Welcome to Marrakech
A new trade event called PURE Life Experiences was my reason for going to Marrakech. The focus was luxury experiential travel – an intriguing topic to focus on for a week and an event which lent an interesting mix of people.
One of the fun parts about trade shows is that after a full day of meetings (this show had 14 appointments scheduled per day), there are usually parties in the evening which further promote networking. Since this show’s focus was on experiences, the parties in the event were nothing short of extravagant.
The picture I’ve shared here is from the closing party, held at the private palace of the owner of the Mandarin Oriental. The hotel is not even finished yet, but has great promise for splendor beyond belief. The room in the photo was actually that red. The lighting in Morocco, it seems, is always a bit dark and exotic.
Overall, the trade show was a great success. I met some really fascinating people. I think my favorite was a gentleman who represents 8 family trusts (all 8 are related) which benefits about 108 people. His job is to plan their vacations and expeditions throughout the year. I seriously could handle THAT job! Wow!
I’ve posted a few more entries about Morocco. Read on!
Bun Ook Pansaa
For those of you who followed my life in Japan, you’ll remember that I am an absolute sucker for festivals. I LOVE them! It’s one of the more interesting aspects of foreign cultures. Sure, we Americans have our parades and block parties, we throw a few fireworks in the air for 20 minutes for America’s birthday. But we fail to celebrate rice harvests, the return of the spirits of ancestors, the full moon or even the seasons. This is where numerous foreign countries have us beat by miles.
I was lucky to catch just a bit of one of the best festivals in Laos – in Luang Prabang. It’s called the Bun Ook Pansaa Festival and it celebrates a the end of a 3-month Buddhist ritual where the devout are not to kill any animals, have sex, eat meat, nor eat after 12:00p.m. The highlight of the festivities are the handmade, natural-product boats, paraded down to the river, and any incense and candles on board are lit before being se afloat down the Mekong River. Similarly, little bamboo and flower boats are abundantly available and anyone who wants can buy one of these, light the candle and incense and make a wish before setting their own boat afloat.
Hand-held fireworks are everywhere! That was really fun! They have these long sticks which set off about 60 pellets and once in the air, explode into a mini starburst. We also had a few big fireworks which you put on the ground and which shoot fire in the air. So WAY cool! These would be totally illegal in the U.S., which makes it all the more fun for me!
It was so awesome to spend part of the evening riverside, watching all these people send their wishes and hopes into the river, shooting off fireworks and having a great time. I particularly enjoyed walking past store fronts, where a group of friends had gathered, blared some traditional music and were just dancing in the streets. The spontaneity of that was delightful. I’m sure there would be some ordinance that would be violated, had we tried to do that in our streets in the U.S.
And that’s exactly why I love these kinds of festivals. Laos is a communist country, but the people are so free in their everyday life and certainly allowed to express themselves and have fun when it comes time to celebrate. And I love being a part of that.
I am already planning to be in Luang Prabang next year for the same festival, as I couldn’t see all of it due to out hotel’s anniversary party. (It wasn’t me who planned them on the same night!) Next year I’ll take some better photos and even some video and really capture the spirit of the festival. It was just sooo sooo much fun!!!
Yaaay for Rio!
Of course we all learned today that Rio de Janeiro will be the 2016 host for the Olympics. I have to say – Wooo Hooo! I was pulling for them simply for the fact that no South American country has ever hosted the Olympics. I think it’s time to boraden our horizons a bit and let Rio, host to possibly one of the biggest parties in the world, host a sports “festival.”
Go Rio! I hope to be there in 2016 to celebrate! Who’s with me?
A fashionable event
I went to a party last weekend and just found tis photo on Facebook. I actually kind of love this photo – gives you a good idea of the party scene in Hanoi.
Thanks to my friend, Mette, she suggested it and got us tickets to this champagne/fashion party – Taittinger Purple Nocturne Party. We dressed up in our nice dresses (yes, that’s me in a dress!), had dinner at the Metropole and then on to the party. Most of the girls got dressed up, but as you can see, the boys didn’t care to much about the fashion aspect of the event (other than staring with mouths open at the fashion models.
