Our first Vietnamese Wedding

Anh and Hao’s wedding was a very interesting and enjoyable experience that I wanted to share with you all.

                                     

 Ms Hao catches the bus to RMIT with Phil and one when he was sitting beside her on the seat he noticed she had a shiny new ring on her wedding finger.  He asked her if she just got married and surprising him she said “Yes, last week!”.  This started a friendship with not only Ms Hoa but all of the library girls and others who catch the bus.

The story was that Ms Hao had her traditional wedding the week before back in her hometown but would in the future have another wedding reception with her friends here in HCMC and Mr Phil and his wife would have to come.  We didn’t think that she would remember to officially invite us but she did and last Saturday night we got to be part of the evening. 

The evening started with being welcomed at an amazing wedding venue that had around 5 weddings going on at the same time, you can have a look at the website, it was amazing! http://www.youandyourwedding.co.uk/forum/the-you-and-your-wedding-website/wedding-and-convention-the-adora-at-vietnam/378297.html

We were ushered to the room that our wedding was being held and met at the door by Anh and Hao, in the picture above, plus some of their friends who were helping. 

                                     

A couple of the boys decorated a table for them with some photos and some candles and flowers, see above.  

There was also a large photograph of them which is usually done 6 months before the wedding.  This photo was also used on the invitation and the power point that was showing on the wall inside the room.

Another couple manned the table with the wedding gift receptacle which was in the shape of a house.  We signed a card on the table and after shaking hands, having a photograph and wishing the bride and groom well, we were shown to our table.  

             There were 4 tables for RMIT staff and we were soon joined by a number of others.  

All of other ‘bus girls’that were coming arrived eventually and I got to meet almost all of the crew. Picture above.  Phil, as usual jokes with all of them and they all had cheeky things to say throughout the evening. Phil and Ms Hao below...

                                                       Then the show started..... 

We had a female dancer joined by a male dancer who also proceeded to sign a song to the happy couple. 

                   Then a young ballet group in tutu’s joined the lead couple and danced as well.  

                       
The couple were welcomed into the room and congratulated on their wedding.

There was a pouring of ‘wine’ into a champagne fountain which had dry ice in it so we also had smoke for effect.  Looked very pretty.

The couple did not have a top table as their job was to walk around and talk to all of us and ensure we had a nice evening.  This is a shot of them in their seats resting at the back of the venue between rounds of table chatting.

                                                                             

The food started to arrive, the waiters walked from the back room, over the rostrum past the bride and groom to use, as a sign that the bride and groom were offering the food it us I would think.  We had a number of courses…refer menu.

                                                        All served by 1 waiter per table.

  During the meal time Ms Huynh went up to sing a song on the stage for the happy couple, very nice. 

I was also asked to do a song but didn’t know when this would occur.  Ms Huynh was up on stage and when she finished she announced that it was my turn…ok up I get!  I took my guitar with me and luckily could use the plug from the keyboard that was for the band later on.  I sang and even got accompanied with a violin by one of the guys in the band.  We were almost in tune.  Anyway Phil said it went very well, the best he’s heard me he said....my most hard to please critic.  It was also the first time he’d heard my guitar played through a sound system and he was pretty impressed with his purchase.

                                  

It seemed that it was usual to get a flower when you played for the couple, Phil gave me mine, came up on stage at the end and everything :)

We continued to eat and chat and drink and a number of others decided at different points to go up to the stage and sing including the bride and groom. 

                              

 The drunk group of engineers from the airport gave possibly the least impressive performance but they thought they were great! And of course they had fun...name of the game.

One of the last songs of the night....almost everyone has gone home. Ms Huynh was still at it....

We also got a thankyou gift of a heart shaped chocolate in a little box, a nice finish to the night.

                                     

                       Of course everyone left on their motorbikes, not many cars here in HCMC.

                       We finished the evening off by going to Karaoke with a few of the RMIT staff.

                                              This is our group waiting to start Karaoke...

                                              This is us IN the Karaoke room having fun!

we had an excellent night and now can add a Vietnamese wedding, albeit not the traditional part, into our list of experiences in Vietnam. Thanks Anh and Hao!

