Yesterday we celebrated the Moon Festival in Cabramatta. Sure, it was a little early, but it was lots of fun, and was just about the closest I was going to get to Vietnam without getting on a plane. Here are some items from the net that will help bring you that one step closer:
I'm always mystified by the empty real-estate in Hanoi, and the trend continues. Nhan Dan tells us that some developers have been suspended over improper actions in Hanoi's Old Quarter
Just a brief note to tell you that my dear friend and wonderful publishing stablemate Rosamund Burton has had her book Castles, Follies & Four-Leaf Clovers released in the United Kingdom and Ireland this month.
It is available through Atlantic Books, and if you're in that part of the world, do go out and treat yourself with a copy.
Castles... is Rosamund's account of her journey along St. Declan's Way, a little-known pilgrim's path in Ireland.
Rosamund grew up in Ireland, and this book is an affectionate and fascinating look at the mystical and magical worlds that lie just underneath the surface normality of Ireland. You will read about fairy's shoes and leprechaun's hats, as well as the miraculous springs dedicated to St. Declan and to the Virgin Mary. It is a gentle, affectionate and illuminating book, and left me aching to visit Ireland.
Dom Turner is a legendary Australian blues guitarist most famous for his work with the Backsliders.
In one of those wonderfully fortuitous accidents of history, he made the acquaintance of a master blind Vietnamese guitarist called Kim Sinh, and together they have produced Two Days in Hanoi, a wonderfully quirky and utterly original amalgamation of what can truly be called Delta Blues, with a heavy emphasis on the Mekong Delta, in this case.
For me it is probably Kim Sinh's sound that is the most immediately familiar. I have never been much of a follower of the Blues, but I have spent much of my life listening to the delicate, sliding and mournful guitar sounds of traditional Vietnamese music, and sometimes from the very first pluck the listener can be transported to a state of wistful nostalgia and sadness about the bad times. And that, I suppose, is what the Blues is about, no matter where it might come from.
The songs and sounds on this amazing CD alternate between Turner's solid folksy blues, traditional Vietnamese sounds and Kim Sinh's own fusions between traditional cai luong and the more Western forms that have influenced Vietnamese music for more than a century. It makes for wonderful listening, and has been on high rotation here ever since I received my copy. Interestingly, while it had played almost all he way through, including the songs with English lyrics, my Vietnamese partner, who had only been half-listening, said: "Where did you get this nice Viet CD from?" A true vote for the authenticity of the sounds, but, if you are listening more closely, there is plenty of innovation here as well, and it is an album that will intrigue afficionados from both sides of the musicological fence.
I was won over most by Dom Turner's song, Vietnam People, on the album, a real love-letter that I recognised almost instantly, a folk song from someone who has been seduced by Vietnam and its people.
You can get Two Days in Hanoi on iTunes, or purchase a copy of the CD here.
Two Days in Hnaoi is produced by the Fuse Group.
"captures the colour, smells, everyday life... that is Vietnam in the 21st Century" Sunday Telegraph
"interesting... well written... engrossing" SMH, The Age
"fascinating and entertaining..." Courier Mail
"an entertaining insight..." Herald Sun
"Between the soft chanting of ghosts, the mischievousness of fairies and a hysterical account of a night of karaoke with a group of fishermen this book is a gem." Nova Magazine
"A rare insight into Vietnam's rich history and culture" MiNDFOOD
"hilarious, heartbreaking and fascinating... an absorbing love letter... perfect..." NW
Destination Saigon, by Walter Mason is a funny, touching and truly unique journey through contemporary Vietnam.
