellent and very readable aloud, but it’s the illustrations that make it a perfect treasure. Anyone who is familiar with the outstanding watercolor illustrations of Ta Huy Long will demand a copy immediately. A couple of years ago he had an immensely popular exhibition of his work at L’Espace, and the double-page pictures in this book echo that brilliance. It’s one of those books that both connoisseurs and children will adore, and at VND120,000 a copy it’s a steal.

Keepsakes With summer holidays on the horizon, it’s a good time to look

at books that people leaving the country for good want to take as a keepsake. David Caleb was a teacher in Hanoi and, like a lot of us became infatuated with the orange robes worn by Buddhist monks and novices in many Southeast Asian areas. David is a far better photographer than most of us. With a flair for design and a creative vision, he put together a non-text photograph book called Black and White and Orange which has been a constant seller over the past three years. There are 52 single and doublepage prints mainly from locations in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, with a couple of digressions into China and India. Some are almost identical to ones I took on various bicycle trips, but mine somehow just haven’t got that special Caleb touch that makes you ooh and ahh as you turn the pages. If you’re one of those people who thought that a line of orange emerging from the early morning mist in Luang Prabang was one of the most thrilling sights you’ve ever seen, then you’ll really immerse yourself in this book. For more information on Bookworm go to bookwormhanoi.com. Besides their original store on Chau Long, Bookworm have a second, smaller shop in Nghi Tam Village in the West Lake area. Located behind the Sheraton and in the same alley as VilaTom Coffee, it can be found at Lane 1/28 Au Co, Lang Nghi Tam, Tay Ho

June 2013 Word | 81


{ CINEMA Buff } ** THE YEAR IN FILM * *

Man of Steel (3D) Director: Zack Snyder Stars: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

Hushpuppy, an intrepid six-year-old girl, lives with her father, Wink, in the Bathtub, a southern Delta community at the edge of the world. Wink’s tough love prepares her for the unraveling of the universe; for a time when he’s no longer there to protect her. When Wink contracts a mysterious illness, nature flies out of whack, temperatures rise, and the ice caps melt, unleashing an army of prehistoric creatures called aurochs. With the waters rising, the aurochs coming, and Wink’s health fading, Hushpuppy goes in search of her lost mother.

Hits the screens on Jun. 14 at MegaStar cinema complexes

The Great Gatsby (3D) Director: Baz Luhrmann Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joel Edgerton, Tobey Maguire Genre: Drama, Romance

Fifth European-Vietnamese Documentary Film Festival The European-Vietnamese Documentary Film Festival will continue its fifth year with the programme focusing on Belgian films, as well as films from seven further European countries and Vietnam. The festival presents a great variety of topics: the German film The Goalgetter’s Ship examines the connection of a former professional football player to a child labour scandal in West Africa, two documentaries from France and Belgium deal with the reprocessing of war, with Palme and Jean-Jacques Rousseau – Tout Dire. Sweden and Switzerland contribute with films about two outstanding personalities from their countries. Besides the directors of most of the Vietnamese documentary films, Jasna Krajinovic (Belgium), Patrick Chauvel (France) and Heidi Specogna (Germany) will come to Hanoi to present their work.

Hits the screens on Jun. 14 at MegaStar cinema complexes in Vincom Tower (191 Ba Trieu, Hai Ba Trung), and Mipec Tower(229 Tay Son, Dong Da)

Beasts of the Southern Wild Director: Benh Zeitlin Stars: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly Genre: Drama, Fantasy

An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Long Island-set novel, The Great Gatsby, features the would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz, bootleg kings, and sky-rocketing stocks. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and is soon drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. He will also soon see through the cracks of Gatsby’s nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness and tragedy await. Shows from Jun. 7 at Lotte Landmark Cinema (Keangnam Towers, My Dinh) and from Jun. 28 at MegaStar

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The films will be screened from Jun. 5 to Jun. 14 at the National Studio for Documentary and Scientific Film, 465 Hoang Hoa Tham, Hanoi. For more info, contact the Goethe Institute at www.goethe.de/ins/vn/han


FASHION Looking good and dressing even better is big in this image-conscious metropolis. So, here are some of the fashion options available to you in Hanoi

Do you think you should be listed on these pages? If so, simply email us on listings@wordhanoi.com and we’ll see what we can do. We can’t promise but we’ll try our best

Supermarkets Big C Supermarket

222 Tran Duy Hung, Cau Giay

Citimart Hanoi Towers

49 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem

Citimart Vincom Towers

191 Ba Trieu, Hai Ba Trung

Fivimart

210 Tran Quang Khai, Hoan Kiem 10 Tran Vu, Ba Dinh 671 Hoàng Hoa Tham, Ba Dinh 71 Nguyen Chi Thanh, Dong Da 51 Xuân Dieu, Tay Ho 93 Lo Duc, Hai Ba Trung Online shopping: www. fivimart.com.vn

Hanoi Star Supermarket 36 Cat Linh, Dong Da

Intimex

22 & 23 Le Thai To, Hoan Kiem 131-135 Hao Nam, Dong Da 17 Lac Trung, Hai Ba Trung 27 Huynh Thuc Khang, Dong Da

Metro

126 Tam Trinh, Yen So, Hoang Mai Pham Van Dong, Co Nhue, Tu Liem

Accessories & Footwear Boo Skateshop

84 Hang Dieu, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3923 1147 This skateshop offers a variety of clothes, shoes and skateboarding equipment. Most of the T-shirts are made and designed in Vietnam, while the shoes and other equipment are made for export, often rejected due to minor defects. Staff is knowledgeable about Hanoi’s best skateboarding spots.

Three Trees

15 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3928 8725 The jewellery on offer, designed by a Belgian expat, often features chunkier gold shapes with small, well-placed diamonds. Hidden in the back of the store there is also a display case featuring less-expensive costume jewelry.

Clothing Contraband

23 Nha Chung, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3928 9891 Launched in Hanoi in 2007, Contraband targets young hip working women. Garments are made from versatile fabrics that are comfortable to wear and easy to look after – making them ideal for work and travel. New styles are introduced each month with limited production runs, offering a sense of exclusivity.

Metiseko

40-42 Luong Ngoc Quyen, Hoan Kiem www.metiseko.com A lifestyle brand that started out life in Hoi An, Metiseko’s move to the capital will see them bring us their creative, poetic prints designed for an eco-chic lifestyle. The products — clothing, accessories and furniture — are made from natural silk and organic cotton certified to global organic standards. Metiseko is also certified by the fair-trade, Textile Exchange.

Song

5 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 3828 6965 This boutique, whose name comes from the Vietnamese word for “life”, stocks high-end linen and silk clothes in a serene store awash with the fresh scent of mint. Located just across the street from the cathedral, prices are on par with its higher-end neighbours.

Tan My Design

61 Hang Gai, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 3938 1154 800sqm of elegant, modern space that offers one-ofa-kind pieces to add to your home furnishings or wardrobe. Located across the street from the other Tan My, one of the oldest silk and embroidery stores in Hanoi.

