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30th March, 2001
Vietnam Begins The Adventures. Visiting Relatives And Friends Of Refugee. Hanoi Boy With Balloon Sits On Bench In Local Park
December, 1996
Vietnam is where my first Chinese friend came from in 1979, and so started my surprising web of Chinese and Vietnamese friends and acquaintances. Had Vietnam and China been on more friendlier terms at the time, then perhaps I might never have visited either country, nor enjoyed the friendship and companionship of so many Asians, in these two countries and in the U.K, and France. That is the reason there is a "Vietnam" page amongst the "China" pages !
In 1979 a young man named Hoang arrived in the UK as a refugee from Vietnam. In due course I was given the responsibility of teaching him some English and giving him an introduction to the, for him, strange customs of the Western World. A few months later he invited me to his home to meet his wife and to see their newly born baby girl. A few weeks later I met his family and friends, and subsequently their families and friends, and friends and families, of friends and families.... and so it all began.
During the passing years I learned much about their country and about their past life in Vietnam. In 1996, Trung and I decided to visit the town of Langson where he was born, and so we flew from Paris with Vietnam Airlines and arrived in Hanoi just before Christmas. Across the road from our hotel was a small park, where children played, young people gathered, and older people performed their Tai Chi exercises. On a bench sat a happy boy with a balloon, perhaps a symbol of hope that the difficult years had passed for ever.
From Hanoi we went by bus to Ha Long Bay to cruise around the spectacular collection of small mountain islands. On to Hai Phong by car to visit Pham's grandma, arriving on the wedding day of his aunt. Back to Hanoi to be met by Long who came to escort us to Langson. At Langson, Trung gave a banquet for his relatives and friends, where men, women and children sat at different tables. At the end of the banquet, each of the children presented me with a single red rose. I felt very honoured.
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In 1979 a young man named Hoang arrived in the UK as a refugee from Vietnam. In due course I was given the responsibility of teaching him some English and giving him an introduction to the, for him, strange customs of the Western World. A few months later he invited me to his home to meet his wife and to see their newly born baby girl. A few weeks later I met his family and friends, and subsequently their families and friends, and friends and families, of friends and families.... and so it all began.
At Langson, Trung gave a banquet for his relatives and friends, where men, women and children sat at different tables. At the end of the banquet, each of the children presented me with a single red rose. I felt very honoured.