- 16 hours ago
Bill Bailey’s Vietnam - Season 1 Episode 4 -
Hanoi
Hanoi
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00The urge to cull a few of these tiny stools that bedevil this great nation.
00:05I really want to kick one of those stools into the water.
00:11Everywhere I turn is one of these spinal tormentors, but I'm on my best behavior.
00:17This stool will live to bend the knees of another hapless giant. Not today, really.
00:22Vietnam. Of course, it's a place of tea plantations, traffic, temples, but then it's something else entirely.
00:40Come with me on an unusual, unfiltered, unforgettable adventure.
00:49Give me five.
00:52My mind's off on a whole bunch of other tangents.
00:56I'm thinking about a sandwich I had in 1982.
00:59As this nation commemorates 50 years since the end of the war.
01:02So it's safe, right?
01:04I'll explore this fertile land, ask the big questions.
01:07Am I in the right place?
01:09Embrace new experiences, even my own future.
01:13Problem, you are smart and tested.
01:16Is there any, you know, good news?
01:18Navigate tight spaces.
01:21I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to get out.
01:23Make some new friends.
01:26Separated at birth.
01:27This is a voyage of discovery, of strange encounters.
01:30This is your whole life in a plant.
01:32And kindred spirits.
01:34An enchanted stroll to one of the most fascinating places on Earth.
01:39Welcome to Bill Bailey's Vietnam Adventure.
01:42Well, it's six o'clock in the morning here in Hanoi.
02:02And the city's waking up.
02:06Lots of people taking part in these sort of morning activities.
02:12There's joggers are out.
02:14The tai chi and the yoga practitioners are all out.
02:19There's a lot of activity going on.
02:20And I'm just about to take part in a bit of laughing yoga.
02:28Before I giggle my way to enlightenment or perhaps a public humiliation, I want to show you where I am.
02:35The name Hanoi means the city inside the river.
02:39And it's a nod to its location, nestled between riverbends in the northern part of the country.
02:45This is a chance for me to explore Vietnam's spiritual side.
02:49From life to death and all the curious rituals in between.
02:53I'm told that laughter is the best medicine.
02:56Well, not if you're an asthmatic like me.
02:58But I'm open to persuasion.
03:08As a comedian, it seems a little odd to start with the laughing and work backwards.
03:12But hey, when in Hanoi...
03:19Vin, our instructor, has some tricks up his sleeve to keep it light.
03:23I feel this could be the point of no return.
03:41I'm in danger of losing my mind.
03:43You know what...
04:10I don't know!
04:11I don't know! I don't know! I don't know! I don't know!
04:17Watch out, Nick! Yay!
04:21Now for the silent treatment.
04:25How long can you go without laughing?
04:27I like this game.
04:28One, two, three!
04:38I'm just warming up now.
04:41Letting go is so liberating.
04:44What an absolute joy to be lost in the moment.
04:47Completely.
04:55As someone for whom laughter is my business,
04:57I'm interested to know what they get out of it.
05:00In my job in London, I'm a comedian.
05:04I tell jokes.
05:06Get laughs.
05:08So, perhaps we could do that.
05:10I'll tell a joke.
05:11No, no, no, no.
05:12No.
05:13Don't need anything.
05:14Hummer.
05:14No.
05:15Just, we laugh for no reason.
05:17For no reason?
05:18Well, that's literally the whole point of my life.
05:21Well, that's me out of a job.
05:23Normally, my body don't know what is real effect.
05:28Your body reacts like it's a genuine laugh.
05:35With or without a comedic setter, your body is getting the benefits.
05:39Vin and the women who do this between 5 and 6 a.m. every day
05:43tell me they do it for the endorphins and the positive energy.
05:46Vietnamese people talk together.
05:49If we don't save the time to do the morning exercise.
05:53Hospital.
05:54Yeah, it becomes a patient.
05:56You'll get ill.
05:57Keeping positive in here as well.
06:02You've been doing this, what, 14 years now?
06:06Laughing every day.