Things of Substance

5 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3828 6965 This shop’s motto “Western sizes, Vietnamese prices”, says it all. While mostly retailing women’s separates in soft cotton jersey and linen, the store also carries a range of accessories like embroidered canvas totes and printed tees. Has a good selection of unique men’s shirts.

Sole 21

21 Nha Chung, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3938 1968 A distinctly designed boutique around the corner from the cathedral, bringing the latest from European and American Designers. Think Jimmy Choo, Kate Spade and Top Shop. Mark-up seems high on some pieces, but all designers are authentic. No fakes here.

Do you think you should be listed on these pages? If so, simply email us on listings@wordhanoi.com and we’ll see what we can do. We can’t promise but we’ll try our best

{ the Alchemist} ** The Great Mother: Observances * *

This month, Karen Gay, holistic health practitioner, talks about the celebration of Mother Earth

M

any countries around the world will be celebrating Father’s Day this month. Last month they celebrated Mother’s Day. As I paused to reflect on the celebrations for which we set aside one day a year to recognize people or events to whom we’d like to pay tribute, my ponderings led me to thoughts of celebrations of our earthly Mother. I was saddened to realise that I had somehow let the previous month’s Earth Day festivities slip past me. Considering myself an environmentalist, I wondered how I could have missed such an important date. I checked in with friends, they hadn’t heard of any events in Hanoi. I checked the usual expat resources and found nothing. I did however manage to discover that events and activities were promoted within the Vietnamese community, so I felt some sense of relief. But how had the international community in Hanoi celebrated Mother Earth? I stumbled upon Earth Hour, held in March, and the organisers’ ambitious campaign to inspire people around the world to protect the planet. As I dug further, I learned that there is more than one Earth Day and this comforted me a little. After all, the Great Mother or Mother Gaia as she is also known in spiritual circles, is surely worthy of more than one day of recognition. For all she does for us, we certainly owe her a great deal more respect than we

as a human collective currently offer.

Mother of All It can be easy to take those closest to us for granted. Assuming they will always be there when we need them, we sometimes forget to express our appreciation. Like our individual mothers, Mother Gaia nurtures and provides for us, she is the ‘Universal Life-Giver’. Revered by all indigenous cultures, Gaia is seen as the Mother of all life that exists upon and within her. She symbolically represents compassion, support, abundance, generosity, and fertility.

Gratitude When we spend time in nature we are able to connect and commune with the majestic life force of Gaia. In this communion we pay tribute to the Great Mother and are able to reunite with the integral part of our own primal nature. It is an opportunity to connect with our divine source. Holistic counsellor, Roslyne Sophia Breillat states, “Each day lived without gratitude to the Earth Spirit is a day lived without the purity of sacredness.” I suggest we take every opportunity we can to pause and appreciate Mother Nature, honour and respect her not only once or twice a year, but every moment we can. Wouldn’t all mothers delight in that?

June 2013 Word | 83


HOME

From catering services through to the growing number of bakeries - and we’re not just talking banh my. Here are places to stock up on wine, liquor, imported cheeses and freshly baked bread

Do you think you should be listed on these pages? If so, simply email us on listings@wordhanoi.com and we’ll see what we can do. We can’t promise but we’ll try our best

Bakeries Kinh Do

252 Hang Bong, Hoan Kiem One of the oldest and most well-established bakeries in the city, maybe best known as Catherine Deneuve’s former haunt, Kinh Do has been around much longer than any expat. But their breads, pastries and quiches keep foreigners and Vietnamese coming back. Extensive Western and Vietnamese menu as well.

Paris Deli

6 Phan Chu Trinh, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 3928 6697 With two locations, one by the Opera House and the other by St. Joseph’s Cathedral, the Paris Deli makes a good job of their breads, tarts and pastries. Both are sit-down restaurants, but are happy to sell you their baked goods over the counter, to go.

Crafts Mekong Quilts

58 Hang Trong, Hoan Kiem; 9 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 0473063682 Community development non-profit quilt shop featuring handmade quilts and accessories. Styles vary from traditional to patterned and Asian-inspired. Founded in 2001 and with outposts in several locations around the region, the shop employs women in rural areas, enabling them to make an income and care for their families.

Furniture La Casa

Syrena Tower, 51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: 3718 4084 www.lacasavietnam.com.vn A shop whose speciality is designing furniture and other household objects, this spot has everything from beds and bookshelves, to tableware and silverware. The items are all locally made by skilled artisans from Hanoi and the surrounding regions.

Metiseko

40-42 Luong Ngoc Quyen, Hoan Kiem www.metiseko.com A lifestyle brand that started out life in

Hoi An, Metiseko’s move to the capital will see them bring us their creative, poetic prints designed for an eco-chic lifestyle. The products — clothing, accessories and furniture — are made from natural silk and organic cotton certified to global organic standards. Metiseko is also certified by the fair-trade, Textile Exchange.

Groceries Naturally Vietnam

So 4, Ngo 67, Ngach 67/12 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho www.naturallyvietnam.com Owned by ASVELIS, Naturally Vietnam is the first and only food shop in Hanoi offering free-range poultry products with a sanitary quality in compliance with Vietnamese norms and close to the international standards of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CODEX). Also has a wide range of organic, safe vegetables, and many other traceable food products made in Vietnam.

Punto Italia

62 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho Tel: 6258 3510 www.puntoitalia.asia Punto Italia is an authentic Italian supplier importing the finest espresso coffee as well as Italian coffee machines for professional, home and office use. Real Italian granita, ice-cream and much more is now available in Vietnam with the support of a professional and friendly service.

The Oasis

24 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 3719 1196 A great place to get all kinds of imported groceries and home-made foods. All of the breads and pastas are made in the in-house kitchen. A great variety of fresh sauces, a limited, but well-chosen selection of wines and a fantastic deli and cheese case. Free delivery.

Kitchen Products Kitchen Art

38/27 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: 6680 2770 www.kitchenart.vn Kitchen Art is a little haven for all foodies, cooks and bakers to grow their love and passion for cooking and baking. Come to Kitchen Art Store to buy restaurant-grade tools and ingredients to cook like a chef, take part in regular demonstrations and workshops at the Studio, or simply read and relax at the cookbook cafe corner while enjoying the peaceful West Lake view.

Punto Italia

62 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho, Tel: 6258 3510 info@puntoitalia.asia www.puntoitalia.asia Trendy, reliable and stylish coffee machines for the workplace or home, specialising in authentic Italian coffee. Also sells their own brand coffee in capsules, ready ground or as the original roasted mix of beans.

Want to be in touch with what’s happening in this city? Check us out online at

84 | Word June 2013

Liquor & Wine

Electronics

Bacchus Corner

1C Tong Dan, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3935 1393 Part of the Tan Khoa chain, the largest liquor and wine distributor in the country, the walls here are lined with a decent selection of wines, pleasantly arrayed and back lit. Besides their selection of new and old world wines Helpful staff and free delivery.

