Bonding – part 1

4:30pm

There were around 18ish of us. Or maybe 20. It does not feel like a holiday just yet.

Nghiem could not stand the heavy odor breeze coming from her back seat.

She decided to move next to me and tried to steal my food.

I guess she was hungry.

We were greeted by the appointed colleagues at the Noi Bai airport. Tuan was one of the guys I think. Our ‘hotel’ or so we called it was literally next door to the Ha Noi office. It’s more like guest house with basic amenities, yes basic but good enough.  Starving yet again, a. Tuan took us to a very Ha Noi Phở Quán around Hang Quat area. Most of us went for the chicken soup.  Despite the odd plain taste, we were happy to enjoy a hot bowl of pho for supper by the L shaped table. Of course…extreme yelling and demand always come handy when you’re dining out in Ha Noian resto. Hastily and enthusiastically we ate our meals. Then off to the Funky Buda for late drinks. I’ve been to the Buda before and could not recall anything special about the place or any outstanding Buda worth noticing. But we were special so that’s what it really matters. Johnny tried to make me dance with my limping leg while others were enjoying the short but fin clubbing moves. Huong, a Ha Noian colleague insisted that this is just drinks….’we’re not going out, tomorrow it will be but not tonight, this is nothing’.

I remember waking up early and checking on Nghiem & Yen’s room right after, just to ensure they will wake up and be ready in time for a new day.

I was starving and excited to be in Ha Noi again, this time with a whole bunch of new people.

When going in a large group, making decision can be tough, even when it’s to do with food, or should I re-phrase it especially on the topic of food.

A small group of us decided to head for Hang Ga for the steamed pork roll Banh Cuon with Ha Noi sausage. The dish is simple. The sausage is quickly dipped into the hard boil water to warm it up, arranged onto a small dish with lemon wedges and shall be dipped again into the serving mild fish sauce, served with hot Banh Cuon. The Banh Cuon’s stuffing here is very light and everyone kinda shares the ordered dish. Tuck in I always say. Second round of food was another specialty, led by Ms. Infamous Huong: the snail rice noodle soup – either served dipped or poured. Our morning could not be fuller with us walking around the Old Quarter finding the coffee place to enjoy. We walked rather a long way then eventually found ourselves back to the guest house.

So Nguyen Du street café it was.

Our afternoon destination for the afternoon was out of city center. We headed for the popular Đào farm. Like madness everyone hushed to capture all of the natural beautifully pink đào. I was not an exception though I found flowers are much easier to control than people.

Does this ‘french’ country inspiration or what?

Does not necessary looks glam, but this is how a farm ought to be I guess….one straight line of beautifully blossomed đào flower. Once a year around Tet time they compete to shine…to show off…or to be pollinated by some odd bugs – those who love pink flowers. This year the đào industry will continue to suffer with the additional lunar month where weather has made such a pressured impact on to the blossom timing. We arrived at the farm and 90% of the trees have already fully ‘flowered’. The entire space was covered in this strong power pink colour…and pretty much nothing else. It was cold, windy and well….refreshing.

All of us were busy striking the perfect pose among the forest of đào. Who wouldn’t. For me I found the joy in seeking the similar essence, the perfect ‘dáng’ of đào flower.

Blossom, according to the dictionary means ‘reproductive organ of angiosperm plants especially one having showy or colorful parts’

which is about right….Pink to me is the most natural and best colour to express the readiness of such a wonderful organ where it’s in its best. After all it’s not too showy and pleasant to the eye. I almost cant believe đào (roughly called prunus perscia) is related to the peach tree.

Im no expert at finding the perfect đào tree to take home. But I was magnified and lost searching for the most interesting looking đào. My tick list would include:

1. đào must be pink

2. đào has to be strong pink and not powdery pink

3. đào must be unique, different in its shape and size

4. đào must be alone, well not next to zillions other đào

5. lastly…wow factor: the one element that caught my eye…which is almost unexplainable.

As for this…something reminds me of New Zealand…..