Nostalgia

Memory sucks
It pulls you back from reality, inducing you with the thought that life is getting worse, and good things are left behind far far away in that small part of your brain called thalamus.
But it is sweet
and i accept it. past was great to a certain extent
especially for a scholar staying away from home for 4 years
Vietnam was great... and totally different
Past is about

Running in the rain

Parents are paranoid about how their children may catch a flu running under the rain... Isn't showering the same thing?

Getting a colourful street-side balloon

Just be a good boy and mommy would buy one for you during weekends

Cyclo

Taxi is too expensive and cycling is too dangerous for a kid. and this is what the solution is. The nice part that you dont get nowadays is listening to the driver whistling, chatting with you. There used to be one poet in town who worked full time as a cyclo driver. The job gives him inspiration...

Chinese New Year

This has always been the most important thing... dragon dance... ang pao.... chinese new year was great.
And I'm skipping school this year to go back

Cycling

I cycled everywhere. Not as slow as walking but not too fast as compared to driving a card or motorcycle. Life becomes livelier in slow motion
This is where the old uncle would help me fix the tire. Look at the wall at the left hand side. It says" Awesome Laos"
Apparently Laos won Thailand in 98' Tiger Cup soccer so that Vietnam can continue to quarter final. In Vietnam, soccer is god

Soccer

National pride... It's sad seeing Singaporeans nowadays flocking to the stadium to support EPL teams, without even bothering about their own players. Vietnam team is not so good, but the supporters are just so cool that when you were a kid, it is automatically understood that soccer is the king of sport.
My dad literally forced me to watch soccer. It took him 2 years until I become what I am today... skipping school just to watch midnight matches
It would be great if my girlfriend know about soccer, haha

Chinese chess

My grandpa is a master in this game. Among all my cousins, I'm the only one who can play and he loves playing chess with me. I lost all the time. Playing chess has always been the reason he stated so that my parents would bring me to his house.
He is getting older and older. I start winning him now and then and suddenly my heart sank realizing that it's just him who is losing his wisdom, not me improving in my game
I haven't played chess with him for more than half a year

Coffee

A loaf of bread, a newspaper and a cup of coffee. thats a typical Vietnam morning
Vietnam ranks second in the world for coffee exporting, and our coffee quality is among the top
I hate those people who act as if they are really professional in coffee glorifying coffee from Europe. " Oh, I'm drinking an Italian Cappuccino, a French mocha". Please, they DON'T grow coffee in Europe
FYI, that is a filter. Raw coffee beans are grinded and filtered through that metal case. Quality? 10 times better than the instant coffee we see everywhere.
Coffee is a culture
I would rather suffer with coffee than be senseless -Napoleon Bonaparte


Some of this would be faded with time, some are still there and some are gone forever. But non would disappear from that tiny little part of the brain that stores memory... what was it? i need to google again. oh, thalamus, or whatever it is