black cat loves (???)piglet(???)10th October is the 1000th anniversary of Hanoi, and the celebrations started last night. As far as I can tell, they consist in some light shows, some kids banging drums, and insane amounts of traffic and crowds. We drove into the Old Quarter (busy central part) last night. I didn't take a photo, but it's not an exaggeration to say that the traffic was considerably worse than this:
Tensions were high, and there was a punch-up in the middle of the road. I didn't like it at all. Soon after I had some beer and some rice cake and felt much better.
I didn't take this photo either. Taking photos makes me feel like a tourist.
Tensions were high, and there was a punch-up in the middle of the road. I didn't like it at all. Soon after I had some beer and some rice cake and felt much better.I didn't take this photo either. Taking photos makes me feel like a tourist.The new prize for best thing carried on the back of a motorbike goes to the person carrying about 100 pink balloons, driving through heavy (heavy) traffic in the middle of Hanoi. They definitely couldn't see where they were going.
The prize for worst thing on the back of a motorbike, in fact perhaps the worst thing ever, is the 8 dead dogs I saw at about 7am this morning. They had no hair, their throats cut and judging by the size of their arseholes (sorry Mummy), their guts had also been removed via this exit. But they still had teeth and little doggy faces that bounced around when the bike went over bumps. I think it's illogical that it should be so much worse to see than a dead pig or a dead chicken, but it totally is. It's really, really horrible. It made me want a reassuring hug with Elsa.
Less morbidly, I have been planning what pet I will acquire when we move into our new house, next Monday. I wanted a rat but my housemates did not seem keen on this idea; apparently they think the rats in the staffroom at work are pests rather than cheerful companions. Now I want to either adopt the straggly little kitten tied to the tree outside work, or one of the rabbits stuffed into a cage in the Old Quarter, gnawing on the pigeons in the cage with them. I think they were going to be dinner. There are probably more respectable petshops, and I know that supposedly if you buy from the nasty places it's supporting the industry so you shouldn't do it, but I was thinking: me not buying from the less reputable places is hardly going to collapse the industry or actually make any difference whatsoever, whereas if I do buy a rabbit from there, I am making one rabbit's life much happier.
(The 1A Ethics course has finally come in useful.)
probably not going to be my pet'Curly hair' has officially been renamed 'noodle hair'.
I ate at a vegetarian macrobiotic restaurant with no menu and it was amazing.
I like driving my motorbike.
I might move jobs but I probably won't.
Mattresses are overrated.
I found a bar that plays System Of A Down.
You can make popcorn from peas.
Everybody should work with people who are reduced to hysterical laughter and screaming at the prospect of singing Wheels On The Bus; I think the world would be a happier place.
I didn't take this either, but I think it feels a lot like Hanoi.