Senai Day Trip and Morley Safer's Drunken Interviews in Vietnam

A day trip to and from Senai today.

After Robert Sam Anson’s War News, I started Flashbacks: On Returning to Vietnam by Morley Safer yesterday. This book by Safer is mentioned in Perfect Spy.

… Anson was incensed by Safer’s admission that he took no notes when speaking with An. Safer, accompanied by his assistant and with [Pham Xuan] An’s help, had polished off a complete bottle of White Horse whiskey during their conversation… Anson applied for an expedited visa and was on the next available flight from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City for a meeting with An.

And told me that he thought the conversation with Safer was off the record; that is they were two friends catching up and drinking a bottle of whiskey. “I never thought he would publish our conversation. I was just so happy to have colleagues to speak with again,” said An…

Safer’s book was scheduled for publication by Random House, where Anson had recently published Best Intentions: The Education and Killing of Edmund Perry. Anson called his publisher. “I beseeched them via a phone call or three or eight and a detailed exegesis of Morley’s reporting method,” says Anson. He told them the story of his recent visit with An and asked that Random House and Safer edit the attributions before publication, which they agreed to do. (Larry Berman, pp. 251-252, Perfect Spy)

And I’ve just read this passage:

We (Safer and Professor Nguyen Ngoc Hung) are sitting in a corner of my room [at the Thong Nhat Hotel in Hanoi] sipping scotch and chasing it with Heineken. (Morley Safer, p. 43, Flashbacks)

His Meditation Habit and Three Grab Rides Today

Worked only in the afternoon today. Went to the Yishun office by Grab. After work, I went to a courier service company by Grab to pick up two books that were never successfully delivered. I had tried to arrange the delivery time with the company’s drivers but they had never replied to me.

Another Grab ride home. The driver, who appears an Indian Singaporean, used to work for SIA and shared with me his experience in Japan. While he was working for SIA, he told me he liked to visit many places and he’s visited Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. He likes “tonkatsu.” In Tokyo, he and his friend decided to try a “night club” to see some “Japanese girls.” But they were refused entry only because they were not Japanese. Well, as he was not interested in “prostitution,” he left the place because he didn’t want to waste his time. He also talked about his daily meditation habit. He used to be drinking with friends but quit it as for his meditation he of course needs to concentrate his mind. And he wondered which was more important, drinking or meditation. He chose meditation. He meditates to remember his God who he will meet upon his death. So he should remember Him.

Three Grab rides today.

Supreme Leader of Annam Independence Movement Who Was Studying at Tohoku University

「人間の集団について」の「あとがき」に、桑原武夫が「戦争中、東北大学で私はベトナムの留学生を世話していたが、その漢文に堪能で、優秀温雅な貴族青年は、敗戦の日、私に、彼が日本における安南独立運動の最高責任者であるという、私が薄うす察知していた事実を隠していたことをわびた。彼はやがて祖国の難におもむくというフランス語のはがきをよこしたまま姿を消した。帰国後殺害されたといううわさが伝わったのは、ディエンビエンフーの前である」と書いている。この貴族青年は誰だったのだろう？

Cuong De Is Nobody in Vietnam and Tonight's Dinner and Drink

15日、仕事は午前中で終わった。うちに帰って「安南王国の夢」を読み終え、司馬遼太郎の「人間の集団について」を始めた。どうやら、「Cường Để」はベトナムでは触れてはいけない名前のようだ。

Tonight, I had dinner again with the engineer with whom I’ve worked for the past two weeks. But not in the Orchard area, but in my neighborhood. After dinner, we went to Sara’s. Ooo, I haven’t been there for ages. I recognized only one person working there. And after a few glasses of whisky soda, the man sitting next to me started talking to us. “Japanese?” He was someone who has worked with Japanese for Disneyland projects in China. He offered me some advice about PR application (I don’t know if I’d like to try again though…) and even took the engineer to the hotel he was staying at. Appreciation to him though I don’t know much about him.

Yukimoto Yokoyama or Masayuki Yokoyama?