06:08Every day.
06:09Yeah.
06:10These lovely ladies remind me of my mum, who I lost in 2005.
06:15Like them, she loved to laugh, to nurture and look after everyone.
06:20Oh.
06:21One, two, three.
06:23Yay!
06:25That was great fun.
06:33I actually feel quite energised by that.
06:36Laughing's hard.
06:37You know, really gets the blood pumping, gets the air going through the lungs.
06:43It's a workout in itself.
06:45Better than jogging, anyway.
06:49The Red River brings a vitality, a life force to the city.
06:54It symbolises fertility, a deep-rooted connection between nature and people.
06:59Along with the river, there's another man-made thoroughfare that powers straight through the centre of Hanoi.
07:06It's almost unbelievable and defies logic.
07:09I need to see it to believe it.
07:12So, behind me is the famous train street here in Hanoi.
07:18And this was built by the French in 1902 and was used as a regular train line.
07:27But, in recent times, it's become a hugely popular tourist attraction because the train line runs through buildings and houses and cafes which are built right up to the tracks.
07:39Incredibly, a large, unyielding train passes through this press of humanity several times a day, often not even on time.
07:47Well, apparently, one of the things to do here, you get a bottle top off a beer bottle and you put it on the rail,
07:53and the train goes past and flatten it.
07:55So, when in Rome...
07:59Any minute now, the 11.23 service to Ha Long City will be barrelling through here, blowing the froth off these cappuccinos.
08:12What?
08:14The train is about to come through here.
08:16And there's people ordering things from the cafe across the other side of the tracks.
08:20There's people shouting.
08:23It's mental.
08:24Here it comes.
08:28Here it comes.
08:30Oh, my Lord.
08:33Oh, dear dear.
08:37What the ****?
08:41Oh, my ****.
08:43Oh, my ****.
08:45Honestly, this is like a health and safety nightmare.
09:00Stop going.
09:01This is the last carriage.
09:03We Closed Bottle.
09:13Hey, whoo-hoo!
09:15Absolute madness.
09:16And here…
09:17Here's my bottle top.
09:19Well, I think I've got myself a new pleturum.
09:24That was, yeah, quite an experience.
09:28I mean, it's a big train, it's not just a little, like a tube train, it's a big proper inter-Sydney train, huge rolling stock, enormous great thing, a foot from your nose.
09:44After any near-death experience, I always feel peckish, perhaps it's a renewed appetite for life.
09:50So I'm heading to the old town, away from the touristy bud, seeking sustenance for the mind and for the body.
10:00It seems like a lovely spot to just hang out and have a plate of noodles.
10:07It's quite different from other cities in Vietnam, inasmuch as a lot of people still live in the city.
10:17It feels more like village life.
10:21People are still living in these areas.
10:26It feels a little more lively.
10:30I love it. Kind of reminds me of home.
10:34And this is delicious. Oh, my word.
10:39But just when you think all your needs are catered for, a street vendor walks past selling everything at the kitchen sink.
10:46In fact, she's probably got that as well.
10:49Oh.
10:51Oh.
10:53How much for one?
10:55Money.
10:56Money?
10:57OK. I'll give you that one.
11:02It's OK.
11:03But it doesn't go all the way down.
11:06You drive a hard bargain.
11:08So the initial price was 100, and I said, no, I'm not paying that, because it's only a back scratcher.
11:18So I went in low at 20, but she sort of haggled me up to 30.
11:26So I don't know. I think I've got... I think we've both got a good deal.
11:3130,000 dong is not even a quid.
11:33Oh.
11:34But its scratchability is worth ten times that.
11:36Yes.
11:38That is hitting the spot.
11:39What?
11:40No, no, no, no, no.
11:41What are you saying?
11:42What?
11:43Oh, down the shirt.
11:44Oh, I didn't think that.
11:45Should've put it down the back of my shirt.
11:46I don't need that.
11:47Just scratch it through my shirt.
