I’ve been reading T.H. White’s The Once And Future King in my spare time here in Vietnam. It’s a nice retelling of the Arthurian legend, and funny in it’s own way. I find Sir Lancelot to be a very interesting character. It’d be nice to be Arthur – he’s such a simple character. Lancelot’s more complicated.
The Once and Future King
I think that for me, going on holiday is very much like a Knight going on an Adventure. I go out to see the world, and along the way, accomplish Quests. The difference perhaps is that Quests in my case are not dragon-slaying or damsel-distressing rescuing but rather finding my way around, looking for the cheapest bottle of water one can find – generally going where we are supposed to. As in classical knightly Adventures, holidaying involves some degree of exploration and meeting new people. And when I finish this Adventure of mine, I get to go back to court/the round table home and tell everyone about it. I think I want to be a hero.
Hoi An at night, in the rain
Our party of four is now in Hoi An, a quaint and charming little town in Central Vietnam. Shophouses line the streets. A river runs through the middle of town. It reminds me much of Clarke Quay, because of the proliferation of bars and cafes and souvenir shops and the many tourists walking around. We seem to see more ang-moh tourists then locals here. The local economy is very much dependent on the tourist dollar. Still, compared to Hanoi and probably Ho Chi Minh City, the pace of life is relatively sedate and Hoi An seems like a pretty nice place where we can chill out.
Teochew Ancestral Hall
We saw a few Chinese dialect group ancestral halls here in Hoi An. In fact, there are four – Cantonese, Hokkien, Hainanese and Teochew. The Chinese diaspora is quite amazing. I would very much like to know my Chinese roots better.
I look across to the neighbouring screen and I see that Chun Wee has referred to Hoi An as a small town of “75,000 souls”. I wonder if non-humans have souls. Or humans for that matter? What is a soul?
I’ve spent a BOMB on tailoring. Hopefully the clothes turn out alright. I really need to find some dragon’s treasure on this adventure.