Oh well! It was a fun party and I enjoyed the chance to have a proper night on the town with good friends and a fun crowd. Plus, I love my Chula dress and was happy to find an occasion to wear it!
Hanoi’s 1000th Anniversary
In just about a year’s time, the city of Hanoi will be celebrating it’s 1000th Anniversary. Considering my country is a fraction of that age, this is quite a milestone. After living in a country where festivals and summer firework shows are the norm, I’m eager to see how the Vietnamese celebrate such an amazing moment in history.
Just as people speculate whether Beijing would be ready for the Olympics, South Africa for the World’s Cup, the speculation begins about the organization and progress for celebrations in Hanoi.
Below is an article I found in the ThanhNien News:
With 700 days to go until the Thang Long – Hanoi 1,000th Anniversary, the celebration’s director’s chair is still unfilled.
That means there is no one person in charge of overseeing all of the 80 affairs schedules for next year.
But Nguyen Khac Loi, deputy director of Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said there was no need for one central director as celebrations would take place throughout the country.
“There will not be a general director, instead we’ll have directors for each event around the country,” he said. “This is a collective program from north to south, so there is no need for a general director. We only need the National Steering Committee to supervise the events.”
Of the 80 performances, ceremonies and activities, the department has been assigned to organize 50 of which it has agreed to complete plans for the other 30 before the end of this month. The plans will then be evaluated for approval by a quality board under the committee.
Loi said he has invited many of the country’s leading entertainment writers and directors all over the nation to create each ceremony.
But many involved still think there needs to be one central person in charge of everything
In need of a captain
Nguyen Trong Tuan, deputy chief of the 1,000th Anniversary’s National Steering Committee, told online newspaper VietNamNet that the committee was still waiting for the right candidate to give the general directorship to. He said many famous directors experienced in organizing major festivals and events probably didn’t know much about the 1,000th Anniversary as information released had been sparse and ambiguous so far.
“The public has not been given a chance to understand the event yet,” Director Le Quy Duong told Thanh Nien Daily. “Directors like me haven’t been given a chance to contribute, even just a small part, to the largest celebration of our 1,000-year history,
“There has been no public forum for the public to voice their opinions on the matter and everyone seems to flinch from participating. Some are even afraid of their ideas being stolen. Maybe the producers have not cast the anniversary in the right light,” he said.
VietNamNet quoted director Pham Hoang Nam as saying it might be too late to choose a general director and that such a selection should have been made in the beginning of the planning process.
“It is really strange that there is no general director for such a big event,” he said. “They [organizers] ought to have a test to select the right director, but it is too late to talk about this ‘imaginary’ event. Nothing will come true if it is just based on dreams and ideas. Fundamentally, the event already lacks solidarity, professionalism and national pride.”
Other problems
This void appears to have manifested itself in several problems in the planning of the director-less event.
A major film project to celebrate the capital’s history, Thai to Ly Cong Uan (King Ly Cong Uan), has just been deemed infeasible and replaced by Chieu doi do (Proclaim to move the capital).
None of the artifacts for the archeological exhibit Gui toi mai sau (Sent to the Future Generation) have been chosen, while organizers had originally set the deadline for doing so in 2008.
The exhibit aims to show off 1,000 cultural artifacts from the last 1,000 years of Vietnamese history.
Organizers had originally said they would recreate a massive archeological dig and place the artifacts at the mock-up site as if they had just been dug up. But they had not taken into account the underground water systems in Hanoi’s museum quarter, where the event will take place, so they have had to cancel the unique presentation. An alternative has yet to be proposed.
Reported by Y Nguyen-Kim
On the Bright Side,
Shanna
Dinner with the Landlords
The family who owns my new apartment building also happens to live in the duplex on the second and third floors. They’ve been incredibly kind in helping me get set-up in my new home. In fact, they have focused all their efforts in the two apartments they rent, and not so much on their own space.
