Healthy Chickens Fail to Stop Bike Ride

I have a confession to make. Just over a week ago, in a meeting with my colleague Miss Oanh we both agreed that it would be for the best if there was a large chicken flu outbreak.

Okay, well not an outbreak, but a scare maybe. Enough for all the ex-pats to start scurrying off home. Enough so we could cancel the Ba Vi Bike Ride that KOTO holds every year.

And why would we wish this? Well at the time we had non of the essentials in place. No cyclists, no bikes, no medical support, no buses home, no ride notes. I could probably blame our lack of progress on our workload. But, if I’m honest, it could equally well be blamed on plain old rank crapness.

There was one lesson we told ourselves to remember after last year. Start planning earlier. Ah well – maybe next time.

But now the Ba Vi bike ride has come and gone. So how did it go?

Well, we had cyclists (a record number - pictured above), we had 20 bikes borrowed for the less serious cyclists (that’ll be another record), an ambulance followed the entire trip complete with medical team. The ride notes were a triumph and no one got lost (well not for long anyway).

And putting aside all these organisational highs, how was it received?

Maannnn.... it was a 100%, fantastic, blue-skied, smiley-faced, big massive lump of an absolutely unqualified success.

With every minute of the bike ride ticking away I started to believe it might be a success. My mobile (to be rung in emergencies) barely beeped and I sailed around on the back of Oanh’s motorbike slowly daring to believe we might just have pulled it off.

And so we did. Looking back over the pics it’s wall-to-wall happy faces.

And when we had returned and started the evening party, it became this friendly little group of tired but chuffed cyclists. All barriers broken down and everyone keen to thank KOTO for organising the experience. It was a very nice little do after a marvellous day.

It didn’t happen easily. We were still securing bikes nine hours before the ride. Still securing medical support two days before the ride. And the buses weren’t in place till the day before that. To add to that the day itself started for me before 5am and I didn’t get back till 12.

But......we fecking nailed it. Well and truly. Good and proper.

I’m feeling proud today. Smugly proud of myself from time to time but for the most part just proud of my team. Next week I’m taking Huy and Oanh (pictured below with happy cyclists) out for pizza and ice cream to celebrate. It's going to be one of the longest lunch hours on record.

We feel like a very strong unit.

Today someone suggested that the bike ride should become a bi-annual event.

Bollocks. There’s no way I’m going through that stress again until another 12 months are up.

Glad they enjoyed it anyway though.

Check out the contrast with last year's race here.

The soundtrack to my life

They say when you're in love you think that every song on the radio is about you and the object of your affection.

Well, as I have already written, the Ipod has been with me since Easter but it's only recently that I have discovered the delights of listening to it on the back of a xe om as we slalom through the traffic. And it's Vietnam rather than a female companion that every song relates to.

This week has been a hard one. We have the Ba Vi bike ride tomorrow. Our single biggest annual fundraising event. It's a mammoth task to organise. But I am blessed with a fabulous team.

Oanh, Hien and Huy (pictured with me above) have been tremendous in their support. We have grown closer in during preparations and every new rider entered, every new sponsorship secured, every new support vehicle added to the list has meant more cheers and high fives as the excitement has grown.

I am so very very proud of them. They have all worked so hard and taken on a lot of responsibility and so far they have completed everything that has been asked of them. They are the future of KOTO marketing and fundraising. KOTO is in good hands.

Anyway...with today the last day before the big bike ride and with some last minute errands to run, I jumped on the back of the xe om this morning. I lit up a Marlboro and switched on the 'pod and the following came on, entirely at random.

My head started to nod, I broke into a smile and for the one millionth time in Vietnam I reflected on just how good life is.

Now no one could accuse Oasis of emotional depth but for the umpteenth occasion in recent weeks a tune came on that summed up all my thoughts. My pride in my team, my belief in KOTO and my ongoing ponderings over my future.

Here is it:

I don't know what it is
That makes me feel alive
I don't know how to wake
The things that sleep inside
I only wanna see the light
That shines behind your eyes

I hope that I can say
The things I wish I'd said
To sing my soul to sleep
And take me back to bed
You want to be alone
When we could be alive instead

Because we need each other
We believe in one another
And I know we're going to uncover
What's sleepin' in our soul

There are many things
That I would like to know
And there are many places
That I wish to go
But everything's depending
On the way the wind may blow

I don't know what it is
That makes me feel alive
I don't know how to wake
The things that sleep inside
I only wanna see the light
That shines behind your eyes

Because we need each other
We believe in one another
And I know we're going to uncover
What's sleepin' in our soul

Because we believe
Because we believe
Because we believe

New Horizons in the same old town.

