Goooooood evening Vietnam!
It’s 0200 hours. What does the ‘O’ stand for? O my god, it’s late.
So I’ll keep this one brief.
After invitations to sing in Guangzhou (China) and Jakarta (Indonesia), there’s now another Asian location apparently crying out for the dulcet tones of Andrea Mann.
Hanoi.
In particular: a posh hotel in Hanoi. And I know it’s posh because it’s ranked fourth out of 196 hotels in Hanoi on TripAdvisor.com.
I think from now on I may make it my new policy never to play at any hotel rated lower than fifth on TripAdvisor. Especially if there’s only five hotels in said town. But I digress.
This hotel in Hanoi would like me to play there for two months - and soon.
I’ve told T that I don’t really want to go away again for that length of time so quickly after my time here. But I don’t get off that easily, ohhh no. Hanoi is calling, and if I can’t do it soon, then apparently they want me there in November and December.
I’m seriously thinking of going.
At this rate, I may end up the British jazz equivalent of the Fun Lovin’ Criminals, ie. famous in Asia but unheard of back home (no one in America knows the FLC, although no one in Britain would know that). Maybe I’ll become Asian Famous. Which, like being Jazz Famous, isn’t that famous at all. Or maybe, better still, I’ll become Asian Jazz Famous, which is less famous than both Asian Famous and Jazz Famous.
Actually, I took another step to becoming Asian (Jazz) Famous in the bar tonight, when I was interviewed in my break by a journalist from the New Straits Times, a national newspaper described to me as “the Malaysian Daily Telegraph“. It was fun. He asked me questions, I plugged T’s agency, he didn’t make many notes, I told him how to spell ‘Brad Mehldau’… And so on.
Who knows. Maybe I’ll become so Asian (Jazz) Famous that I will actually, one day, be Big In Japan. Now that would be fantastic.
February 23rd, 2008 at 6.14am
Goodness, today Penang, tomorrow the (Asian) world. Asian (anything) famous is pretty amazing and Penang seems to be a great stepping stone for much of the rest of the continent - and Japan is bound to call any day now. And the 5traits Times is read in the UK, too, I believe, though mainly by retired military chaps with large handlebar moustaches, reminiscing about the old days at Raffles. My stpe-daughter was in Hanoi (among most of the rest of that part of Asia) and she go back in an instant. Mind you she wasn’t singing there (just as well, if you heard her voice) and was only there for a few days. It’s a country I’ve always wanted to get to, too - another candidate for the round the world list.
Anyway, you must be doing something right so make the most of it and enjoy every moment of it!
February 23rd, 2008 at 9.02am
Hanoi is cool as fuck luv, bloody bonkers kids on mopeds trying to run you over or flog you copies of photocopied copies of Graeme Greene books combined with old ladies who are ex Viet Cong selling you egg rolls for 6am brekkie - tis mental and not to be missed.
February 23rd, 2008 at 4.01pm
ha! thank you both - sounds like an amazing place. think I may have to do this one too then, eh?!
February 23rd, 2008 at 6.13pm
Andrea - Go! You’ll not die wishing that you’d spent just one more day in London. x
February 24th, 2008 at 5.25am
well, my advice would be similar. In fact so similar it would be the same!
Px