The oldest son, Trung knocked on my door this evening and invited me to dinner. The family was enjoying the Vietnamese traditional food, Pho, a hot noodle soup dish. Inside their kitchen, they have yet to install the cabinets and many of the conveniences. They are waiting to build the internal stairs, as the lumber is not ready yet. They have no living room furniture, except a large, flat-screen TV and a cabinet to put it on. The dining area contains an old and simple dining table and chairs. They are sort of like camping in their own home right now. But they wanted to share a meal with me, and when a Vietnamese family invites you into their home, especially your landlord, you accept.
This is when I wish I could speak Vietnamese. In moments like these, all my Japanese comes rushing forward and I can only think to say all sorts of pleasantries in Nihongo. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu! Sore wa oishi desu ne! Omorshiroi desu yo! Ah, sou desu ka?! But that sure wouldn’t get me very far! Fortunately the older son, Trung, does speak some decent English. And I think both he and his younger brother are keen to learn. The family knows that I was a teacher in Japan, and I’m guessing that as I live in harmony with this family, we will learn a bit from each other. To tell you the truth, I saw living above the family as both a positive and negative. Positive being a good cultural lesson for me. Tonight was a good start.
The Pho was delicious, and our conversation flowed easily. I reverted to my uber-simple English so that Thuy and Lien, the parents, could try to understand. We talked about food and popular dishes in our countries. We talked about the apartment construction; apparently the cabinet maker is very popular in Hanoi and builds things for some of the big hotels, too. I also learned that what stood on this property before this brand-new building was a century-old, traditional Vietnamese, 1-story home. The house had been in their family for ages. And instead of demolishing it altogether, they took it apart plank by plank, roof tile by roof tile. Once disassembled and numbered, it was hauled off to Danang to another relative’s property and put back together. Apparently the neighbors (especially the elderly ones) were a bit pissed off at them for taking away this historic home. Frankly, I wouldn’t have minded seeing it!
Of course, as always, the universe aligns and I get questioned about my marital status and mommyhood dreams. No and not yet. Geez…everyone wants to see me married! With kidlets! Of course, no one is offering up The Dude, so until that happens…No and not yet.
I’ll look forward to the next chance to get to know my neighbors. I should probably invite them up for dinner and serve a hearty pasta with garlic bread and some delicious wine. Good chance for them, too!
On the Bright Side,
Shanna
A Note on Michael Jackson
It was the summer after seventh grade and Randy Close and I were a couple. In preparation for a road trip to Magic Mountain with Danielle, Tiffany, Ginger, David and younger brothers Kevin and Chris, Randy and I listened to the Thriller cassette tape over and over again until we knew every word to every song.
As we all piled in the Close’s van, we begged to play the Thriller tape. Without hesitation, Randy and I could sing, “Ma ma se, ma ma sa, ma ma coo sa” as our friends looked on in amazement that we actually knew the words.
Our group of friends always loved to go dancing, and we tried very hard to copy those moves, the fluid movement of the legs, the kicks and that unforgettable moonwalk. Who can forget the Grammy performance where Michael Jackson moon walked across the stage inspiring hours and hours of practice among any of us who had an ounce of desire to capture that coolness?
I remember very clearly the day that upperclassman Camille got to go to the Michael Jackson concert. Everyone knew that she was going. And the next day she returned from the concert without a voice, it was that ridiculously fun. We wanted to hear every detail of the concert. Super jealous.
High school airband competitions were popular during my high school years and I remember the junior class members doing the entire Thriller dance sequence on our theater stage.
His songs were a part of every teenage year of mine and my friends’. His music shaped our childhood in so many ways. Even when he came out with Bad, and returned to the pop-music scene physically altered, he still remained the “it” guy for us.
I don’t know what happened to Michael, what made him become the sheer freak of nature that he was, the Wacko Jacko that made headlines. I don’t think any of us want to imagine what it was like to live his life under such scrutiny. Who wouldn’t turn a bit fruity?
I’m choosing to remember him in his Thriller days. That is the Michael Jackson I want to mourn. That is the Michael Jackson I’ve mourned for years, already.
On the Bright Side,
Shanna
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