THE END

Servicing the consumer in HCMC

So if you have a space at the front of your house or own a building you can sell things in someone will do it.  An example is our alley that I have mentioned before with 3 different families living from the space.  Add to that the workers that work for them earning money as well.

As I go around the city there are people selling things everywhere.  Here are just a few of the offerings...

 This lady has all of her gear on top of her bucket, not even a chair.  She is selling some small savoury thing, back up stock in the large round bucket under the tray then everything else in the bucket with the handle.

                                    
The lady above is making fairy floss, or whatever you call it where you come from (eg France Bababa).  Below the lady is waking around selling it plus the popcorn bags on the bottom of her stick with pegs on it.  No she isn't wearing pyjamas but it looks very much like it.  I often see people walking around with what I would call pyjamas but they are matching outfits?

 The 2 girls below are selling peanuts in their baskets, just having a chat on the way past.  These ladies come past restaurants all the time while you are sitting eating there and ask if you want to buy them to eat...but I'm already at a restaurant eating???

The young girl below is selling lots of little things that might interest children and young people, she even had a set of clippers to do manicuring in that collection.

Everyone is constantly asked if they want to buy sunglasses, even if you are wearing prescription glasses, there are so many of these guys around.

 This guy in the red shirt is selling plastic and bamboo 'birds' that fly.  They have just set one off, love this photo.

 Randomly you'll see people doing portraits as well, always lots of people watching them, don't know if they make much money and of course it takes ages.  The models were dripping with sweat.

 The icecream bikes roam around all the time, they have a particular song that is their song.  A bit like Greensleeves used to be really for us when we were young with the Mr Whippy van.  Anyway you can find them always in the parks.

 This lady puts together a noodle dish in a plastic bag.  It is really yummy too.  A bit like a pad thai noodle dish but salady if that makes any sense?

 The guy below is making things that I call Quesideas but they aren't and I can't remember the name.  They put a rice paper sheet and fill it with a few things including a raw egg.  They then cook it and fold it in half.  Once again really yummy!

                    Below are the ingredients, the small dark things on the right at the top are quail eggs.

 These are often around too.  Like a hot dog on a stick and it tastes a bit like a hot dog, just it's served with chilli sauce instead of tomato sauce.  Don't know how they can sit like this all the time.

 This lady has her whole set up in one basket.  Everything is attached including the small chair tied on.

        Here is a portable restaurant, the boys are all set up on their chairs.  She's preparing their meals.

 

A very common site, selling food and fruit, then they pick it up and move on.

                                     
                           This is a cigarette sellers box, you will see them set up absolutely everywhere.

                                    Below a little bit more of a shop we'd see at home selling food.

                                 These guys sell lots of different stuff again in the front of a house.

                             This guy sells hardware...reckon there's not much he wouldn't have?
                                      
                                          Selling off the back of a trailer...looks like a shop?

                                         You can get your tires pumped up and bike fixed right here!

 Of course there are usual petrol stations as well but the strangest site yesterday was seeeing a city bus full of people pull up to fill up?  Never seen that in my life before.
                                      
A florist just down the road from our alley.  They usually spill out onto the streets on busy days.
                                       
                             A cool looking sidewalk restaurant, literally a sidewalk, love the murals.

This restaurant is set up behind a bus stop.  The boys are sitting on seats eating and the lady is putting food together on the left against the wall.

Pig on a spit on the corner, restaurant on the other side of him.

                                        A shop set up specifically for the season, this was for the Mid Autumn festival but there are Christmas ones and New Year ones.

At night a lady selling balloons.

This is in front of a house as well.  They sell clothes and the lady sits in front ready to alter them before you leave.  They also sell fruit?
                                        
The butchers, below, although there are places you can buy refrigerated meat as well, this is more usual though.
                                                 
There are full streets of things too.  Here they have the clothes street, we used to live on the fish tank street, rows and rows of fish tank shops.

                                          

                                            

            This is a fabric area, shop after shop selling fabric.

There are markets like Ben Thanh Market, just down the road from our house and others like the Cho Tan Dinh Market across the road from the fabric shops

, also selling fabric.

.

And then of course we have the usual shopping centres like the one below selling all of the stuff we expect but in air conditioned comfort.

 There is so much more I could show you but I think you should just come and see...and go shopping!