Do you smell that . Motorbike exhaust, fish sauce, incense, the faraway smell of something . Is that Pork Grilling over charcoal . Vietnam. It could be no place else. Listen to me. Listen to me. There is no other way to see this city, hanoi, than from a motorbike or a scooter. To do otherwise would be to miss it all. It is one of the great pleasures of my life to join the river of people rushing through the streets. Vietnam. It grabs you and doesnt let you go. Once you love it, you love it forever. Ive been coming here since 2000, the first time id been in this part of the world, and its held a special place in my heart and my imagination since. I keep coming back, i have to. Vietnam has changed since last time i was here. Its changing every minute. But some things, for now, anyway, remain the same. Important things, like this stuff. Thats going to be good bun oc, first meal in hanoi, and its something they do here better than anywhere else. Okay. Im officially in hanoi now. Mm. Magic.
do you smell that? motorbike exhaust, fish sauce, incense, the faraway smell of something? is that pork grilling over charcoal? vietnam. it could be no place else . listen to me. listen to me. there is no other way to see this city, hanoi, than from a motorbike or a scooter. to do otherwise would be to miss it all. it is one of the great pleasures of my life to join the river of people rushing through the streets. vietnam. it grabs you and doesn t let you go. once you love it, you love it forever. i ve been coming here since 2000, the first time i d been in this part of the world, and it s held a special place in my heart and my imagination since. i keep coming back, i have to. vietnam has changed since last time i was here. it s changing every minute. but some things, for now, anyway, remain the same. important things, like this stuff. that s going to be good! bun oc, first meal in hanoi, and it s something they do here better than anywhere else. okay. i m official
vendors set up stools in the street, and it s happy hour in hanoi. every doorway, every window, a little slice of life. a story all its own, lives lived, being lived, caught for a second, a moment, then gone. in vietnam, sometimes, to be truly friend, to be friendly yeah. we have to drink until we are drunk. oh, well, okay. yeah. we must, we must. cheers for friendship. lin din, my oldest friend in
i like this boat. we re living a little larger than last. last time, the boat was not this nice. all the modern conveniences, but the charms of the past. it fits perfectly with my over-romantic delusions and, in general, it does not suck. hello, gentlemen. hi, tony. how are you doing? we re having some gin and tonic. gin and tonic, traditional vietnamese drink. well, not really, but all right. this is my first time trying this. yeah? yeah. his first time. how old are you, anyway? wait a minute. you were five years old last time i was in, uh, ha long bay. yeah. it s fine, he s 20 now. wow. lin and i came here for another show what feels like a lifetime ago. back then, i got to meet his son min, who s apparently grown up. these are pictures of you and him. whoa! 15 years ago.
vietnam from the very beginning. many happy memories, my friend. we ve been to saigon, can tho, nha trang. he was my original minder for vietnam s ministry of foreign affairs. we became, in spite of his official responsibilities, fast friends. one, two, three. ba, yo! welcome back. welcome back. cheers. mot, hai, ba, yo. thank you. lin has brought me to a great and proud and uniquely hanoi tradition bia hoi. bia hoi refers to the roadside joints where locals gather to consume keg-dispensed, freshly-brewed draft beer. ah, that s good! it s not strong at all, my friend. just like between three to four percent. ah, so we need to drink a lot. yeah. yeah. cheers for hanoi beer. it was something luxurious 30