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How
long have you been in Vietnam ?
Two and a bit years.
What made you come and what's keeping you here ?
slipped in from Cambodia when the bombs started
flying. I love Vietnam and its people.
In what ways has the place changed since you got here
and what do you think of it now ?
I don't think it's changed that much, apart from an
exodus of foriegners. But they will probably be back.
Favourite places to hang out and why ?
Oily garages - say no more. Modestos - beer in pictures
(!) music and air-con.
Cafe Van - top pies.
Favourite Vietnamese food and why ?
Bo Tung Xeo - real carnivore fare.
Favourite Vietnamese word/phrase and why ?
Bot di (gis' a discount) - it sometimes helps reduce
"foreigner tax" when shopping.
What's your favourite phrase/saying etc in any language
and when do you use it ?
If your life is free of failures, then your're not
taking enough risks." - Anon.
Use it all the time.
Strangest thing you've seen since you've been here ?
"333" cafe serving me a cold beer.
What really pisses you off and how do you cool off ?
One nameless "xich-lo" driver who haunts
me.
What's the most interesting thing we'd find if we
searched your apartment, other than scooters ?
Nothing - no room for anything else.
Name your favourite film and/or hobby and/or
actor/actress etc in fact name anything which is a fave
with you.
Star Wars, deserted beaches, scuba diving, English
breakfasts, peace and quiet.
Your best and worst characteristics ?
Perseverance/ Quick tempered.
Describe your happiest moment.
21 st June 1993, 4th April 1999.
What's your favourite drink and do you get too much of
it ?
Pete's Long Island Iced Tea - when I can.
Most embarassing moment in Vietnam ?
Being spotted riding the wife's Honda.
What's this about your blowing up woolly-haired things
with a bazooka while in Cambodia ?
Kind of true, but it was in Darra on the Afghanistan
border.
We understand you organized some kind of wild road trip
from England to India. What was the high point of that
trip ?
Yeah, by Land Rover - overlanded it for a year. Pasu
- Pakistan Himalayas - untouched natural beauty.
Are you now a Lucky Restaurant VIP since your holy
matrimony ?
You must be joking.
Which friends of your have the best house for stashing
excess Lambretta and Vespa loads that don't fit at your
place ?
The late (but not quite dead) Dean Armstrong.
What inspired you to give up your previous career as a
pizza chain manager back home and do your ever, when
biting into that first slice, think to yourself,
"Man, I coulda made it in this business ?"
90-hour weeks, English weather. And hey, I did
make it in that business ! -
Vietnam Investment Review, Timeout, August 23 - 29, 1999
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