Cameras

Da Loc

Alpha Laptop

96 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem; 94 Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3934 1325 This wine importer and distributor has over 250 different types of wine in its portfolio and is doing its part to bring a culture of fine wine to Hanoi. The main office and showroom is on Hai Ba Trung and an upscale outlet is located within the grounds of the Mercure Hanoi hotel on Ly Thoung Kiet.

Hanoi Gourmet

1B Ham Long, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3943 1009 Not just a wine shop, the long-running Hanoi Gourmet specialises in imported cheeses, meats and artisan breads. After browsing the mainly French selection of wines, you can take a look at the deli and sit down for a light snack.

Pane E Vino Wine Shop

3 Nguyen Khac Can, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3826 9080 This Italian favourite with a huge food menu also has a huge for-retail wine list that is 100 percent focused on fine wines and liquors from Italy. Owner Hoang has great knowledge of Italian wine and a passion to match, which is sure to land you with the best wine for any occasion.

THE WAREHOUSE

59 Hang Trong, Hoan Kiem Tel: 0439 287666 www.warehouse-asia.com The Warehouse is Vietnam's ultimate premium wine importer, distributor, and retailer, representing many of the greatest wines from the best wine-growing regions on the planet. The portfolio mixes the best of both old and new world wines.

Pets ASVELIS Veterinary Hospital

So 4, Ngo 67, Ngach 67/12 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho Tel: 3718 5475 www.asvelis.com Founded by a French-Vietnamese couple who love taking care of companion animals, the ASVELIS Veterinary Hospital has developed from a small clinic into a hospital. In addition to dental care and basic laboratory test equipment, the pet hospital also offers boarding services, which are located in a pet-friendly environment in Soc Son, 10 minutes from Noi Bai airport.

wordhanoi.com

A Dong Photo Co 128 Hang Trong, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3826 0732 This camera shop retails a wide range of cameras, including both analogue and DSLR models, as well as film and accessories like flashes and lenses. 95D Ly Nam De, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3747 4418 This laptop retail and repair shop also carries camera accessories and cases.

Fuong May Anh

5 Trang Thi, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3213 1568 This small store has a wide selection of Viet Nam-produced Pentax cameras. Also has a selection of imported lenses.

Nguyen Cau

1 Ba Trieu, Hoan Kiem This camera shop overlooking the lake develops both digital and film prints. Services include photo mounting and passport photos.

Computers and Electronics DK Computer 29 Ngoc Kha, Ba Dinh Tel: 3772 4772 This large electronics retailer deals in computers, printers, as well as external storage devices.

Hi-Tech USA

23 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3938 6261 A small, but good all-around electronics store, selling all kinds of electronics. Speakers, I-Pods, headphones, cables and phone accessories. Many name-brands.

Pico Plaza

35 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem This is a super-sized electronics shop with each floor devoted to a specific kind of electronics. You’ll be able to find pretty much anything you’re looking for here, from a phone to a computer to a washing machine.

Professional Computer Care and IT Services

No 3, Alley 8, Hoa Lu, Hai Ba Trung Tel: 0983 011081 This service company can help with a just about any computer-related task. Computer repairs, set up, Wi-Fi, design, networking and development. On-site and off-site service, and free quotes.

Vietsad

34B Ly Nam De, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3747 8771 Located on bustling “computer street”, this shop offers a range of computer accessories including keyboards and USB drives. They also do computer and laptop repair.


MEDICAL From counselling through to that once-a-year medical check, here are some the medical options available in town

Counselling International SOS Vietnam, Ltd.

51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 3934 0666 www.internationalsos.com In addition to emergency healthcare, the clinic also offers consultations by in-house specialists, full counselling and psychotherapy services. Call to make an appointment.

Family Medical Practice

Van Phuc Compound, 298 I Kim Ma Road, Ba Dinh Tel: 3843 0748 (24 hours) www.vietnammedicalpractice.com Family Medical Practice provides psychotherapy and nutrition counselling services by in-house specialists. For more information or to book an appointment, please call the clinic.

Dental International SOS

1 Dang Thai Mai, Tay Ho Tel: 3934 0666 24-hour emergency service with pricey, but international quality emergency and routine dental services. If your wisdom tooth needs pulling in the middle of the night, or you break a tooth, there are competent doctors and fast service.

Westcoast International Dental Clinic

2nd Fl, Syrena Center, 51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho District, Hanoi Tel: 3710 0555 www.westcoastinternational The Westcoast International Dental Clinic is composed of dental professionals who deliver modern, high-level dental services throughout Vietnam. The clinic provides the highest quality technology, comfort and after-service care to patients.

Medical Family Medical Practice

298 I Kim Ma, Ba Dinh Tel: 3843 0748 www.vietnammedicalpractice.com On the little street directly below Kim Ma, with all sorts of specialists including OB/GYN, Pediatricians and ENT. A Medium-sized practice with both Vietnamese and international doctors, but they are used to treating expats. Also a 24-hour emergency service.

French Hospital

1 Phuong Mai, Dong Da Tel: 3577 1100 The first international hospital created in Hanoi, and still viewed by some as the gold standard for

medical treatment. Offering everything from standard medical and preventative care to surgical procedures. Full-service hospital that has both doctors and staff speaking good French and English.

International SOS 24-hour Clinic

1 Dang Thai Mai, Tay Ho Tel: 3934 0666 Well-known medical clinic also known for its quality emergency services. Doctors and consultants also provide a range of services from standard GP-style check-ups through to vaccinations, paediatrics and specialist care.

Vets ASVELIS Veterinary Hospital

So 4, Ngo 67, Ngach 67/12 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho Tel: 3718 5475 www.asvelis.com Founded by a French-Vietnamese couple who love taking care of companion animals, the ASVELIS Veterinary Hospital has developed from a small clinic into a hospital. In addition to dental care and basic laboratory test equipment, the pet hospital also offers boarding services, which are located in a pet-friendly environment in Soc Son, 10 minutes from Noi Bai airport.

{ the Therapist } ** Troublesome Teenagers * *

Douglas Holwerda, American trained and licensed mental health counsellor, answers your questions and offers advice Dear Douglas, When I have a few minutes of free time I often go online and read the news. It seems important that I stay informed about the political and economic changes that affect our world, but it often informs me about problems that exist and the thousands of people who may be suffering from one horrific tragedy or another. Mass murders, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, abuses of power, global warming; all the gloom is affecting my outlook on life. Is the world a depressing place? I feel myself getting more cynical, pessimistic and depressed. Is it only me? — Gloomy Glen Dear GG, You are asking good questions. You are recognising that your mood is influencing your outlook on life, and wondering if there is a connection between your low mood and the suffering and dysfunction that is so prevalent in the news. It is a good time to recognise what is happening and to think about how you might avoid being too negatively impacted by the harsh realities of life. Some people choose to avoid looking at the news, or limit the amount of time they spend hearing about what is bad in the world. Certainly, that is an option. It might also be helpful to consider how that bad news is balanced or integrated with the brighter side of life. The key here is monitoring and managing your moods. Sometimes we have to ask ourselves what it is that makes us happy, gives us pleasure, makes us feel alive, involved, able to see beauty and enjoy humour. Depression is when the painful feelings

