Cultural places in Asia
The fall of the Soviet Union in the early '90s saw the rebirth of 15 independent countries. October 27th, 1991 saw the nation of Turkmenistan declare its independence. As any good nation does, the Turkmen like to celebrate this freedom by holding a parade. But the annual parade in Ashgabat is no small ordeal. Thousands dress in traditional clothes and march along military ordinances of various shapes and size. This is a scene right off the old propaganda films still used in much of the western medias stock footage. Although visas are hard to come by for this time of year, for anyone managing to get in, Turkmen Independence Day is a great time to see the country at its best.
The mountains of northern Vietnam are populated with minorities. Every smallish township has their own market once a week and attracts different kinds of colourful tribe people that comes in for shopping, browsing, finding a wife, or just stocking up on this week's rice wine. Some of the best markets "near" Lao Cai Town is Bac Ha (Sunday) which is one of the biggest and most touristy, not saying that many come, Can Cau (Saturday) beautiful set on the mountain side, Coc Ly (Tuesday) small but interesting, Muong Hum (Sunday) located in a lush valley, and Muong Khuong (Sunday) a great trading fair with a real outpost felling, since it's very close to China. Keep in mind that it takes many hours from Lao Cai town on winding mountain roads to get to these far out markets, but it's sure worth it.
At first sight Kon Tum town could be any place in Vietnam. Narrow Vietnamese houses build in cement, motorbikes and schoolkids in uniforms, but then you pass an impressive wooden Cathelic church. As you keep going and reach the edge of town, the neighborughood morph into a traditional tribe village and if you keep going you will finally reach green fields that extend all the way to risen mountains in the horizon. The Central Highlands are home to several of Vietnam's 54-or-so ethnic tribes and rigth on Kon Tum's doorstep live two of them, Bahnar and Jarai. The Bahnar are the closes ones, living in the villages connected to Kon Tum town, while Jarai live further out. Both have impressive community houses, so-called rong, while the Jarai also intrigue with their unusual burial tombs. We are not the first who have noticed this, but Kon Tum people (both Kinh Vietnamese, Bahnar and Jarai) are among the friendliest in Vietnam and very chatty.
It is an unbelievable sight to see Hanoi wake up. In the early morning when the sun haven't yet rose and the streets are empty for traffic, the people of Hanoi take in the public space for their morning exercise. Elderly ladies still in their pyjamas invade city squares for tai chi lessons, while bare chested men carry their home-made dumbbells down to the side of the road for some serious fitness training. Mid-age women in 80s outfits pump away in old school aerobic formation to loud Vietnamese dance music, while others again just play a game of badminton on the sidewalk in between joggers and power walkers, all in their pyjamases. The public morning exercise in Hanoi has to be experienced - and you can even join in if you want.