The juice stall was manned by a young girl and boy in their late teens. Vietnam has a young demographic and a youthful sheen about its daily life (although there are still plenty of elderly still working the streets to subsist). I heard the girl call his name and it was the same as my brother Thinh, a fairly popular boy's name here.
We called him over and said he was my brother's namesake which amused him and broke the ice. Shyly, he asked about ourselves and our visit to Vietnam and the conversation opened up. He was nineteen and studying science, aiming to work in electronics. He was also a fellow Manchester United supporter and it was obvious that they are the most popular team in these parts!
It is expensive to go to university in Vietnam for most people and so he had a few part-time jobs. He asked about education and life in the UK and was amazed that things like grants and loans existed. Here you had to pay your own way for an education or else find some kind of employment.
We left for a quick wander around the neighbourhood. There were many food eateries with small plastic stools and tables spilling onto the streets, 'bia hơi' (draught beer) places on street corners with their patrons sitting and drinking glass after glass amidst rowdy conversation.
Even in the dark you could make out the French influence in the architecture of many of the buildings. We made our way around the narrow streets of the old district and presently came to a large wide junction. Looking up at an old theatre which looked like it could belong to some suburb of Paris, I reflected that Hanoi had a kind of dilapidated charm. She was like an aged starlet who had lost her once ravishing looks. The façade had been diminished by time but she still retained the high-cheekboned structure of a classical beauty.
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