Inspired by Noodlepie's tales of domain name buying I have snapped up www.ourmaninhanoi.com.

But it is, I guess, an action that stands for something more significant than it first appears.

I set up this blog in order to keep my friends and family informed of my time in Hanoi. As it has worked out, it has also been a tremendous tool for KOTO. It has helped raise several thousands dollars. It has created a lot of media interest and I am sure that it's prompted many trips to our restaurant at 61 Van Mieu and many meals have been bought and enjoyed for the cause.

So it's been a tremendous tool in that respect. The idea was that it would be a two year project - written off when my program finished in September 06. From there it would stand as a body of work that reflected my time here.

So why am I spending money on a domain name for a blog that will soon be redundant?

I guess the simple truth is that it won't be redundant.

Our Man in Hanoi has thought about it and Our Man in Hanoi wants to stay in.... well.. Hanoi. I've never been happier and more settled in my life so why would I want to move?

There are issues I need to address here. As much as I love KOTO I need some of my life back. We're just coming up to a third week in a row where I have worked seven days without a break. I can't continue to do that and so KOTO deserves someone new and fresh who perhaps can give that commitment.

Me? Well, I want to continue to work with KOTO but on a part-time basis. I don't want to be fundraiser anymore (you can only ask so many people for so many things before it's just becomes embarrassing). Instead I want to do what I am really experienced at - namely writing, PR, editing etc. If they want me that is. Or "if selected" as Alan Shearer might say.

I've been formulating my plans out loud to people and suddenly everyone is suggesting work that they might be able to offer me. I'm not going to be rich but I think I can support myself.

Working part time will also give me the opportunity to discover more of this beautiful country. I'll be able to forsake my volunteer push bike for a motor bike and to some exploring.

So...with 10 months to go...I think I am staying. Certainly that is the plan right now but there's every chance that the next 10 months will be as big a roller coaster as the previous 14. I am sure that I will change my mind many many times between now and then.

But, as I said, I think I am staying. And if I am going to make a go of earning a living from written-based work then this website, can be a shop window too. For that you need a proper domain name or it just looks a bit low-tech and crappy.

Writing, blogging, staying in Hanoi and working for KOTO.

What could be more perfect? It feels right. It feels good.

Still not selling my season ticket for Newcastle United yet though.

Early for Christmas

I was up bright and early this morning.

As ever I packed up my laptop that I drag between home and work. Grabbed my camera and a spare set of batteries and headed towards the KOTO restaurant.

My mission was to create Xmas on our little corner of Van Mieu street.

Christmas pics were needed. Needed for the KOTO Christmas Menu and there's also a chance of us putting out some KOTO Christmas cards too.

So the box with all the Christmas deccies was taken out of storage. Before long there was a bunch of assembled KOTO kids in various degrees of festive attire.

Above is one of the better shots. Not entirely pleased with the pics in general, it was a little too dark this morning. But...hey they're for Christmas. Stick 'em through Picasa, crank up the saturation, light fill and glow and upload them to Flickr.

The entire set is here.

This year I will be back in the UK for Christmas. The main reason being that my little sister will be getting married in December so I am going to hang around for the turkey dinner (no fowl this year in Vietnam).

But as a reminder to anyone out there. My Christmas Eve, including dinner at KOTO last year, was not only one of my best Christmases ever, it was also one of the most memorable days of my life. I wrote about it here. I just read it again and got goosebumps.

Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day lunch will be served again at KOTO this year. As I speak a delegation from kitchen and marketing are sorting out prices and menus.

Alongside the food, expect happy faces, kids in santa hats singing carols and in general the smiliest Christmas you will ever have known.

So if you're interested and in town over the festive period then drop me a line and I'll send you details. It won't be as flashy as the Hilton, or as cheap as pho bo but it'll have you smiling a big daft grin that will last till New Year.

I promise.

Five Songs

You know that line - it's a tired one. The one that couples say to each other on the TV when they're splitting up.

"I still love you, but I'm not IN love with you."