11:49Despite having no official religion, Vietnam is nonetheless a deeply spiritual place.
12:09Family shrines adorn the households throughout the nation.
12:14I've never seen the people here.
12:16throughout the nation I've never been one for the spirit world but I'm here to
12:22meet someone who apparently has a great affinity with these matters so bearing
12:28gifts I come to find out what the universe has in store for me hello learn
12:34yes they're building that's lovely to meet you nice to meet you too I brought
12:38some offerings yes for the temple so mr. Lum practices doubt on mo the worship
12:46of mother goddesses which was established in Vietnam in the 16th century it's a
12:51branch of Vietnamese folk religion which is more shamanic in nature in our culture
12:59hmm the mother is the biggest everything big is a female for example the great
13:07rival is mean the female right rival I see so greatness is associated with
13:16with femininity we believe in the great in the great of the mother right his
13:22path to this role wasn't straightforward he studied medicine abroad before finding
13:27his home as a spiritual practitioner what do people believe in this religion
13:32Vietnamese religion what happens when you die we have the mother goddess of the
13:37earth like you come home just with us I'm looking forward to that relaxing yeah just relaxing just
13:47relaxing even though fortune-telling is seen by the government as superstitious it's still a
13:53widely used custom no no the reason I'm here partly is to make some offerings to meet you and also I
14:00believe to find out a little bit about my own future and maybe any advice you have for me so
14:09the first you must tell me your full name okay bill Bailey Bailey yes a bird 1965 and your place the place
14:22where I live yes is in London can you give me the full address well if I give the full address that
14:31people come around my house yes I'll give you how my address matters is beyond me but it's clearly part of the
14:43the process this year's is not a good year of you oh get a little problem your small intestine
14:54it can be worse and it will become the disease around October okay because of the job because of
15:10something like that something like that you have too much the problem to take care in your life and you don't focus to
15:20yourself yeah that's true so you must focus with your cells because your health your health is not good because
15:33your he continued in this downbeat vein for a while honestly it wasn't that great sounds pretty bleak is there any
15:39you know good news good news anything positive I can think about nope well I better get praying for my
15:51small intestine when I first went in there I was a little skeptical I have to say quite a few of the things that
16:05the lamb said we're right on the money and really quite good advice so I guess that's what I'll take from it
16:21look after yourself you know don't work too hard look out for others let them be who they want to be I mean all of
16:35all of that is good advice
16:43as I reluctantly process my mortality and consider my bleak future I need a distraction something more in the here and now
16:50so days on the road have left me a little scruffy in Hanoi you can get a tidy up at the side of the road I looked in the mirror the other day and I was looking a bit unkempt and I just spotted that there's these um
16:53these barbers that have set up these little street barbershops so I thought I'd come and get a bit of a trim and I'm going to ask him if he can shave my ears because my ears are getting a little bit hairy
17:05there's a barber at the end of my road in London that I go to often but I'll tell you what he could learn a thing or two from this fellow this is next level grooming
17:25But I tell you what, he could learn a thing or two from this fellow.
17:28This is next-level grooming.
17:32It's getting in me ears.
17:34They really need it doing. It's ridiculous.
17:37I don't know what happens when you get older.
17:39The hair disappears off the top of your head.
17:41It just seems to go into your brain and come out of your ears.
17:44My ears have never been hairier.
17:47Wow.
17:49That's the cleanest that ear's been in years.
17:51That's the sort of thing I'd clean the car with.
17:56It works.
17:58This is less of a barbershop, more a public spectacle.
18:01I can't imagine getting my nose shaved and a street in London.
18:05But this is Hanoi, where it's de rigueur.
18:07Well, that was fantastic. I mean, I feel great.
18:12I just wanted a shave and a trim, but I got the full works.
18:17This guy, he's a top barber. He knows what he's doing.
18:21I feel... I feel like a million dollars.
18:24I feel ready to face the day.
18:28As I strut around Hanoi with my striking new exterior,
18:32it's my interior I'm focused on.
