Five million dollars

One really good thing about our house is that we have no neighbours - and this in the middle of extremely densely populated Hanoi. One one side we have the owners "garden", a piece of land where he most likely and probably sooner than later (when he has made enough money from our rent) will build another house. But not yet. It is still just a mess of mango trees, banana plants and orchids. In front we have the little lake. And finally, on the other side there is, strange enough, a totally abandonded piece of land. Just huge bamboo and trees growing wild, no-one ever there. Until last week. When a big group of young men stormed in and cleared the whole lot in a few days. And, yesterday, we got it confirmed: the land has been sold. The price: five million dollars. Million. Dollars. Thats about 35 million kronor. For a little piece of muddy land next to a dirty pond. Now it is of course just a matter of short time until our backyard will turn into a construction site. Including the regular workers-from-the-countryside camp. They will live there and they will work long hours, seven days a week. We know we have been spoiled, but couldnt they have waited just another six months...

Nothing to do with the post really...

Buddhism

Mindful. Heartful. Peaceful. If I am ever to pick a religion it most likely have to be Buddhism. Just another reason for staying in the region, and...

... the kids already seem to have gotten hold of it.

Urban planning

Well. As the old one was so beautiful... why not another one, just the same.

Riverfront urban planning, Vientiane...

... which is also the city currently on top of my where-to-move-next list. Hm... Guess it is good that Keisukes contract finally got officially extended, until June at least it seems.

Halloween

This year Kai and Hana teamed up with a bunch of friends and went "trick-or-treat"-ing around the neighbourhood. Very excited running around the little alleys making "bus" - and late at night and all!

Big Yuuki, new Yuuki, Kai and Jolan.

Very tired witch.

Flying around

Saturday evening I finally got back home, from yet another travelling week. This time work took me to Vientiane, Laos - a country currently on top of our where-to-go-next wish list! - and another visit to Jakarta, Indonesia, before returning home Saturday evening, to a wonderfully sunny and fresh autumn Hanoi.

Vientiane. Small, quiet, sleepy and with a total provincial feel. Not exactly beautiful but very friendly and very nice.

Even so. Definitely enough of flying around for a while!

The Monks

Every morning around six o'clock 300 monks passed by the tiny street of our hotel, collecting offerings from every house and one or another tourist, like us. There are temples everywhere in Luang Prabang, just as in Vientiane, and the orange dressed monks just an ordinary a sight as the common tourist.

Waiting for monks to arrive.

The street outside our hotel. Collecting breakfast offerings from the neighbours. Every morning.

Very common Luang Prabang sight.

The kids...

... just loved it in Laos, enjoying space and freedom, looking all countryside cute and wild.

Lovely Luang Prabang

Life in the village. Simple, silent, sincere. Just what we wanted and needed for autumn break. Even so, it's amazing how much you actually do, doing nothing... We hiked to a waterfall, went elephant riding through the djungle, kayaked up a small river, made offering to the monks, and just hung out. Lovely, lovely Laos.

Team Taketani. Kai, Keisuke, Hana, Anna.

And, Luang Prabang itself is just peaceful, green, full of flowers.

Jakarta

Four nights is really the perfect amount of time to spend away from your family. So short there is no time to really start missing them, but long enough to enjoy a couple of nights - and mornings! - by yourself.
Of Jakarta I saw little less than the hotel, the meeting rooms, the traffic jam and a couple of shopping malls. But... what shopping malls! Super modern sparkling ones where I got books and games for the kids and super cool older ones where they had entire floors dedicated to batik textile or arts and crafts. Totally my kind of heaven. There was even a "Cafe batik" inside, where I took a break when it sort of started to get a little too much.

The people were wonderful and so smiling it was impossible not to smile back all the time. Tomorrow we are off to autumn break in Luang Prabang. Almost certainly very, very different from Jakarta.

Swan Sea II

This afternoon we went for an excursion to Truc Bac Lake. It is basically around the corner, but as Hanoi is in the middle of its thousand years celebrations, going anywhere outside Tay Ho means preparing as for an expedition. It was a perfect autumn afternoon and finally we tried the Swan Pedal Boats. Together with a few others.

Hej mamma!

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Then, we then had dinner at a small Indian restaurant, overlooking the lake. Tomorrow I am off for a week of work in Jakarta. Very exciting.

Ciputra

Ciputra is one of those artificial neighbourhoods that makes you wonder where in the world you are. It could be anywhere. Miami, Bogota, Singapore, Melbourne, Madrid... It is neat, clean and completely artificial. Still: On the tree-lined streets it is possible to go for a stroll or a bike-ride - with your kids. It is quiet (for being Hanoi), and several of my friends live there. I don't, though.

The Garden

It might need a little shape-up, but still... autumn is coming and it's getting possible to spend time in the garden again. Snacktime after school (today with Isha and Yuuki coming home from school with Kai and later Sille and Elvin, including mums, visiting Hana), lazy weekend days (after Saturday soccer and Sunday karate morning sessions that is) or even the mornings before school. Spending time outside. What luxury after all these hot months!

Latest pastime. Water, a few drops of kitchen detergent, a straw and - millions of bubbles. Very funny.

Weekend with daddy

This Sunday afternoon, Keisuke took the kids on the motorbike, crossed half Long Bien bridge and got off on the little island in the middle, for a stroll and some play - all while mum stayed at home recovering from the flu (and a little from yesterday's Danish fairwell party). They brought me some nice photos back home.

Going to the bank

Keisuke is away somewhere in Saigon - training kindergarten teachers about aids it seems - and I have to run errands by myself. Like going to the bank in town.

On my way down Phan Dinh Phung street. Hanoi is acutally quite green, if you ever have a chance to look up.

It's also full of bicycle fruit and vegetable stalls.

What's in there??

Tempel flags are everywhere these days. The larger the better.

Now I have to go pick up Kai, who's bringing a friend home after school. Good thing about that is that next day I can send him off to the friend's house. Busy boys play almost every day after school.

Getting busy

While Hanoi is preparing for its 1000 years anniversary celebrations, I am preparing for some regional work in October, going to both Indonesia and Laos. Luckily, in the middle, autumn break falls and we will go on vacation - to Laos. Busy times it is, but all fun, and wonderful Hanoian autumn seems to be arriving, too. Not that I will be here that much though.