Well it dawned on me tonight that I don't love Hanoi, I'm IN love with Hanoi.

Really. That is what it feels like. Like I'm a 16 year old who asked a girl to the school disco and she said yes. And I'm skipping home punching the air and kicking up autumn leaves.

It feels like a drug. A drug that hits me occasionaly. One of pure euphoria. And I'm coming up on some strong narcotic and my toe is started to tap and I'm breaking out into an involuntary grin.

I have got into the habbit recently of plugging in my Ipod when cruising home on the back of a xe om. I made a five song set list and pressed play as we set off. I figured that it would be long enough to see me home.

I cruised down Thuy Khue as "Dirty Old Town", the Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger version, came on:

"Clouds are drifting across the moon. Cats are prowling on their beat. Spring's a girl in the street at night. Dirty old town, dirty old town."

We skirted past Ho Chi Minh's Mausolem, so magnificently lit up against the dark night, as "Holes" by Mercury Rev started to play. It's a beautiful piece - building and building to this incredible emotional euphoria (there's that word again)

"Time, all the long red lines. That take control. Of all the smokelike streams. That flow into your dreams."

Then, as we were hitting that "Times Square" intersection of Dien Bien Phu, Hang Bong, Tho Nhuom and Cua Nam, it was "Second Life" by Witness.

"I remember losing my way and then. Winding up here, winding up here. Closing down on all I can. Closing down on all I can."

And on the final leg, up Ba Trieu and down an alley way to Quang Trung it was the ever beautiful "Look of Love" by Dusty Springfield. As I was walking down the little path to my off-the-road home, these lines were playing...

"Let this be just the start. Of so many nights like this"

Finally, I unplugged the earphones walked through my front door, plugged the Ipod into the speaker for the final song of the five: "Hurt" by Johnny Cash.

"And If I could start again a million miles away. I would keep myself, I would find a way."

As I've mentioned before. I've strongly considered leaving when my two year program here is up.

Trouble is, I am not sure I can.

And I apologise for the pure, unadulterated cheese of this post. But it's Monday night. It's dark outside and I'm back in my home. And that's exactly how it happened. And that's how it felt.

It was the perfect set list.

Another day

Today has been a typically KOTO day.

Yesterday, late in the working day I was told that KOTO was attending a function and would I go. I agreed with something of a heavy heart. It’s my weekend and it’s all too easy to spend all your days working for the cause. You have to say no sometimes.

But my arm was twisted. I agreed to go.

The function was part of a big celebration of the Indian Festival of Light. The money raised was for the Pakistan earthquake. The idea was that we would have a stall, sell food, cover our costs and the profits would go to the cause.

So I arrived at the restaurant ready to meet up with my kitchen colleagues. My job was simply to take the money and to tell anyone who wanted to listen more about KOTO.

But as ever, it becomes more than. We didn’t have a copy of the menu to post at the stall. Nobody would know what we were selling and how much it would cost. Eventually prices were produced – a lot of them ended in fives, rather than a round ten. Only a potential problem because the food would be exchanged for vouchers. Were their vouchers in fives or just tens? Didn’t anybody know.

I was in a stinking mood. No one seemed to know what was going on. I felt like having been volunteered for this at the 11th hour, I would be the one left to blame it if all went horribly wrong. I was trying to hold it together but nobody seemed to know anything about the event and what we would be doing. It’s something of a recurring theme.

We bagged up the food and utensils, found our spot. And realised that the barbecue we had been promised to cook on was charcoal not gas and we didn’t have charcoal. Somebody was dispatched to buy it.

I didn’t fancy the chances of the event being successful. To my volunteer pockets it seemed a little overpriced. I was always worried that we would be selling hotdogs and burgers at an Indian festival. Hardly ethnic. Could we compete with the fabulous looking biryanis and madrasas?

But we started and from the outset it was manic. Big crowds of people at our table thrusting their vouchers at us. Two and three deep. All pretence at marketing and handing out leaflets was gone as I was pressed into service giving out food.

And we ran out of plates. So we had to start serving on napkins. Then we ran out of sausages then buns and people still wanted more. Another volunteer showed up, although just out for her Saturday night, she was pressed into service as we threatened to drown under the weight of hungry punters.