18:35Mr. Lum's insights into what the future might hold for my health
18:38are playing on my mind.
18:40I went to a priest, and he said that my small intestine
18:52might give me a problem.
18:54I must know clearly what the problem is.
19:01It's not an unreasonable request from shop owner Jenny here on Lan Ong Street,
19:14a famous area dedicated to traditional medicine.
19:17I want to be a bit healthier.
19:21Jenny has a degree in traditional Vietnamese medicine,
19:24a practice influenced by the Chinese.
19:27It's a holistic approach, strictly herbal products
19:30that aim to restore balance in the body.
19:32A Chinese medicine you can cook in, you can drink.
19:36This bag is a type of leaf that can treat constipation.
19:41Yeah, I'll keep that in mind.
19:43This one is the tea, constipation tea.
19:46This is for everything.
19:49Reduce aging, weight loss, liver detox.
19:52This, yeah, this is exactly it.
19:54Yeah, yeah, exactly.
19:55Sounds like the ultimate wonder herb,
19:58the mythical cure that promises to fix everything
20:00from my gut to my existential dread.
20:02I've taken the priest's advice.
20:05I've decided to take better care of myself.
20:07First step, I've got some traditional medicine,
20:10some remedies for a bit of gut health,
20:13a bit of general health.
20:15Here, remedies like this
20:18are integrated into Vietnam's public health system.
20:23And it's almost like the West is slowly catching up to this.
20:27Medicinal shopping isn't just about curing what ails you.
20:31Some good old-fashioned retail therapy can also do the trick.
20:35You just need to know where to go.
20:37With my mum still on my mind
20:39and word of a Vietnamese tradition
20:41that honours those no longer with us,
20:43I'm meeting up with a local guide,
20:45Danny, to help me shop.
20:49Just on the way here,
20:50I saw there was a shop selling lampshades.
20:53Mm-hmm.
20:54Then there was a shop selling balloons.
20:56Yes.
20:56Then there was one selling fruit.
20:58Then there's flowers.
20:59Yes.
21:00Flowers everywhere.
21:01So you can see the host...
21:02No mouths here with designer brands.
21:04Danny tells me Lanong Street is the best place to buy items
21:08to celebrate a special custom here.
21:10It involves fire, paper, and the afterlife.
21:14It's a very traditional thing that we have.
21:19Like, we believe our ancestor or our dead grandmother, grandfather,
21:23they will continue living in another place.
21:27So on the middle day of the month,
21:29we were burning the money paper.
21:32Or maybe once I saw my mum burn a mansion.
21:36A mansion?
21:36Made of paper.
21:37Like a huge house made of paper?
21:39A mansion, yes.
21:40Who was that for?
21:41Oh, for my grandmother.
21:43Your grandmother?
21:44Yes.
21:44So she's got a nice place to live in the other world.
21:48Sure.
21:49Like she will have a mansion
21:50and she can invite friends to join her for parties.
21:54Right.
21:54Yeah.
21:55We believe that whatever happens,
21:56whatever we do in this life,
21:58we'll be continuing that life.
22:01I'm intrigued by the local custom to honour loved ones
22:04by buying handcrafted paper effigies and burning them.
22:08The idea is these items will pass through the smoke
22:11and rise up into the next life to be with them.
22:13You would provide people with things that they might need?
22:16Yes, money, car.
22:18Money, clothes.
22:19Clothes, of course.
22:20Food?
22:21Yeah, sometimes.
22:22A car?
22:23A bit of food.
22:24How do you know that you can drive a car in the other world, though?
22:28Well, for people who have drive a license,
22:31that would not be a big problem.
22:32Right.
22:33You need a driving license, though.
22:34Yeah.
22:34You couldn't just assume that you could drive there.
22:38Yeah.
22:39Or if you're not sure about that, you burn the horse.
22:42Burn a horse, right.
22:43Yep.
22:44Just to sort of cover all your bases for travel.
22:47So we're going to hang these on that tree.