牧久著の「安南王国の夢」の298ページに記載されている「（日本文化館）館長の仏印駐在公使、横山幸元」とは、Monique Brinson DemeryのFinding the Dragon Ladyにも書かれており、昭和33年11月21日に開かれた第33回国会衆議院外務委員会に参考人として招致された「横山正幸」ではないのか？なぜ名前が違うのか？

Cường Để and Phan Bội Châu in Japan

「『安南王国』の夢」の読後、Ben Kiernanが「Việt Nam」で「Cường Để」と「Phan Bội Châu」について書いている部分を読もうと思う。大隈重信、犬養毅、東京義塾、そしての安藤安正の東京振武学校について書かれていたことは記憶している。

Miss Criminal may be back in the Philippines. Good luck to you!!

Karayuki-san's Area: Middle Road, North Bridge Road, Malay Street, Hylam Street and Malabar Street

牧久はサイゴン陥落後にシンガポール支局移った。そこでの取材で知り合った「シンガポール越後屋」の総支配人だった福田倉八の回想。「私がシンガポールにやって来た頃、カラユキさんたちのいたカフェ（彼は娼館をカフェと呼んだ）はミドルロードとノースブリッジロードに挟まれた一角にありましてね、その周りには日本料理店が取り巻いていました。もう一か所、中国人街にも五、六軒の店がありました。カラユキさんの総数は四百人を超していたと思います」（「『安南王国』の夢」）

「Middle Road」と「North Bridge Road」に挟まれた一角とは、今の「Bugis Junction」や「Intercontinental Hotel」の周辺であり、山崎朋子が「観光案内所の主」の「太田良一」に取材して、「サンダカン八番娼館」で記している「マレー街（Malay Street）」「ハイラム街（Hylam Street）」「マラバー街（Malabar Street）」と符合する。ただ、山崎はこの界隈も「チャイナ・タウン」の一部にしている。 

Radical Change of Schedule and It's Ominous

Original Schedule

Feb. 13 (Wed.): Senai (stay at DT)

Feb. 14 (Thu.): Senai (stay at DT)

Feb. 15 (Fri.): Senai (return to Singapore)

Feb. 18 (Mon.): Yishun

Feb. 19 (Tue.): Senai (stay at DT)

Feb. 20 (Wed.): Senai (stay at DT)

Feb. 21 (Thu.): Senai (stay at DT)

Feb. 22 (Fri.): Senai (stay at DT)

Feb. 23 (Sat.): Senai (stay at DT) 

Feb. 24 (Sun.): stay at DT

Feb. 25 (Mon.): Senai (stay at DT)

Feb. 26 (Tue.): Senai (stay at DT)

Feb. 27 (Wed.): Senai (stay at DT)

Feb. 28 (Thu.): Senai (return to Singapore)

Mar. 1 (Fri.): Yishun

Actual Schedule

Feb. 13 (Wed.): Senai (stay at DT)

Feb. 14 (Thu.): Senai (stay at DT)

Feb. 15 (Fri.): Senai (return to Singapore)

Feb. 18 (Mon.): Senai (return to Singapore)

Feb. 19 (Tue.): Yishun

Feb. 20 (Wed.): Senai (stay at DT)

Feb. 21 (Thu.): Senai (stay at DT)

Feb. 22 (Fri.): Senai (return to Singapore)

Feb. 25 (Mon.): Cancelled

Feb. 26 (Tue.): Cancelled

Feb. 27 (Wed.): Cancelled

Feb. 28 (Thu.): Cancelled

Mar. 1 (Fri.): Cancelled

The reason given to me about the cancellation of March 1 work is that the team had to remain in Senai, which sounds ominous not personally to me but to the team and its company. I may witness more complication of the situation later this month. And this afternoon, I received an inquiry about interpretation for tomorrow afternoon. I had to turn it down because I’m already booked from March 4 to 15 by another client.

During the past few days, War News and The Spy Who Loved Us arrived. But an SMBC cheque book I had requested last Tuesday has not arrived yet. That’s strange as it’s never taken this long for me to receive a cheque book.