This incredible rush went from half five and didn’t really start to die till nine. Virtually everything was sold. The KOTO kids had chopped, cut, served up and smiled at 100mph for three and a half hours. I guess they do it every day in the kitchen but I was gobsmacked by the pace and entirely knackered.

On the next stall was a very plush restaurant. They know about KOTO and were asking when the next graduates would be available. They wanted Miss Hue now (hands off she’s staff). Hue was a whirling dervish of customer care and kitchen skills.

They wanted Miss Xam too – who just floored me today with her dedication and good humour. I remember Miss Xam (pictured) when she first started. The quietest little thing she was. Now she’s an outgoing, confident adult and by all accounts will be an outstanding chef. She’s a diamond.

I was drenched in sweat. Trying my best to stop it dripping of my nose into the food.

And then it was over. As ever all hands to the pumps and the kids cleared up. They were very proud of all the cash vouchers we had taken. Somebody will have the hard job of counting it sometime soon. But although it wasn’t their money they were so excited by it.

And we got taxis (any ideas on how we can get an outside catering van for KOTO?) back to the restaurant where the rest of the KOTO staff were serving a few late straggling diners. I bid my team all many many thanks and got on the back of a xe om home.

And the xe om driver was a giggler. And we joked with each other in broken English and Vietnamese all the way home – howling with laughter.

It feels so good here. It feels so right to be here. And I am so proud of KOTO. So proud of what it achieves. And particularly I was so proud of the kids today.

Another day in the life. As ever the chaos of KOTO was put into place by amazing team work.

Tomorrow starts for me at 7am. The kids are taking part in a sponsored run/walk for the Terry Fox Charity.

I think I’ll need a break soon.

North versus South

My Dad with friendly Hanoi cyclo driver

It's been an on-going debate on here as well as probably every other Nam-based blog.

The North verus the South.

I guess I have two points of view on this one. Firstly when I arrived here in Hanoi, three years ago, the capital was my first stop, and first time, in Asia, never mind Vietnam.

I was ripped off, I had arguments with taxi drivers,I found the traffic overwhelming. After four days I got tired of it and I fled to the relative comfort of the beach in Nha Trang. Thirty six hours on a train seemed a small price to pay to leave the madness behind.

Over the next week or so I got "the hang" of Vietnam. I stopped getting ripped off and I starting to relax. Looking back I have always attributed my difficulties in Hanoi to my lack of experience rather than any Hanoi failings.

Secondly, I arrived here again. Just over a year ago. My former stay in Vietnam had lasted just over a month and by the end I was haggling and joking with locals and genuinely felt very at home. That was why I was so eager to return.

But this time I would be living, and staying, in Hanoi. How would I cope? The answer was, it has been a breeze. Being a volunteer isn't always an easy life - work pressures, distance from home, tight budgets etc - but Hanoi itself has been perfect.

I can honestly say that I cannot remember a single problem this time around. Now I have been told this is because I am a pretty big, fairly imposing looking bloke. I might not look like someone you might want to argue with. That may be true. Females I know don't always report the same findings.

But I am still not convinced. I think Vietnamese people have a sense of your mood and your attitude. So if you don't trust the guy you are dealing with, and think he will rip you off, then he probably will.

On the other hand, breeze in all smiles and jokes and ever the smallest smattering of Vietnamese and the service improves.

So is Hanoi really so rude? I have to say I don't see it. Yes, as I found, it can be. But on the whole no. Not in my longer term experience.

I think there are a number of other issues that have to be taken into mitigation for Hanoi. Firstly Hanoi is often the first stop. Dealing with Hanoi jetlagged is a nightmare. That required smile you need to get by - you're just way too tired to flash it.

And from there it's a downward spiral. Your first impressions already ruined, you face the next day edgy and untrusting and it gets worse still. Before long you're on that train to Nha Trang.

Countries involved with the American war also have an obvious distrust of the North. The myth of the hard faced, commie North is just that, a myth. With the possible exception of a few uniformed individuals.

My advice would be this: I can only say that personally I have found no problems. If you are having problems then take a look at how you behave. Is there anything you are doing wrong? Or if it is going wrong then take a deep breath - paint on a smile - and try again.

The Pieman who has a far better command of Vietnamese than I will ever have, has suggested that while people may be smiling to my face, they may also be saying horrible things about me that I can't understand.