that come naturally from the experiences of life dominate our inner landscape and crowd out the positive feelings of joy and pleasure. It can sometimes be a downward cycle and through the lens of our depression we mostly see the experiences that reinforce our feelings. It sounds like that may be happening to you. Depressed people tend to give up the things that have given them pleasure. Let me take it a step further. There is a huge tendency in almost every culture to trade the enjoyment of living for the roles and responsibilities that come with adulthood. The demands of our workplace and the role of parenthood can often dominate the time and energy we have for living. It is a recipe for depression and/or midlife crisis. It is also a set up for compensatory behaviour, an escape into coping strategies that offer quick fixes to boredom and low moods; drinking, drugs, shopping… you know, those things that make you feel good tonight but lousy in the morning. I believe we have to rediscover the concept of PLAY, not just for kids but for adults too. Dr. Stuart Brown, a researcher and the founder of the National Institute for Play, says, “Play helps us deal with difficulties, provides a sense of expansiveness, promotes mastery of our craft, and is an essential part of the creative process.” So, Gloomy Glen. Before the world gets you down, rediscover how to play! — Douglas Do you have a question you would like Douglas’s help with? You can email him at douglasholwerda@ hotmail.com Personal details will not be printed

June 2013 Word | 85



TRAVEL

People travel thousands of miles to get a whiff of exotic Vietnam. From travel agencies though to resorts, here are a few suggestions on where to stay and how to get there in and around Vietnam

halong & cat ba Bhaya Cruises, Halong Bay

BIKE RENTALS

47 Phan Chu Trinh Street, Hoan Kiem Tel: 04 3944 6777 (Sales Office) www.bhayacruises.com Bhaya combines oriental style with contemporary luxury, offering tours of beautiful Halong Bay aboard reproduction wooden junks. Two or threenight tours are available and customers have a wide range of cabin styles to choose from: standard, deluxe or royal.

Emeraude Classic Cruises

Mr Cao Motorbike Rental 106 Hang Bac, Hoan Kiem Tel: 0912 094464

Phung Motorbike Rental & Sales

4 Luong Ngoc Quyen, Hoan Kiem Tel: 0904 253491 phungmoto@ovi.com Well-maintained motorbikes for hire at reasonable rates, plus servicing and repairs for modern and vintage bikes.

Quan’s Motorbike & Bicycle Rentals 70 Hang Bac, Hoan Kiem Tel: 0904 244941 Standard rental shop doing hire by the day and by the month.

Vietnam Motorcycle Adventures

36 Nguyen Huu Huan, Hoan Kiem (down alley in between No. 34 & No. 36) Tel: 3904 5049 Bespoke motorbike tours, rental of automatic and manual bikes plus repairs.

VIP Bike Rentals

64, Alley 71 Tan Ap, Tay Ho (off Tan Ap Street, close to Sofitel Plaza) Tel: 0914 931390 Bike rentals and repairs. Good reputation. Formerly part of the Blue Dragon Foundation.

Tel: 04 3934 0888 www.emeraude-cruises.com This reproduction of a 19thcentury paddle steamer trawls around Halong Bay in colonial style, with onboard overnight accommodation in impeccably maintained cabins. The great food and service adds to the already beautiful setting. They also offer transfers directly from Hanoi.

hanoi – international Crowne Plaza West Hanoi

Lot X7, Le Duc Tho, My Dinh, Tu Liem, Tel: 6270 6688 www.crowneplaza.com My Dinh’s first five-star property. This 24-storey mixed-use complex lies next to My Dinh National Stadium and close to the National Convention Centre. Boasting 393 guest rooms (including 40 suites), two swimming pools and a spa and fitness centre, Crowne Plaza also has some of the best meetings and conference facilities in town.

Daewoo Hotel

360 Kim Ma, Ba Dinh Tel: 3831 5555 www.hanoi-daewoohotel.com This enormous structure offers the most modern of amenities, and with four restaurants and two bars, the events staff is well equipped to handle any occasion. Close to the National Convention Center, and a favourite of the business traveller, Daewoo even boasts an outdoor driving range. Shortly to become a Marriot property.

Fortuna Hotel Hanoi

6B Lang Ha, Ba Dinh Tel: 3831 3333 www.fortuna.vn This 350-room four-star set up in the heart of Hanoi’s financial district has a variety of rooms on offer, a “capital lounge” and three restaurants that serve Japanese, Chinese and international cuisine. And

like you’d expect, there’s a fitness centre, night club and swimming pool, too, and even a separate spa and treatment facility for men and women. Set to the west of town, Fortuna often offers business deals on rooms and spaces to hold meetings, presentations and celebrations.

Golden Silk Boutique Hotel

109-111 Hang Gai, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, Tel: 3928 6969 www.goldensilkhotel.com With 55 rooms and suites, the four-star Golden Silk Boutique Hotel, which is located in the centre of the Old Quarter, is the only hotel offering a complimentary (free!) and daily replenished minibar and snacks service in every room. Facilities include a spa with Jacuzzi, sauna and steam rooms, a comprehensive range of business amenities, the Orient restaurant, serving international and Vietnamese fare, and the Rendezvous Piano Bar with wines and cocktails.

Hanoi Hilton

1 Le Thanh Tong, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3933 0500 www.hilton.com Located next to the Opera House, this five-star is not to be confused with the famed “Hanoi Hilton” that housed American POWs. Reproduction colonial architecture is matched by an elegant and spacious inside area. Has all the standard facilities of a top-end hotel as well as an attractive, courtyard pool area.

Hotel de l’Opera

29 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem Tel: 6282 5555 contact@hoteldelopera.com Resting just a step away from the Opera House, the hotel mixes colonial architectural accents and theatrical interior design to create a contemporary space. The first boutique five star in the heart of Hanoi, the lavish, uniquely designed 107 rooms and suites contain all the mod cons and are complimented by two restaurants, a bar and complimentary Wi-Fi.

InterContinental Hanoi Westlake

1A Nghi Tam, Tay Ho Tel: 6270 8888 www.hanoi.intercontinental.com This stunning property built over West Lake falls in between a hotel and a resort. Beautiful views, great balcony areas, comfortable, top-end accommodation and all the mod-cons make up the mix here together with the resort’s three in-house restaurants and the Sunset Bar, a watering hole located on a thoroughfare

over the lake. Great gym and health club.

Melia Hanoi

44B Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3934 3343 www.meliahanoi.com Excellently located in central Hanoi, Melia Hanoi draws plenty of business travellers and is also a popular venue for conferences and wedding receptions. State-of-the-art rooms, elegant restaurants, stylish bars, fully equipped fitness centre with sophisticated service always make in-house guests satisfied.

Mercure Hanoi La Gare 94 Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3944 7766 When your train arrives from Sapa at 5am, you will be overjoyed if your bed is just across the street from the station in one of the 102 spacious rooms at this smart hotel. A stone’s throw from both the Old Quarter and the Temple of Literature, Mercure Hanoi boasts a French brasserie, an internal courtyard, a fitness centre and a retail outlet of wine importer and distributor Da Loc.