22:49Paper effigies are an art form in their own right,
22:52a symbol of the care we still have for those who have left this world.
22:56It's a tiny little dog.
22:58Oh, look at this.
23:00Is this something that you would burn?
23:02Yeah, it does look like what my mum's used to burn.
23:07Oh, my word.
23:08Yeah.
23:09It's an entire mansion.
23:11It comes with a dog.
23:12It comes with a car, a dog, a fan, like a dining table, a little bonsai tree.
23:18This is amazing.
23:20One, two, three, four, five.
23:21My mum, Madryn, left us 20 years ago, and I'd love to send her something she'd really appreciate.
23:26I'm thinking about getting a little something to burn for my mum.
23:33Sure.
23:34I mean, are there other items here?
23:36Do you think I might be able to find a radio or a music?
23:41You love music, you see?
23:42Well, probably.
23:44That's what you're looking for.
23:46That's it?
23:47Yeah.
23:48That's exactly it.
23:51This is a Toshiba radio.
23:55That is exactly it.
23:56I think your mum's going to love it.
23:58My old pal, Sean Locke, left us in 2021, and I'd like to send him something special, too.
24:05Who wouldn't love a big horse like that?
24:07Yeah.
24:09They're so demanding, aren't they, the restless spirits of the dead?
24:13Yeah.
24:15They're always after something.
24:17They're pretty more demanding in that life than they were in this.
24:20Yeah.
24:22Well, my mum said, oh, they are dead.
24:24Just give them what they want.
24:26Why not?
24:28Yeah, fair enough.
24:30A radio and a horse.
24:31Two items I didn't see myself buying and made out of paper
24:35that will soon go up in flames when I do a ceremonial burn before I leave Hanoi.
24:41As you do.
24:47In the centre of Hanoi, in its beating heart,
24:50stands something immovable, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.
24:54A monumental brutalist structure that houses the preserved body of the Communist Revolutionary.
25:01But for many, it's more than a monument, it's a pilgrimage.
25:05And for me, it's a starting point.
25:07To understand this country, you must also understand Uncle Ho.
25:12Hello, hi.
25:13Hello, hi.
25:16Two.
25:17High five.
25:18So I'm here at Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum here in Hanoi.
25:24And I'm here to get in with literally thousands of people.
25:31I really get a sense that coming here means a huge amount to these people.
25:37It gives you an idea of the sense of occasion that this place has,
25:41the sense of reverence people have for him.
25:43A sense of someone more than just a person.
25:48He's like, he's the soul of the nation in many ways.
25:53It's important to remember that whilst Ho Chi Minh is a revered figure in Communist Vietnam's official narrative,
26:01he was also a deeply polarising figure internationally,
26:04especially amongst Vietnamese people abroad.
26:06I just want a quick point.
26:10We can't film inside the mausoleum.
26:13So I'm going to go in and have a quick look.
26:16And I'll report back on the other side.
26:20It's been a long wait, and I'm not sure what to expect.
26:23He's been here since 1975.
26:25And I wonder what he'll look like.
26:27Well, I've just come out of the mausoleum.
26:30First impressions I got was the temperature drops.
26:35It's quite dimly lit.
26:36You walk up a series of stairs.
26:38You turn around into the actual centre of the mausoleum where his body's lying,
26:42and there's no time to stop and take it in.
26:45You can't take a picture.
26:47And there's four soldiers on permanent guard around the body.
26:53But I guess that adds to the air of the mystique.
26:57Apparently, his final wish was that his body be cremated and the ashes scattered around Vietnam.
27:04But in the end, he was persuaded to be embalmed, and his body kept here in a mausoleum.
27:12By exceeding to those wishes, he was putting the needs and the demands of the people and the nation first,
27:22even beyond his own wishes for what would have happened to him when he died.
27:27It's clear how deep his legacy runs.
27:36The face of the revolution and guiding force through war is ever-present here.
27:41As the capital of the north and the military heart of the communist resistance,
27:46Hanoi became a target for heavy U.S. bombing.
