Mikie & Mayumi in Vietnam

10 Feb 2007 Comments Off

Viet Nam -

What kind of images do you conjure up when you hear these words ?

Maybe you think of movies like Apocalypse Now, The Deer Hunter, Born on the 4th of July, or even Forrest Gump.

Alternatively, you are recalling America’s longest involvement in a single war which we remember as the War In Viet Nam because your family suffered a loss of a loved one in that conflict.

Possibly you will flash on phrases that still tug on hearts like “Peace with Honor or Peace is at Hand”, or maybe you’ll remember other terms from the war like carpet bombing, napalm, KIA, MIA, Khe Sahn, My Lai, mash units, R & R, Viet Cong or Charlie, or friendly fire.

Certainly I have no intention of trivializing anyone’s feelings about that period in history. But it is history. and there’s a monument in Washington DC memorializing the more than 58,000 Americans who perished in that conflict. The Vietnamese lost enormous numbers of their own sons and daughters; so we should never forget any of them.

But time marches on, and today Viet Nam, is a developing country beginning to attract a growing number of tourists. Some go to experience the place that has left an indelible mark in so many people’s family trees.

Others go to visit a beautiful tropical paradise in Southeast Asia with its lush beaches, developing infrastructure to support the tourism, and at a fraction of the cost that you might spend in Bali, Thailand, or Malaysia.

This intruiging travel destination has made an impact on the Japanese as well. In this issue we will present a double review. One will feature a popular Japanese actress, Mayumi Ono who went to Viet Nam with a camera crew and came away with two DVDs; and the other will give us a look at the beautiful gravure model Mikie Hara.

Mikie Hara is a relative newcomer to gravure idol biz. She has only three titles to her credit, and this one, Nittelegenic 2006 Memoires, was released just last month, by VAP. We don’t know why the producers decided to set down a crew and 4 lovely models in Viet Nam at a group of resorts in Mui Ne, near Phan Thiet, which is 180 klicks (kilometers) from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon); but I’m glad they did.

Here are a few maps to pinpoint the locations -

Ok on to the review – Mikie is busty, beautiful, and brimming with exuberance. They’ve amped up the cute factor in a few scenes to approach a level of annoyance. But there’s no disputing that this DVD is packed with many great images of a wonderful model.

There’s plenty of bikini scenes on the beach, in the pool, and even on the lawns near the tropical vegetation. Multiple interview sessions with Mikie talking to us via her own camera occur every twenty minutes.

She travels into the town and charms the local children. Then there’s a dreamy sequence where in Mikie, the Japanese tourist spots a local lass (played by Mikie) in a red ao dai, which is the traditional national dress worn by Vietnamese women.

Mikie follows her through town and up into the spectacular sand dunes area the region is famous for.

This was very nice to watch, and brings to mind the art of Nguyen Thanh Binh who has been discussed on our pages before. Here are a few examples of his art.

His perspective is both unique and touching. He has said,

“I like things that are simple, the color induces a simple composition and design. I don’t like paintings with a lot of color. This is not my way,” says Binh. “In life, there are many problems and every Vietnamese has a sadness within them. We have seen so many wars over a long time, I want to express this in my painting, the sorrow of the Vietnamese soul.”

While Mikie herself is gorgeous in her red ao dai, this is just a single scene in the DVD.

My overall impression of the DVD is great visuals of a beautiful woman with a terrific body, a nice variety of settings, weak music, and still a very fine effort. I’ll bring this one in at four point zero, and thank the producers for their work.

Be on the look out for another from this series starring the sweet Hitomi Kitamura on our pages in the future.

On the other hand, Mayumi Ono is not a newcomer like Mikie. Mayumi has movie credits, has recorded many CD’s, and has had a lengthy career as a Gravure idol. This DVD, from Pony Canyon, was made in 2005, and is entitled 2 Re:action takes us on another trip to Viet Nam.

While this DVD is essentially a two hour making-of and a behind the scenes video diary of Mayumi’s modeling trip to Viet Nam, it has a certain flair and dynamic to it that makes some of the more tedious or boring scenes diminish.

We arrive at in Ho Chi Minh City to stay not at a luxury hotel, but at a private home in a residential neighborhood. We watch Mayumi and her local hostess communicate in English. Later we take a water taxi on the Saigon River and then see more locals attracted to the pretty lady.

After a lengthy bus ride we arrive at a beach resort, the Swiss Village Resort & Spa which is in Phan Thiet (see maps above). Plenty of boring talking, then Mayumi is out on the tennis court. She’s not very good but she has fun. Then it is to the beach where Mayumi is dressed in a bright red western cocktail dress. As I said this is less about the modeling and more about the behind the scenes.

Soon we are back on the coach and then back in Ho Chi Minh City. The noises of the mopeds, buses, small cars, and motorbikes is incessant but this is just a sampling of the flavor of most cities and towns in South East Asia. Mayumi walks about the city and soon catches site of another woman in a red ao dai. While this woman pays no attention to the camera crew, Mayumi is obviously attracted to the stylish ao dai. Later we will see Mayumi in another ao dai.

We soon find ourselves with Mayumi on a bycicle-rickshaw. All the motorized vehicles pass us. When an empty one pulls along side we see exactly what kind of vehicle is conveying Mayumi across town. Believe it or not, Mayumi actually gets a call on cell phone. Mooshi-mooshi!.

A shopping excursion follows. The streets are teeming with people. We get to walk around Ho Chi Minh City. Always the locals want to interact with the camera; the women smile and are friendly, the men are attracted to Mayumi, and the kids are like kids anywhere as they mug for the camera.

Mayumi finds her way to The Majestic Hotel and its Skybar, a rooftop cafe with magnificent river views. And this is a four-star hotel edging back in history to the French Colonial Era. The Majestic opened in the Twenties. In the small elevator, we finalyy get to see the apparatus that Mayumi has been toting around Ho Chi Minh City. She has her camera on a pole aimed at herself. No mistaking it, this IS SELF-INDULGENT. On the other hand she does a lot of walking around a big city all by herself.

While this DVD was essentially a companion video to Overture, which was the gravure model DVD, it is not without value. Virtually devoid of the glamor posing found in Overture, this DVD is just for those already a fan of Miss Ono, or for those already owning Overture.

Still it is an interesting journey into Viet Nam. I’ll score it at three point zero with a provisionary warning that if possible, you should watch the Overture DVD before this one. At the end of this DVD there is a preview of Overture. I have included some stills from that DVD including Mayumi wearing the ao dai.