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Take some pictures if you can find the old Haiphong house. The way I remember it: The right
half of the house was the garden with a big lichee tree. The left half was a two stories house.
The main entrance of the house was in the back. Next to the entrance was a mango tree.
Way in the back was a bomb shelter. Also in the back and along the
left side of the wall was
farm house where we raised pigs. On the same row and closer to the house were the kitchen and
the servants' quarter. Anyway, it must be quite different now after more than 50 years.
We didn't go to Haiphong to see anything famous or beautiful.
I found the old Lee home by talking to a Cantonese speaking Vietnamese, who was
the caretaker of the old Chinese school that Uncle No. 3 used to teach
in. Some Vietnamese speaking people helped me locate him.
He directed me to the house. Otherwise, this would be difficult to find as the
name of the road had changed. It is opposite the canal and it is on a corner.
You have to ask for the old Chinese printing house. He seemed to remember the
Uncle Lee who used to live there....' someone who had a wife at every port '
i.e. someone well-off, with concubines...as was the traditional system. Also
this was the perspective of the communists who got rid of the commercially
exploitative Chinese. They tended to see the chinese proprietors in this light
- true or not....
The Chinese printing press was fairly near the old Chinese school - also now
torn down. Ask for the old Chinese quarters to begin with in Haiphong.
This house was where my father stayed with his father (my grandfather) when in Haiphong.
Much more than this....I can't help. Christopher was the last to explore the place.
He may have been more observant and noted down the new address. I might have too but
it is now stored away in a place where I can't remember.
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