Destination Saigon: Adventures in Vietnam

272 Pages·2011·2.22 MB·English

by  Walter Mason.

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From the crazy heat and colour of Saigon V
A A
to the quieter splendour of Hanoi, Walter Mason gives us
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a rare, joyous and at times hilarious insight into twenty- M
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fi rst century Vietnam. Seduced by the beauty and charm
O A
of its people, and the sensuousness of its culture, we can
almost taste the little coconut cakes cooked over a fi re in N
a smoky Can Tho kitchen, or smell the endless supplies of
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fresh baguettes and croissants just out of city ovens.
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As colourful city cafes and bars make way for visits
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to out-of-the-way shrines and temples, we take an g
impromptu visit to forbidden fortune tellers, and glimpse
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a little of the Cao Dai religion, made famous in Graham
Greene’s The Quiet American. Escaping on impulse to a n
far-fl ung province, a brief imprisonment culminates in an
invitation to local wedding celebrations.
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Travelling off the beaten track to far-fl ung villages and
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lesser-known towns, we cruise along the Mekong,
board hopelessly overcrowded local buses or perch L
perilously on the back of motorbikes. Behind-the-scenes T
visits to Buddhist monasteries reveal a quieter and more E
D E S T I N A T I O N
transcendent world beyond the busy day trips of tourists. R
And in the process we begin to see the country through
the eyes of its people. M SSSaaaiiigggooonnn
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W A L T E R M A S O N
Cover art and design: Design by Committee
TRAVEL
Fluent in Vietnamese, and a regular
visitor to Vietnam, Walter Mason is a
brilliant raconteur who gives regular
talks and lectures on a wide range of
subjects. He has several entertaining
blogs including www.waltermason.com,
and a strong eye for the quirky.
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D e s t i n a t i o n
Saigon
w a l t e r m a s o n
DestinationSaigon_textdesign_.indd 3 7/12/09 8:59 PM
First published in Australia 2010
Copyright © Walter Mason 2010
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in
writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows
a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater,
to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes
provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a
remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.
Allen & Unwin
83 Alexander Street
Crows Nest NSW 2065
Australia
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.allenandunwin.com
Cataloguing-in-Publication details available from the National Library of Australia
www.librariesaustralia.nla.gov.au
ISBN 978 1 74175 949 5
Text design by Design By Committee
Typeset by Post Pre-Press Group
Printed by McPherson’s Printing Group, Maryborough
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper in this book is FSC certified.
FSC promotes environmentally responsible,
socially beneficial and economically viable
SGS - COC - 004121
management of the world’s forests.
To Ngo Duc Thang, my lifelong companion
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction xi
Map xv
Monks and Movie Stars 1
Hairdressers and Seamstresses 7
Consuming the Corpse Fruit 12
Telling Lies about Confucius 18
Jasper Prayer Beads 23
Latin Quarter 28
Mystical Hanoi 34
When Cheap isn’t Cheerful 41
The Towers of Binh Dinh 47
Ice Cream in Quy Nhon 53
Fish, Beer and Bananas 61
The Can Tho Feast of Asking 68
Don’t Pay the Ferryman’s Wife 73
Crazy Delta Dancing 78
Dad’s Place on the Mekong 84
Feeding the Chickens 87
Grandmother’s Secret 92
Tay Ninh Oi! 97
Cao Dai 103
Dressing Up 109
Off to See the Black Lady 112
Feng Shui and Flower Arranging 120
The Furniture-breaking Demon 124
Forgotten Ancestors 131
walter mason
Hello Kitty 136
Tattooed Dragon 139
Losing Hope in Hue 144
Our Lady of La Vang 148
Cinnamon City 154
Perfume River 162
Gentle Mother 165
Mr Buddha 169
Begrudging Compassion 174
Gas Masks and Goggles 178
The Hermit on the Hill 183
Pastel Pink and Porcelain 190
Patron Saint of Hairdressers 196
Café Society 200
Familiar Spies 205
Trysts and Dubious Treats 211
Salted Plums 215
Escape to Mui Ne 221
An Invitation to Party in the Old Market 225
Fishermen’s Karaoke 230
The Big Buddha of Phan Thiet 235
In Police Custody in Tra Vinh 242
Homeward Bound 247
Bibliography 251
aCknowledgements
I’d like to thank my partner, Ngo Duc Thang, for his end-
less support and patience—without him, nothing would be
possible.
I am eternally grateful to my publisher, Maggie Hamilton,
a friend and teacher who saw my possibilities.
Many people in Vietnam extended so much kindness and
friendship: Kien N, my brother and best friend; the other Kien,
who knows who he is; Sister Truth, who tests me and makes
demands that strengthen me.
And Thich Nhat Hanh, truly a bodhisattva, whose gentle
wisdom has informed my life and spiritual vision for twenty
years.
Jan Cornall, one of the great writing teachers and a fascinat-
ing person to boot, inspired this book originally.
Finally I’d like to acknowledge Michael Dash and Justine
Lee, who have been waiting for this book since 1996, and ask-
ing for it constantly. Thanks for your patience and persistence.
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