27:50American Thunder Chief jets plaster important communist targets in North Vietnam at and near Hanoi.
27:56The Kep airfield sustains heavy damage in two separate attacks.
28:03And as we remember 50 years since the end of the war,
28:06to help me understand how the city became a powerful symbol of national unity and resistance,
28:12I'm meeting a legendary U.S. war veteran, Chuck Circe,
28:15who didn't just leave the destruction behind.
28:19He returned to clean it up.
28:20We're standing on the Long Bien Bridge,
28:24which was a kind of a major connection across the river,
28:29quite a significant strategic target,
28:33a symbol of the tenacity of the Vietnamese that they kept rebuilding it.
28:38I don't think we Americans bombing this bridge kept it out of commission for very long
28:43and piecing it back together with, as we say back home,
28:48chewing gum and bailing wire.
28:50But they made it work.
28:53Chuck served as a U.S. intelligence analyst,
28:57returning to Hanoi to offer support to the community.
29:00At least 5 million tons of bombs dropped on Vietnam by the U.S.,
29:05and that is more than all the bombs in World War II.
29:09Just amazingly destructive and terrifying for the people here.
29:13A lot of Vietnamese children still remember that.
29:15He's dedicated over three decades of his life to healing the scars of conflict in Vietnam,
29:21dealing with the deadly legacy of unexploded mines.
29:25We found that the people of Vietnam were so welcoming in their attitudes toward us.
29:31I was astonished by their forgiveness.
29:34The legacy of that, the sort of amount of ordnance that got dropped,
29:42there was a significant amount of that that failed to go off.
29:46And that really was what sort of prompted your work.
29:52The Pentagon estimated that about 10% of the ordnance that we dropped on Vietnam did not detonate as designed.
30:00So it didn't explode.
30:01It didn't, it was lying on the ground for 5, 10, 20, now 50 years.
30:06A lot of that ordnance is still there, and it's still deadly.
30:09It's still a threat to children going to school, the farmers plowing their fields.
30:16Meeting Chuck is a reminder of the devastating impact the war had on Vietnam.
30:21But you can't tell that story without getting the perspective of a local veteran.
30:25My guide, Kim, is taking me to meet a man who served under Uncle Ho,
30:34an ex-counterintelligence officer who has now amassed a huge collection of wartime relics.
30:43Tao Ha is a retired lieutenant colonel from the People's Public Security Forces.
30:49He rarely talks about his work, it's all top secret.
30:52But he's surrounded by artefacts that tell stories of those who served.
30:56This is a treasure trove.
30:59It's every kind of things, furniture and statues.
31:04This is an extraordinary collection you have here, Da.
31:08Can you tell me, what are these things up here?
31:12These were used to carry food by the soldiers.
31:22I got it.
31:27Classic mess tin, so you could put your food in there, put it on a fire.
31:31Yes.
31:33Surrounded by physical reminders of the war,
31:35I want to know how a veteran, half a century on,
31:39makes sense of the conflict that has clearly shaped his life.
31:42What are your thoughts now, 50 years after the end of the war?
31:46We don't dwell in the past too much.
31:53We should unite and we should work together
31:56and look forward to a better future together.
31:59Wise words from someone who's now a custodian of the relics of the war.
32:04There's so many.
32:064,000?
32:08Have you got a spare one? I mean, I'll buy it off him.
32:12He won't sell you one.
32:13Oh, no, I don't want a free one.
32:16But if he's got 4,000, he's not going to miss it.
32:21His collection doesn't just preserve history,
32:23it offers a rare glimpse into the lives of the soldiers who lived it.
32:27This was used to carry a soldier's ashes.
32:31He died in the war and his comrades collected his ashes
32:37and put them in his bag and carried it back to his family.
32:43And then his family brought it to him.
32:46Is this like a radio?
32:47Gaoha's place is recognized as a bona fide local museum of war artifacts,
32:51a fascinating archive and a great resource for those studying that era.
32:58I'll have a look at this.
