KVT – A Softwater Launching Pad

‘The Word Hanoi’ was launched at the Softwater restaurant on Wednesday night.

If you haven’t been to Softwater yet for a look you should. It’s a beautiful artistic statement sited on the banks of the Red River down a quiet street in an area where some of the super rich and discrete have their expansive, hideaway acres.

The launch was another delightful artistic statement, a trendy installation, a perfect performance piece.

There was a peppering of baby boomers, a slurry of Gen X’ers and a fashionable flurry of Gen Y’ers enjoying the sensation of real, soft grass under bare feet, nibbling canapés, slurping succulent oysters and sipping lime green or fuchsia cocktails, cold whites and soft red wines.

The new, free distribution magazine was presented by its energetically youthful and attractive staff who ooze sophistication and know-how… and it’s a wonderful acquisition to the Hanoi scene and will be eagerly anticipated each month by a lot of us.

I spent some time perusing the first issue to see who the target readership is and came to the conclusion that the cashed up Y’s and those X’ers who are enjoying an upmarket status will revel in its format. The stylish, young and wealthy, English speaking Vietnamese who were educated overseas will love it too, not to mention the up and coming upper-class mid-twenty fashionistas. Tourists will be fascinated with its cosmopolitan look and will glean a lot from its descriptions of clubs, bars and eating venues, and places and faces to visit around the city.

The first issue was entertaining with a great smattering of articles, both lite weight and muscley on cultural, epicurean, touristy and topical subjects… though I’m still wondering about the opening ode to golf courses that sort of prefixes the magazine, and was left wondering if the main underwriters of The Word are golfing aficionados or course owners or if the editorial board hasn’t heard about phosphate fertilizers and their effects on waterways.

Congrats to those associated with The Word and all those who sail in her. I’ll be an avid, monthly fan. I guess it will be available for free in all of those places that the gad-about expats, the hedonistic, the serious connoisseurs, and au fait locals frequent.

A minor query: is it an accident of publishing or choice of publishing house that the layout is a bit redolent of the Guide?