Mövenpick Hotel Hanoi 83A Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3822 2800 www.moevenpick-hanoi.com With its distinctive French architecture and top end service, Mövenpick Hotel Hanoi is aimed squarely at corporate travellers. An all-day restaurant and a lounge bar are available to satiate their clientele while the kinetic gym and wellness studio offer an excellent range of equipment. Massage and sauna facilities are available for guests seeking to rejuvenate. Of the 154 well-appointed rooms and suites, 93 are non-smoking.

Sheraton

K5 Nghi Tam, 11 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: 3719 9000 www.sheraton.com/hanoi Surrounded by lush gardens, sweeping lawns and tranquil courtyards, this peaceful property features picturesque views of West Lake and is less than 10 minutes from downtown. In addition to the luxurious rooms, the hotel offers an outdoor swimming pool and great relaxation and fitness facilities, including a tennis court and spa. There are well equipped conference rooms and a newly refurbished Executive Club Lounge.

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

15 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3826 6919 ww.sofitel.com The finest hotel of the French


{Travel Promos} ** PROMOTIONS OF THE MONTH * *

colonial period is probably still the finest in today’s Hanoi. Anyone who is (or was) anyone has stayed at this elegant oasis of charm, where the service is impeccable and the luxurious facilities complement the ambiance of a bygone era. Definitely the place to put the Comtessa up for a night.

Sofitel Plaza Hanoi

1 Thanh Nien Road, Ba Dinh Tel: 3823 8888 Boasting Hanoi’s best views of West Lake, Truc Bach Lake and the Red River, Sofitel Plaza Hanoi soars 20 storeys above the city skyline. The 5-star hotel features 317 luxurious, comfortable guestrooms with spectacular lake view or river view ranking in 7 types from Classic Room to Imperial Suite.

hanoi – mid-range 6 on Sixteen

16 Bao Khanh, Hoan Kiem www.sixonsixteen.com Another boutique hotel to grace Hanoi’s Old Quarter, the six rooms here mix contemporary and fresh with handicrafts and antique. Breakfast is included and in the long, lounge restaurant on the second floor, home-style Vietnamese fare is served up with fresh fruit juices and Lavazza coffee.

Joseph’s Hotel

Local Lang Co @Banyan Tree Lang Co, banyantree.com Banyan Tree Lang Co — part of Vietnam’s first world-class integrated resort, Laguna Lang Co — is offering prime rates for the local Vietnamese market. Enjoy the 18-hole, par-71 golf course designed by Sir Nick Faldo and lots and lots of water — like the pools of 32 lagoon pool villas or the villas on Canh Duong beach. These special rates start at VND5,145,000++ a night. Certain restrictions apply, the most salient of which is the offer’s expiry on Aug. 31.

Sweet Fifteen @Victoria Can Tho Hotel, victoriahotels.asia On the eve of its 15th luxurious year in the biz, the Victoria Can Tho in the heart of the Mekong is offering a quirky promotion until October. Guests who stay on the 15th of the month rate a 15 percent discount on their stay, with fun giveaways also part of the draw. Or early-bird your way to 25 percent off by booking seven days in advance.

∞ Holes

@Dalat Edensee, dalatedensee.com For the rest of 2013, Dalat Edensee will be offering an “Unlimited Golf” package

88 | Word June 2013

— and unlimited relaxation when you’re not on the links, with 40sqm of space, a private balcony and a marble fireplace to stoke when the crisp golf air rolls in off the nearby mountains. That’s all well and good for the package’s two nights, but the real draw is the two days of unlimited golf with caddie and buggy in Royale City, Edensee’s new “bent grass” green, featuring the “best putting surface in the world”. The package starts at VND4.9 million net per person, based on twin occupancy, with massage add-ons and female-specific options also available.

NTTV + Edensee facebook.com/dulichdeluxe NTTV Travel, Vietnam’s leading highend hotel booking service, is offering a free two-night stay at the five-star Dalat Edensee Resort and Spa in return for feeding your Facebook addiction. Just go to NTTV’s Facebook page and click on the prize-giving top-posted link with a ‘like’ or ‘share’. Once there are 1,000 combined likes and shares, a lucky winner will be selected for this charming getaway — and get a chance to really ‘like’ what NTTV is all about.

5 Au Trieu, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3938 1048 info@josephshotel.com www.josephshotel.com Just to the side of St. Joseph’s Cathedral, this is a well-appointed, comfortable boutique hotel. Brightly decorated, the property’s 10 rooms have Wi-Fi, flatscreen TV and a mini bar. Prices start at VND650,000 a night. No smoking except for on the upstairs balconies.

Maison D’Hanoi Hanova Hotel

35-37 Hang Trong, Hoan Kiem Tel: 04 3938 0999 www.hanovahotel.com Just a short walk from Hoan Kiem Lake, this boutique hotel is fitted with 33 comfortable guest rooms, 18 deluxe, and four luxurious suites. All rooms have wi-fi access, and the cozy lobby has both a gallery and a piano bar. Prices range from VND2.5 million for a guest room to VND4.5 million for a suite.

May de Ville

24 Han Thuyen, Hai Ba Trung Tel: 2222 9988 Set in the old French Quarter a short walk from the Opera House, May de Ville City Centre is a welcome new addition to the capital. Combining contemporary architecture with traditional Vietnamese style and materials, this elegant property has 81 well-appointed rooms

including four suites.

Thang Long Opera Hotel

1C Tong Dan Street, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3824 4775 www.thanglongopera.com This hotel houses 71 spacious, comfortable rooms all equipped with high speed internet, bath tub and room service. They have a meeting room, which can accommodate up to 60 people, as well as a restaurant and bar downstairs.

hanoi – Budget Hanoi Backbacker’s Hostel

48 Ngo Huyen, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3828 5372 www.hanoibackpackershostel.com Probably the cheapest, European-style hostel in town, with bunk-style beds mixed or single-sex dorms starting at VND150,000, plus a couple of double suites from VND250,000. A place to meet like-minded fold in the Old Quarter.

Hoi An An Bang Beach Retreat

An Bang Beach, Hoi An www.anbangbeachretreat. com A serene barefoot-luxe destination where guests kick off their shoes, unwind and take it all in. Located 50 meters from the beach along a sandy path, An Bang Beach Retreat is an intimate beach hideaway with a castaway vibe: its four houses are set in tropical gardens, tucked away in the charming fishing village of An Bang Beach, 4km from Hoi An, Vietnam's premier destination. Sunbathe on the day beds, sip cocktails in the landscaped gardens, swim in the turquoise waters and soak up the Hoi An sunset.

