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Prowling around not-so-familiar Hanoi neighbourhoods can surprise.

When ostensibly alpha-males in Vietnam are sitting about on the streets of the capital, it's far from a surprise. But when they are sitting about staring up lovingly at caged birds, talking about how sweetly they sing, one might be forgiven for being slightly taken aback. Further observation was warranted.

This pleasantly situated cafe near the Japanese embassy appears to cater for these bird-admirers, having erected a series of bamboo rods from which the cages can be hung for their viewing pleasure. Clearly a pastime for boys who have everything - latest mobile phones (usually x 2), Italian scooters, imported cigarillos in tins, gold bling enough to purchase land - there is still something of an anomaly here. Shouldn't they be older or elderly, more outwardly scholarly in appearance, perhaps wearing berets, looking up between chess manoeuvres? 

The ornately carved cages are worth millions of VND, many of them imported from China. Vietnamesegod was telling me a friend of his owns a moderately priced cage, for which he paid 27 million (USD$1415, AUD$1610). One of the boys at the cafe said he was going to sell his two cages and buy a car.

Now that's more like the Vina-alpha male I know and love.

For a song (not)

One coconut, one iced black coffee - 50,000VND (USD$2.60, AUD$3)

HN Cafe
26 Van Phuc
Ba Dinh, Hanoi

Comments

[Seanvn01]

Interesting hobby for young men/boys. But I guess it is better than spending hours indoors playing video games. Why are the cages so expensive, do they clean themselves of bird poops? Made by GE?

[Sticky]

Seanvn01 - true about the games...that's becoming a bit of a social problem in VN...regarding the cages, I guess it's the elaborate carving around the bases rather than any shit cleaning technology ;-)

[Alex]

One of my neighbours comes to this cafe with his birds. He's in his mid-forties and sits with a group of men of a similar age. I live a couple of blocks away on a lane off Linh Lang Street and walk past every now and then, and one day a few months ago as I was walking along my neighbour called out and insisted I join him and his bird-watching friends. I didn't know what they were doing then, I didn't notice the bird cages and just thought they were sitting around drinking coffee, and on my way to their table I cracked my head fairly spectacularly against one of the cages. They waved it off and sat me down and ordered me a coffee, but I really couldn't feel comfortable with them after an introduction like that.

[Alex]

May I just add however that I have since got to know my neighbour and his bird-watching friends in other, non-bird-watching, situations and found them to be top blokes. They often get a case of beer and some dried squid and peanuts, for example, and set up on the corner of our street of an evening and just while the hours away that way. In regard to their social class and income, most of them seem to be lowly workers on the face of things but wheelers and dealers on the side.