4:59 am, Hanoi, Vietnam, but in Los Angeles, it's about 2:29 pm, and that's where my mind is and will likely remain for a while. We are up early. Before the rooster next door (who would crow at 5:24 am. )
What did I see that I've never see before...
1. In Tai Pei, one out of every ten people wear masks, because they're either sick or afraid to get sick... Mich was saying, its like they're all looking to perform surgery. I was thinking, it's scary to see little children, playing tag, wearing surgical masks.
2. On the flight via Eva Air, the food was strangely awesome, and people were bizzarely nice. I was skeptical about Eva, because I had never heard of them until we bought a ticket and then, I imagined stewardesses dressed up in Hello Kitty outfits.
The whole Eva Air staff from the moment we checked in at LAX was out of their way friendly. Reading our names carefully, frst and last like we were accepting diplomas. Asking us if we had everything, our tickets and so on. I haven't been asked that many questions since 6th grade camp.
Mich and I have been travelling for 3 years, and they're never this nice. Is this how travelling to places outside Europe is like?
3. During the first stretch, the 15 hour mother of all flights, the not dressed like Hello Kitty stewardess would offer a variety of juices, apple, orange or pineapple, but they didn't have pineapple, so she said, "would you like pineapple juice later?" Mich and I both opted for,"pineapple juice later."
Eva Air food included really well made rice with chicken or pork and a couple pieces of vegetables
that tasted bitter, because it was real. Meaning, there were real, live nutrients in these vegetables?! What happened to the tasteless, American veggies? Yes, you miss even the things that harm you.
4. In Tai Pei, there was a religious area where people could pray. And they were broken down into three, for three different religions. The icon of a man normally used for the bathroom was converted into the icon of a man kneeling down. One of the religions had the reverse Swastika symbol. I can see Nazi travellers accidentlly going in that room, getting a bad wake up call.
5. Landing in Hanoi, white people are rifling through their kindles and iPads, waiting for their visas (I am alas part of this group). I was concerend that we needed a return ticket, since we are in, you know, a Communist society (my first, yes, I finally lost my Commie virginity).
6. The streets of Hanoi are beehiving with mopeds. They own this city. One people, two people, three, many checking their cell phones, sending texts, barely avoiding crashing into each other by a matter of inches. Some are hauling huge cardboard boxes bigger than themselves. Imagine the homeless guy who's got every inch of his shopping cart filled, but its not a shopping cart, its a moped. It's astonishing what you can put on a moped, along with one passenger.
I haven't been to South East Asia since I was 16 months old. I am back. And one of the things I took for granted was sidewalks. There are NO SIDEWALKS here. Well, there are, but they're parking spots for mopeds. You don't walk on them. If there's any slab of concrete, someone is cooking on it,. The streets are shared by cars, people and mopeds alike. Crossing the streets is an amazing experience that is like being in a musical, where we're all one, moving, stopping, slowing in harmony.
7. Finally, the HONKING... being from LA, getting HONKED means one thing to me, "fuck you." In Hanoi, when a driver honks at you, it means "what's up"... people honk to make you aware of their proximity. They're saying ,"I'm right behind you, be careful."
