In Hoi An, I Stand Up. It's Good!

Haha, this little phrase has stuck with me for a very long time.

In 1997, I went to Vietnam with my mate Coops. At that time, I was living in Kalgoorlie, and working at the Superpit. I wouldn't say I had become Aussie-fied, but I was well on the way. It had been almost 10 years since we left Singapore, and I loved the idea of visiting Asia again.

I'll talk about the trip as a whole in another post, but this one is about a part of it, a time that sparked a phrase that has stayed with me for 28 years since - "In Hoi An, I stand up, it's good!". Haha, I still chuckle, even all these years later.

You see, I was still a bit wet behind the ears in those days. Plus Vietnam had only recently opened up to the western world again, and as such, there weren't a whole lot of people there who spoke English. At that time anyway. So it was a little bit of culture shock for me, and I was out of my comfort zone, especially on the Hanoi part of the trip. I was a chubs in those days and frankly a bit of a slob, so I felt very self-conscious in the tour group I was with, when I went to Halong Bay. This was after feeling equally self-conscious on the trip to the Mekong Delta with a pair of English ladies and a group of handsome Germans. But on the Halong Bay trip, especially on the way back, I was befriended by a Danish couple - Annette and Steen. The photo below is them (2nd and 4th) and another English couple I met, eating at a French restaurant in Hanoi.

It was funny, eating quality French food in Vietnam, but I guess it makes sense, it having been a French colony and all. The owner of this place had clearly been there for decades, which was something I saw a bit of while there. It was very under-developed, very different in terms of culture, and in hindsight, a wonderful experience. The photo below is Annette and I (Steen took the photo) having street noodles for breakfast.

I developed a friendship with them, due to their kindness, calmness, and openness. They didn't speak a whole lot of English, but enough to communicate. We got to know each other mostly on the bus back from Halong Bay. I had initially agreed to get a train south with this other English guy, but I didn't really like him, so when I started chatting with the Danes, I decided to stick with them instead. We spent a day wandering around Hanoi, visiting the various war museums. They weren't much to look at, and mostly looked like piles of US gear that they had captured, including many various helmets. It was sobering though, and a terrible reminder of the wastefulness of war. 

One of the things I had in common with Steen though, was a love of football (soccer). He was a rabid Manchester United fan, and loved telling me about the various matches he had recently watched. ManU were, in those days, quite dominant after all. On one particular occasion he was trying to tell me that he had got up in the middle of the night to watch a game on TV. As his English was sketchy (far better than my non-existent Danish mind you), instead of saying he got up, he would say, "I stand up". I suspect the whole description ran into a few more than just one sentence, but what has stuck with me all these years, is "In Hoi An, I stand up. It's good!". Haha, Steen was a funny and lovely guy. The two days I spent with him and Annette were a real highlight of the trip for me, and one of the few times I have truly ventured outside my comfort zone and met other people while travelling. Another was at the cricket world cup in Sri Lanka, which I have also posted about. I really should get back to Vietnam for another look one day, as it has changed so much since 1997.