Sapa The Village Noshery 42 Cau May, Sapa www.thevillagenoshery.com Well-placed in the heart of Sapa's downtown district, The Village Noshery mountain lodge is the perfect place to dine, stay and hang out while you are in Sapa. Step inside to discover an oasis of comfort and relax in the large restaurant spaces decorated with handcrafted art installations. Here it's all about good food and quality service at very reasonable prices.

travel services Buffalo Tours Agency (BTA)

94 Ma May, Hoan Kiem Dist., Ha Noi, Tel: (84-4) 3 828 0702


First Floor, 1 Ba Trieu, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3825 3484 www.airfrance.com.vn

travelagency.hn@buffalotours.com www.buffalotours.com.vn A boutique Travel Agency at the service of all Vietnamese and expatriate residents in Vietnam offering easy, hassle-free travel around the world and in Vietnam, with the highest standards of customer care. This premium Travel Agency has been created to help travelers select their destinations and organize their trips, take care of the time-consuming procedures and ensure that all journeys are enjoyable and successful. BTA customizes leisure and corporate travel plans while offering a selected range of small group tours.

Air Mekong

Exotissimo

AIRLINES Air Asia

25 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem Tel: 2220 5351 www.airasia.com

Air France

51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 37186 399 www.airmekong.com.vn

American Airlines 99 Ba Trieu, Hai Ba Trung Tel: 3933 0330 www.aa.com

Cathay Pacific

G/F, Hanoi Tower, 49 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3826 7298 www.cathaypacific.com/vn

China Airlines

4th Floor, Opera Business Center, 6B Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3936 6364 www.china-airlines.com

EVA Air

2nd Floor,17 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3936 1600 www.evaair.com

Japan Airlines

5th Floor, 63 Ly Thai To, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3826 6693 www.vn.jal.com

Jetstar Pacific www.jetstar.com/vn

Korean Air

2nd Floor, VIT, 519 Kim Ma, Ba Dinh Tel: 3934 7247 www.koreanair.com

26, Tran Nhat Duat, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3828 2150 9 XuanDieu, Tay Ho, Tel: 3718 5555 www.exotissimo.com A one-stop, all-in-one travel agency with an extensive operational track record in the Indochina region and beyond. Providing up-market services, Exotissimo brings their clients close to culture through personalised tours. Also find travel desks at the Hilton, Sofitel Plaza and Intercontinental hotels, which are open on weekends and holidays.

Handspan Travel

80 Ma May, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 3926 2828 www.handspan.com Established in 1997, Handspan provides customers with safe, high quality, diverse, small-group adventure tours to both popular and isolated locations in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Has a focus on off-the-beaten-track sustainable and responsible tourism initiatives. Also provides to excursions to more well-worn destinations.

HG Travel

47 Phan Chu Trinh, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3944 8844, www.hgtravel.com Travel company specialising in small-group tours around Vietnam and further afield in Indochina. Is also the sole representative agent for Kenya Airways (for 40 cities in Africa — www.kenya-airways.com), American Airlines (www.aa.com) and Turkish Airlines (www.thy.com).

Indochina Land

R402, 4th floor, Dao Duy Anh Tower, 9 Dao Duy Anh, Dong Da Tel: 3577 2202 www.lot.com

61 Cua Bac, Ba Dinh, Tel: 3715 2852 www.indochina-land.com Indochina Land is a French local travel agency for expatriates and tourists who want to see northern Vietnam in a personal and tailored way. Think small knowledgeable teams of Vietnamese and French who share their passion for discovery during varied itineraries, usually focused on freedom, family, health trips and classic home stays. They will show you around Ha Giang, too.

Malaysia Airlines

Intrepid Travel Vietnam

Lao Airlines

40 Quang Trung, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3942 5362 www.laoairlines.com

LOT AIRLINES

Somerset Grand Hanoi, 49 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3826 8820 www.malaysiaairlines.com

Singapore Airlines

International Centre, 17 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3826 8888 www.singaporeair.com

Thai Airways

44B Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem Tel: 3826 7921 www.thaiair.com

Tiger Airways

www.tigerairways.com

Vietnam Airlines

25 Trang Thi, Hoan Kiem Tel: 6270 0200 www.vietnamairlines.com

57A Nguyen Khac Hieu, Ba Dinh Tel: 0904 193308 www.intrepidtravel.com/vietnamsales Intrepid Travel Vietnam is an international travel company operating in Vietnam since 1992, offering innovative day tours, short breaks and small group adventures. With expert guides and guaranteed departures, Intrepid focuses on real life experiences in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Mekong Delta, Halong Bay, Sapa and beyond to get you up close to Vietnam's people, cuisine, history and culture.

Syrena Cruises

51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: 3719 7214 www.syrenacruises.com If you’re thirsty for a Halong Bay experience while enjoying luxury comfort, Syrena Cruises could be the quencher you’re looking for. Forget drinking games and backpackers by relaxing on one of the two wooden boats from the fleet. Alone, as a couple or with a group, 34 luxurious cabins and suites are all ready for action. All you have to do is decide on how long you want to holiday for.

June 2013 Word | 89


Tiêng viêt làng nón lá


Làng Nón Lá Nổi tiếng là làng làm nên những chiếc nón đẹp nhất miền Bắc, đến thăm Làng Chuông vào một ngày chợ phiên cho chúng ta cảm giác như được trở về quá khứ. Viết bởi Hoa Lê. Ảnh bởi Francis Roux

N

hững tia nắng sớm xen qua lớp mái ngói cổ kính của ngôi chùa làng Chuông, rọi xuống gương mặt những người phụ nữ; trong sân chùa, họ đang nói chuyện, tươi cười và đang mặc cả nữa – hôm nay là ngày chợ phiên ở đây. Những người phụ nữ này đang bán nón lá và tất cả những vật liệu để làm nên một chiếc nón. Họ không bán thứ gì khác. Cô Hướng đang sắp xếp ngay ngắn lại những bó lá khô, vật liệu chính của một chiếc nón lá. Sáng nay cô bán được hai mươi bó với giá 50,000VNĐ mỗi bó. “Hôm nay đắt hàng đấy,”

cô cười và kể cô đã bán lá khô ở chợ phiên này được hơn 30 năm rồi. Ở cạnh đó, cô Xuân đang đếm những chiếc vòng nhỏ xíu màu vàng bằng kim loại được gói ghém trong một mảnh báo cũ con con cho khách hàng. Đó là chiếc vòng để tạo phom cho chóp nón, và người mua hàng của cô cũng là một phụ nữ trong làng. “Gian hàng” của cô đơn giản lắm, chỉ có mấy gói kim, chỉ với các loại màu, những chiếc vòng bằng tre, một vài gói đề-can hoa hồng để trang trí cho nón, và một số thứ nữa nhỏ nhỏ mà cô bán với giá từ 1000

