Give blood, play rugby
Hanoi
The place to be this Sunday in Hanoi is no doubt the Thuy Loi stadium. The Hanoi Dragons, a local Hanoi rugby club, is hosting a mixed touch tourney this weekend with 6-8 teams sponsored by many of the fine bars and restaurants around town. See who wins between Jacc’s (the favourite), Titanic Bar (the challengers), Vine (the pretty boys/girls), Finnegan’s (a motley crew), the Backpackers (the wild card), and the Aussie Rules Swans (strong contenders if they figure out the rules). What could be more fun than watching others triumph or humiliate themselves while you sit outside and have a beer and BBQ on a nice sunny day.
Where: Thuy Loi Stadium, Ngo 95, Chua Boc (near Asean Hotel, down from Star Bowl)
When: Sunday, March 27 10.30am – 4.00pm
For one weekend only, Hanoi’s own amateur non-profit theatre group, the Hanoi International Theatre Society, will present Eugene’s Ionesco’s “The Bald Prima Donna.” The Hanoi group, known for their offbeat plays, is taking on a classic theatre of the absurd. A production that “should befuddle and bewitch, bemuse and amuse.” Tickets available at The Press Club, Mediterraneo and The Bookworm or at the door; sugg. donation of VND50,000-100,000.
Where: Central Drama Theatre, 1 Trang Tien
When: March 25, 26 and 27 at 8pm, with a Sunday matinee at 3 pm
And if you didn’t get your fill of French activities on International Francophone Day last Monday, there is still time to make it to the Canadian Francophone Film Week running until Friday. Two showing daily of different movies at 3pm and 6pm each day. Free tickets for the screenings must be picked up in advanced at the Canadian Embassy, 31 Hung Vuong Street, tel: 04-734 5022.
Where: L’Espace at 24 Trang Tien Street, Hanoi
When: March 21-25, 3-5pm and 6-8pm
Ho Chi Minh City
Touring Vietnam from Australia is Australia’s number one Beatles tribute band, The Beatels, (just beating out the number two tribute band, the Beatttles), here as part of the two countries’ cultural exchange program. First stop is several performances in Ho Chi Minh City this weekend.
Where & When: Lan Anh Music Center, March 24th and 25th (US$30 for buffet and drinks)
When & When: Rex Hotel, 141 Nguyen Hue, D1, 08-829 2828 on March 26 and 27
Pictured: “I was speaking too low, and the jury panel couldn’t hear me clearly,” claimed Nguyen Thao Huong, 20, who didn’t place in the top three, but was awarded the Miss Photogenic prize at the First Miss ASEAN Pageant in Jakarta, Indonesia last Saturday.
In retrospect
Noted:
Hanoi was recently ranked as the 29th most expensive major city in the world (out of 144), with HCM City coming in at the 36th position, based on the comparative cost of 200 goods including housing, food, clothing, household goods, transportation and entertainment. Apparently the authors did not factor in the cost of a bowl of pho.
Quoted:
“The Beatels was formed in 1996 when all four members… left Australia’s top tribute band, The Beatnix, to form their own group.”
Reporter on The Beatels Tribute Band. Wait, isn’t this called renaming the band?
“You’d never see all of these people celebrating St. George’s Day…”
Brit expat bemoaning the fact that the Irish St. Patrick’s Day is more popular than the British St. George’s Day (St. George who?)
“A: I want male models. When do we get to see a men’s fashion show?
B: When there is actually men’s fashion in Vietnam.”
Overhead at the fashion show last Friday at the Goethe Institute in Hanoi.