32:59It says it's safe, right?
33:05It won't, it won't explode.
33:06It won't go off.
33:07Oh, my word.
33:08I'm going to put this down very gently.
33:13What sort of bomb is this?
33:14My friend Dao Ha keeps upsizing.
33:17Every bomb's getting bigger.
33:25Preserving the past is a way to honor those who served
33:28and also an opportunity to heal wounds from his time serving.
33:32But for Dao Ha, his music is the best form of therapy.
33:37So apart from a collector of water bottles and bike parts and disused weapons
33:44and all the environmental work you do, you sing songs as well?
33:48For him, he just writes what feels right to him,
33:53how he feels about his own mother.
33:56A renowned composer,
33:57this song was written on the anniversary of his mom's death
34:00when he was visiting her grave.
34:02The meaning of the song is
34:32It's from a childhood memory of his mom
34:34in the middle of the green fields.
34:41She's working in the rain to bring the young Dao Ha food
34:44and he wishes the rain to stop
34:46and that his mom doesn't need to suffer.
34:48When Dao Ha grew up, he joined the army.
34:58He left home, and when he came back, she was gone.
35:01My time across this great nation of Vietnam so far has been an absolute delight,
35:30especially when it comes to mixing with locals.
35:33But today, I've met a Hanoi native with a bit of an attitude.
35:37Rude.
35:46So rude.
35:49It's not going well.
35:53Normally, I've got, you know, a bit of a good...
35:56Oh, hang on.
35:57Thanks for telling me you've perked up.
35:58Hello.
35:59Hello, mate.
36:01Hello.
36:02I'm bringing out all the tricks in the book for Mr. Aloof.
36:07What do you mean?
36:09What?
36:09Where?
36:10What is his name?
36:12Han.
36:12He's not answering.
36:15Han.
36:16Oh, for God's sake.
36:20Waste of time that was.
36:24Maybe it's because my small intestine's not working.
36:28Dogs can sense it.
36:30He thinks there's something wrong with this bloke.
36:32Getting the hell out of here before his small intestine explodes.
36:37Hanoi residents, it turns out, are lovely.
36:41They just make you work for it.
36:44He likes to scritch behind the ear.
36:45All doggies love that.
36:49Now I've won over my new friend.
36:50I can enjoy the local delicacy I came here for.
36:54This is the famous egg coffee.
36:58It was invented here in Hanoi in 1940
37:03by an enterprising bartender at the Metropole Hotel.
37:09Of course, during the war, milk was scarce.
37:12So what he came up with was an alternative.
37:14Whipped egg yolks mixed with condensed milk,
37:20froth done over coffee.
37:24It's like a cross between cappuccino and tiramisu.
37:28And it's actually delicious.
37:30I mean, he wouldn't want to have more than one of them a month.
37:35Since Mr Lum's health advice,
37:38I'm a bit more conscious of my choices.
37:41And it seems my new friend is watching his way too.
37:50Thao Ha inspired me to hear more local music.
37:53He told me about a hypnotic Vietnamese art form
37:56renowned in the north.
37:57In Vietnam's cultural heartlands,
38:01there's a haunting and rather beautiful form of traditional music
38:05which dates back a thousand years.
38:09It's called car true
38:10and it's a form of stylized singing
38:14performed by a female vocalist
38:17accompanied by traditional lute and percussion.
38:21Efforts across Vietnam are being made to bring it back to life.
38:24The music was often played at special occasions
38:40to commemorate things like the birth of a child
38:42or the signing of a contract.
38:43So there's a real sense of ceremony and occasion about it.
38:47And it's actually quite mesmerizing.
38:50I mean, this is ancient music.
38:51It's like a bit of living history.
38:53Listening to it is like a glimpse into Vietnam's ancient past.
38:59But I noticed that the girl who was singing,
39:00the girl who was singing,
39:02was singing, was singing, was singing,
39:03was singing, was singing.
39:04And it's actually quite mesmerizing.
39:05I mean, this is ancient music.