đồng. Tất cả đều được xếp ở một góc trên sàn của sân chùa. Có lẽ việc đếm xem có bao nhiêu nguyên liệu để làm nên một chiếc nón lá cũng khó như việc bạn thử tìm xem có bao nhiêu số 500.000 trên một tờ tiền 500.000 đồng vậy (nếu như bạn đã từng thử làm việc đó rồi). Để đưa ra một con số thì nó khá lớn, khoảng gần 30 thứ khác nhau. Và bạn sẽ cần phải đi tới khá nhiều “gian hàng” để có thể mua được tất cả. Không có ai bán cho bạn đầy đủ những thứ đó ở một nơi cả bởi vì “điều đó là không thể,” giống như cô Hướng nói,


hay đơn giản chỉ vì từ xưa đến nay những người ở chợ đã quen với việc bán một mặt hàng duy nhất, cố định như thế rồi. Những người bán buôn nón lá tạo ra bầu không khí sôi động nhất ở chợ này. Những chiếc nón trắng làm ra bởi những người thợ ở đây được xếp thành chồng . Những hàng dài chồng nón như vậy trên sân chùa tạo nên một cảnh tượng đẹp mắt. Chợ chỉ họp đông nhất vào sáu ngày trong tháng; đó là ngày 4, 10, 14, 20, 24 và 30 âm lịch. Do vậy, những người bán hàng và cả mua hàng đều tỏ rõ nét phấn khởi như đang đi lễ hội vậy. “Chỉ trong những ngày này người ta mới mua được một chiếc khuôn nón đẹp, vì không phải lúc nào những người bán thứ đồ này cũng đến,” cô Hướng bảo với tôi và chỉ sang phía ba người phụ nữ đang ngồi với chồng khuôn nón bằng tre cứng cáp trước mặt. Cô Tập, một trong ba người phụ nữ đó nói rằng họ ở trên làng Vát, cách đó bốn cây số. “Chỉ có trên đó chúng tôi mới làm khuôn,” cô nói và giải thích rằng đó là lí do tại sao mọi người ở đây thích mua hàng của cô. “Mỗi làng chỉ làm và bán một số thứ nhất định thôi. Người ở làng Chuông thì làm ra những chiếc nón đẹp nhất,” cô nói.

Những Chiếc Nón Hoàn Hảo

Nổi tiếng trên cả nước, nón của làng Chuông mang những yếu tố của một chiếc nón lá hoàn hảo: bền, chắc và tròn nón. Chúng vừa đơn giản, nhưng lại kiêu sa. Rất khó để có thể phân biệt được một chiếc nón đẹp và một chiếc không đẹp chỉ với lần nhìn đầu tiên, nhưng người dân ở đây có thể chỉ ra cho bạn một cách dễ dàng. Phần lớn những người này, từ trẻ tới lớn tuổi đều biết nằm lòng việc làm ra một chiếc nón. “Có hôm nếu chị tới, chị còn thấy cả những đứa trẻ con bé xíu đang làm nón đấy, chúng ngồi chỉ cao hơn chiếc nón này một chút thôi,” một người phụ nữ trong làng nói với tôi. Hầu hết những người lớn tuổi ở đây không nhớ nổi chính xác khi nào họ bắt đầu đan nón. Một số nói rằng khi họ bốn tuổi, một số khác nói rằng khoảng từ sáu tuổi họ đã làm rồi. Quá trình làm một chiếc nón lá mất khá nhiều thời gian. Ông Quảng, năm nay 60 tuổi và đã có 54 năm làm nghề giải thích các bước của việc làm nón với tôi. “Đầu tiên là phải chọn được những chiếc lá non và mềm,” ông nói. “Sau đó, vò chúng với cát cho sạch và phơi khô dưới nắng. Bình thường thì chỉ hai nắng là được, nhưng những hôm thời tiết không thuận lợi thì mất lâu hơn thế.” Ngày nay, phần lá này có thể được mua từ chợ, từ một trong những người bán hàng như cô Hướng. Bước tiếp theo của việc làm nón đòi hỏi có kỹ thuật cao. Người địa phương gọi là quay lá hay lợp lá vì khi đó, những chiếc lá được xếp vào chiếc khuôn và vuốt theo lớp. Nón lá làng Chuông thường có ba lớp, hai lớp lá và một lớp mo cau ở giữa để cho nón được chắc chắn. “Nếu bước này không được làm cẩn thận, các lớp sẽ bị phồng, bị nhàu hay bị rách và chiếc nón sẽ không được cân đối,” ông Quảng nói. Bước khâu nón còn khó hơn nữa. Những người thợ ở đây phải làm bằng tay, dùng chỉ để khâu những mũi nhỏ xíu, đều nhau. Những chiếc nón đẹp là những chiếc có đường khâu tốt để chỉ không bị lộ ra ngoài. Sau đó, chiếc nón sẽ được cho vào lò diêm sinh để làm trắng hơn và cũng để diệt mối. Với


nhiều bước như vậy, một người thợ lành nghề cũng mất tới một ngày để làm ra được một chiếc nón đẹp.

Một Truyền Thống Đẹp

Cùng với sự phát triển của đất nước, người ta cũng chuyển sang lựa chọn nhiều loại mũ đa dạng thay vì một chiếc nón lá, và tất nhiên cả việc đội mũ bảo hiểm trên xe máy nữa. Những nét đẹp nhất của làng Chuông chuyên làm nón đã nằm lại trong quá khứ. Nhưng khi đến ngôi làng này ngày nay, bạn vẫn bắt gặp những nét cổ xưa còn được lưu giữ. Đó là những con người thân thiện, những ngôi nhà cổ với sân rộng rợp bóng cây, những nhóm người túm tụm lại vừa làm nón, vừa cười đùa trên hiên nhà. Khi tôi hỏi một nhóm sáu người phụ nữ đang quay nón, cả trẻ lẫn lớn tuổi hơn, ai là người làm nón đẹp nhất làng. Họ đều chỉ sang cô Thảo. Giờ ở tuổi ngoài 60, cô vẫn đang khâu rất nhanh và chính xác. “Mắt cô còn tốt lắm, và tay cũng thế,” cô nói và nói thêm rằng “Hoặc có lẽ là ngược lại. Nhờ làm nghề này mà mắt và tay cô đều giữ được tốt.” Cô cười và chỉ cho tôi xem ngón tay cái với nhiều vết sẹo do bị kim đâm của cô. Chúng tôi chào tạm biệt những con người chăm chỉ và nồng hậu ở đây để trở lại Hà Nội. Một phần yên bình và không khí trong lành đã ở lại phía sau.

Tới Làng Chuông Để tới làng Chuông, đi theo đường Quốc Lộ 21B từ Hà Đông. Đi theo hướng Phủ Lý khoảng 10km. Làng Chuông nằm ở xã Phương Trung, thị trấn Thanh Oai. Chợ phiên làng Chuông bắt đầu từ 5 rưỡi sang và tới 9 rưỡi thì chợ đã gần tan.


