14 days to go...

I had a delightful cyclo ride around Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem lake this evening, in a sea of motorbikes – the scene was positively magical.

And I met up with my friend Minh who operates Minh’s Jazz Club. He has pioneered an appreciation of jazz in this city, overcoming adversity from the communist rulers. He was able to send his son on a scholarship to Berklee college, the top music school of the US.

And when Bill Clinton visited Hanoi some years ago, Minh's son was asked to play Summertime for him. Now Minh and his son both teach jazz at Hanoi’s conservatory, and a few years ago they pioneered a Hanoi Jazz Festival.

In yesterday’s post I commented about Viet Nam’s famous culture of celebrating new year, the Tet festival. It is the most important celebration of the year. Every household and office marks it with specially cultivated mandarine / tanngerine trees and peach blossoms.

Today, I was told by a friend over lunch how much she hated Tet. She emphasized the word hated, and explained that many younger people shared her view. She said it’s too much about tradition, obligations, gifts, compulsory food that's boring, and more things she didn't like.

Yet she and her friends in the younger generation could not change Tet customs because their parents living with them would be too shocked.

What an fascinating contrast. And how Asia is changing, and fast, even if some of it it is still under the surface. I am privileged to witness these developments, to be "tuned in" to it because nice Asian people are willing to share their feelings.

I feel like being an observer and a participant at the same time.

Photographs: Minh’s Jazz Club (top) and an amazing sidewalk cappuccino (bottom).