39:07It's like a bit of living history.
39:09Listening to it is like a glimpse into Vietnam's ancient past.
39:19But I noticed that the girls that were singing,
39:29they're quite young.
39:31These are like, this is the next generation.
39:33Our third generation is the cultural world.
39:36Right.
39:38Which is great because there was a time when,
39:41you know, it looked like it might not carry on.
39:44But it's, it's wonderful seeing young people carrying on the tradition.
39:57Trong and his grandmother, Tum,
39:59are going to try and teach me how to play their music.
40:02First, you have to put the landail in the right position.
40:06Oh, like this.
40:08Like this.
40:08Like her.
40:09Oh, yes.
40:10OK.
40:11Ah.
40:12All right.
40:14Yeah.
40:15That's good.
40:16Very first Dandai lesson from the master.
40:32This instrument is very old.
40:37It's an ancient instrument.
40:38When does it, when does it date back to?
40:40Matta Sanjuri.
40:41This is amazing.
40:42Wow.
40:43Wow.
40:44At the risk of butchering this pure sound,
40:46I've brought something from the future.
40:49Can I make one change?
40:51Yeah.
40:52I've got my own plectrum.
40:53OK.
40:54I'm used to, this is very difficult to play this,
40:56but I've got my own.
40:57Yeah.
40:58OK.
40:59OK.
41:00Yeah.
41:01So, here we go.
41:02The sounds made by each instrument are unlike anything I've encountered.
41:17The role of the drum is about praise.
41:20The drummer must hit when the singer sings well.
41:23Yeah.
41:24What happens if they don't, if you don't play very well?
41:26Like I was playing very well.
41:28You don't play the drums.
41:29You don't get any, there's no drums.
41:30If a singer sings well, but it's not good, it's not good.
41:31It's not good.
41:32It's not good.
41:33It's not good.
41:34It's not good.
41:35Yeah.
41:36We don't get any thousands of drums.
41:37Like if a singer
41:59So, I get nothing.
42:00I'm a long way off creating a sound close to what these masters make,
42:05it's not a bad first attempt it was a great uh privilege to be taught by someone like your
42:11grandmother yeah i think i got to do something which very few people get to do that is to
42:24actually have a bit of a jam with some cartoon artists and learn from the master learn from
42:32someone who's played it their entire life so it's a real privilege to be to be part of that
42:38and the music itself is so ethereal and the voice seems to come from somewhere else entirely it's
42:46kind of otherworldly
43:01here on the banks of the red river just outside hanoi is where the ancestors of the vietnamese
43:11people the dong cern culture first settled
43:17you could argue this is where vietnam began the birthplace of a nation
43:22there's a thread running through all my experiences here in hanoi and that is a real sense of
43:35reverence for the feminine for mothering generally i promised myself earlier to burn some effigies
43:42to honor my own mother and now is that time i'm here to embrace this ancient tradition of offering
43:49up an effigy to those who have left us those in the afterlife things that perhaps people didn't have
43:57in this life even mansions and lamborghinis well i can tell you now my mum would have no use for a
44:04lamborghini she'd be saying well where's the boot when you put the shopping where's the dog gonna go
44:10but what i do know is that she loved to sing along to the radio it's one of my earliest memories of her
44:18and so i've actually found the perfect offering it's actually a portable radio in paper effigy form
44:27so this is for you mum
44:39keep singing your songs
44:41and for my dear friend british comedian sean locke who left us too young i have something for you
45:01for my old pal sean i've got a horse because
45:06who wouldn't want a horse
45:24as the sun dips over the red river i'm taking a moment to contemplate those who've left us behind
45:31and what a moving mysterious and utterly unforgettable time it's been in hanoi
45:45next time on bill bailey's vietnam i reckon i've got one more speed in me
45:53i thought i'd worn the right shoes but clearly not
45:55i didn't think i'd be scratching a buffalo today but always up for something new
46:09so
46:11so
46:15so
46:21so
46:23so
46:25so
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