The Final Say hanoi pho ? whatever! / the last call

94 | Word June 2013


Hanoi Pho? Less Than Impressed It may be fighting talk but, for American David Nguyen, Hanoi just can’t cut it when it comes to world class pho. Illustration by Claire Driscoll

Y

ou may be new to town, so here’s a tip on where to get really good pho. It’s in a city that starts with the letter ‘H’. Population: 6 million. 90 percent humidity and 40 degree summers are the norm. Traffic is an abomination, and you’ll occasionally see livestock on the road. That’s perfectly normal, because it’s in Texas. There’s a pho restaurant in Houston five minutes from my childhood home by the name of Pho Binh Trailer. ‘Trailer’ because it’s housed in a converted mobile home, the kind Eminem was raised in. Cramped and possessing zero charm for nothing other than its transcendent signature dish, it’s been hailed by noted food critic Alison Cook as the best pho in town. Some guy on the Huffington Post even called it the best in the U.S. Well, this other guy you’re currently reading has decided it’s the best pho in the world. If you’re Hanoian born and bred you might think this sounds stupid, offensive even. And if you’re an out-oftowner you may have spent a small fortune on your plane ticket, planned this journey for two years and day-dreamt about that magical moment your pilgrimage would come to pass. You’ve finally arrived at the birthplace of pho. I suspect you feel a little like Marco Polo. Whereas back at home (whichever stale and lifeless country you’ve originated from in the western hemisphere) you’ve been compromising and making do with some pale imitation of Vietnam’s national dish, you’re now actually in Hanoi, ready to savour the real thing.

That Pho Moment Your waitress makes a Houdini-like appearance and drops your bowl in front of you, somehow managing not to spill any of that precious broth on you or her boss’s cerulean plastic tables. You dig right in. You make you sure you don’t add anything to your pho, because that would be sacrilegious, the Food Network tells you. After your first spoonful, you look up and down the sidewalk. It’s mostly Vietnamese clientele, but there’s a tourist at the table beside you, whom you unintentionally make eye contact with. You stare back down at your bowl and slurp down some more. You look back up. Again, you catch your fellow first timer looking back at you. Both of your faces look about as thrilled as the women in Manet’s paintings. The pho here is just not that good. It’s not just me. Ask the majority of expats calling Hanoi home, and you’ll see them eating pho about as often as you’ll see them hailing rides from cyclos. First, let’s examine my own culinary credentials to make such a heretical assessment: I have a tongue, and I have

a pen. I come from a generation that actually enrolled in Master courses entitled Kierkegaard and the Cinema of Will Smith. We have thoughts on everything. We are told Hanoi pho is superior to all others because it was ‘invented’ here. Also, to say otherwise would imply cultural insensitivity, and suggests that I’m just a sad rube for preferring Occidental pho. Never mind that Houston is now the most diverse city in the United States, an affordable haven for immigrants whose only marketable offering is the cuisine of their former country. Great food from everywhere can be found anywhere.

The Real Fallacy And that’s the problem with these globetrotting gourmands of print and television who force-feed us these elitist fallacies. They’ll go far and wide to places the average person simply could not afford to travel to, peacock around in front of a camera with rehearsed ecstasy while munching on some insignificant street fare the locals couldn’t really give a damn about. “If only you could try this, oh my gawwwwd it’s like heaven!” Food for them is not about food. It’s about their access, or your lack thereof, and envy, your surplus of it. When Anthony Bourdain proclaimed eating pho on a sidewalk in Hanoi as his favourite thing to do in the world, it seemed to validate the obsession of countless American pho blogs, of which there are a shocking number. “On the street is the only real way to eat pho,” or variations thereof, have been repeated ad nauseam. Could it be because of limited capital that it’s their only way to sell pho? Do you think any vendor would refuse a rent-free stint at a brick and mortar, air-conditioned restaurant because it’ll make their pho less ‘real’? I’ve had pho in the pillar cities of the west — London, Paris and New York — and they’ve all had offerings which surpassed the best Hanoi can offer (Manhattan pho isn’t anything special; it’s just less disappointing). And as great as Pho Binh Trailer is, no city has consistently greater pho than that of the Los Angeles metroplex. So, if you’re from the west and a big reason for your coming to Vietnam is pho (it was half of my motivation), it’d be best to save a flight ticket and enjoy it at home. In a full-sized chair, and indoors, if you must. But, of course, Vietnam is still great. Just not because of the pho. On the contrary, have you had the bun cha here? “Oh my gawwwwd, you’re going to do cartwheels…” Editor’s note: We strongly suggest going with the flow, ignoring the Food Network, and making use of the condiments on the table. Lime is essential, some kind of chilli is damn good and don’t forget the garlic vinegar.

June 2013 Word | 95


the LAST CALL

One of France’s best known choreographers, Jean-Claude Gallotta, brings his version of Stravinsky’s ballet, The Rite of Spring, to Vietnam at the end of June. Marking 100 years since the first performance of one of the most controversial ballets ever written, Word caught up with the man behind the performance. Photo by Guy Delahaye

tradition, choreographers tend to use existing choreographies — they perpetuate it.

The Rite of Spring... is

a very complicated work, but it’s different today. In 1913 when the ballet was first performed, muscially it was a shock to the audience. Today we are more used to the score — because of rock and punk, it’s less shocking. But it remains a very complex work. This can sometimes hinder choreographers.

Such a controversial ballet being performed in Vietnam is... a strange

meeting of cultures — I have no idea how people will receive the performance. The idea is to try to make something attractive and pleasing, but without creating unnecessary provocation. There may also be some sort of culture shock — this happened to us in Kazakhstan. The show may be well-received. It may also be rejected. But that is art.

The costumes... are a way

Choreography... can change. all the choreographers who No interpretation of a ballet or a piece of work is the same as the next.

A good choreographer... has their own vision, their own movements. Since 1913,

96 | Word June 2013

have worked on The Rite of Spring have re-interpreted the story, have changed the choreography and adapted it to their own techniques and brought in their own aesthetics. In contrast, in the Asian

that choreographers can bring their own aesthetic to the performance. With The Rite of Spring I wanted to keep it simple, create an everyday effect. But I also went for a rock ‘n roll look, inspired by the costumes of the 1950s. So the dancers wear jeans or black pants with a jacket and a shirt. Then as the dancers strip, they take off their shirts and their pants until they are in underwear. When they get dressed again, they end up

looking slightly different. This provides variety.

My version of The Rite of Spring is special because... there is a scenic

simplicity. The scenery feels and looks like an empty parking lot or a slightly open games room. The same goes for the lighting. Dance can sometimes be annoying to the eye, and as there are several different things happening at the same time, the audience may find it difficult to know what they should focus on.

The performance... doesn’t necessarily have a central story or a plot. Instead it is a combination of many elements — impressions of human beings caught and stuck in typical human situations. It’s like travelling through a city and catching glimpses of people’s lives. There is no hero or heroine. Instead, through these glimpses we create something that everyone can identify with. And through this we create a whole, a road map so to speak. The Rite of Spring will be performed by the Centre Chorégraphique National of Grenoble and the Paris-based Théâtre National de Chaillot. It is part of the celebrations of 40 years of diplomatic relations between France and Vietnam. Catch the ballet in Hanoi at The Youth Theatre, 11 Ngo Thi Nham, Hai Ba Trung on Jun. 29. Doors open at 8pm. For information on purchasing tickets, email ta.thi. phuong.thuy@espace-ccfhanoi.org (Hanoi)


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