He may be right. But then again I have heard the Vietnamese for "very fat" so many times I recognise it instantly. And to be honest I don't take it as an insult. At worst it's that Vietnamese style of teasing. At best it's an observation almost verging on a compliment (people have also looked me up and down and then desribed me as healthy).

I am sure that worse things are said. But then again I have shared a whole stack of taxis with ex-pats who have ripped into the driver knowing that he won't understand a word. For right or wrong, that's what people do when they think someone else won't understand. Isn't it?

Of course I can't really comment too deeply on Saigon. Flying visits have left me with the impression of a more modern, forward thinking, westernised town. But also of being a little soulless, more than a little seedy and of being something of a giant urban sprawl. I am still yet to work out if Saigon has a centre.

Then again, on my first here I loved Saigon and had a ball.

Anyway, all of this was prompted firstly by recent comments I have read on here and other blogs. It was also as a result of speaking to an American tour group who told me how rude they found people here - but how amazing they were in the South. Maybe it just depends on who you perceive as the good guys and bad guys.

But following all of that my mum and dad arrived in town on Saturday. They were tired. It was their first time in Asia. I feared the worst.

So far though, they're loving it. They're still fighting the jetlag and, I think, without me here to meet them, they would be struggling badly. But I've shown them around and it's been wall to wall smiles.

I am very proud of my folks. Proud that they came to came all this way to see me and Vietnam. Proud of their unstinting support after I decided to leave the UK to do volunteer work. Proud that they seem to fit right in here. Proud that they can see what I do in Hanoi.

Today they're on a tour to Halong Bay. I'll join them for dinner this evening and tomorrow they leave bright and early for Hue.

I'll be interested to get the impressions on North versus South.

The real Vietnam

Miss Thu visits home.

So what is the real Vietnam?

Is it old school Hanoi, swinging Saigon or antiquated Hoi An?

To my mind I guess it's none of these.

What makes Vietnam unique, amongst a million other peculiarities, is its shape. The long thin strip joined head to toe by Highway One doesn't exactly encourage people to go off the beaten track.

But having read that something like 70% of the workforce still work in production, off Highway One, in the depths of the countryside, that is where the real Vietnam is. Or at least Vietnam at it's most typical.

At KOTO we were recently visited by BBC World who are doing a feature on us (more details of when it will be shown when I know them). They were due to interview a graduate, Miss Thu, film her at her new job at the Hilton and then take her back to her countryside home to meet her parents.

On a pre film briefing they asked me what it would be like. Trust me, I told them, it will be beautiful. From Highway One you can see it in parts, but once you get away from the noise of the trucks the tranquil nature of the countrside hits you. Impossibly green and lush and bathed, for most of the year, in water. It's the cliche - buffalos, conical hats and biycycles.

The came, they saw, they filmed and they were duly gobsmacked.

But as I said, for us feaful foreigners getting off the beaten track is not easy.

Ahhhh... but that is where KOTO comes in. As you may recall I mentioned our bike ride recently. It is just beautiful. When I first checked out by route I had to beg for us to stop to take photos. It is quite breathtaking - who would have thought that only a few Ks out of Hanoi you could find such calm.

Anyway, the bike ride is on November 26th. Please come along - it is a fantastic day out through rice fields, pagodas and country villages. It is awesome. KOTO provides breakfast, lunch and a party afterwards. It's going to be a whole lot of fun.

For more information go here: www.kotobikeride.com. Go on sign up - you know you want to. Oh and make sure your friends do too.

KOTO: The Next Generation

This week we have been joined at KOTO by our most recent class. Class eight.

That's them above. Looking like...well..like trainees do when they first join us. For the most part a little scared, a little tattered and somewhat unhealthy.

I know, already that they will leave here well turned out, healthy, confident, skilled professionals. I know because that is what KOTO does. That is what we have now done for coming up to 200 young people. All of them given a chance in life that so many of us take for granted. To watch the transformation is a very humbling but rewarding experience.

Some more news (with more to come). Word reaches me of a group of KOTO kids that have set up their own restaurant. Can you imagine that? Former postcard kids and shoeshine boys setting up their own place. Yet more real life, true story fairy tales.

It's incredible. We all feel so proud and we're doing what we can to support their venture.

More news on this very soon.

In the meantime. As ever KOTO need's sponsors. So if you would like to make an investment that means a young person can build a life and a career. Then click here.