Here at Pittstop HQ we read the
local papers so you don't have to!

* Drunk with a monk

Here's a strange tale from a local daily about a Gia Lai land official who went to a pagoda after being on the lash with a mate and convinced/ forced the pagoda's monks to join in the fun. He forced the impressionable or perhaps defenseless Buddhists to smoke a few cigarettes and quaff beer with him but rather than this leading to a sense of jovial camaraderie and high spirits, things turned ugly when the official started to lecture the monks on land use rights (hot topic these days don't you know) then chinned a young monk who tried to lead him in the direction of home. The old sot then asked to be forgiven before persuading everyone to go sing karaoke with him. He is probably feeling a wee bit silly after being suspended from ... 'officialdom' so he is now merely a hard-drinking rabble rousing non-official these days.

"Thuan, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to hand in your whistle," said the town's head to the disgraced official.

Pittstop recommended reading rating:

* The town that has no doors
This town in Ca Mau province has no doors and is also home to rather erudite and eloquent xe om drivers: “It’s one of the most unusual places I’ve ever lived in,” said Nam Deo, a local xe om driver.“I can guarantee that anyone who came here would be in total surprise. People leave their stuff unguarded as if they were children’s toys. It’s somewhat like the perfect society Karl Marx once referred to – prosperous with possessions but without greed.”

PRRR:

* Barbers set for the chop?

Streetside barbers' days are numbered in Hanoi, so go get your ears cleaned out one last time on the Dyke Road sometime soon.

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