Towers of Hanoi; Horseshoes and hand grenades

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

   Greeting from Halong Bay, Vietnam!  There's a beautiful full moon out tonight!  It's the fullest moon ever!  (OK, OK...)
   The jokes haven't clicked here in Vietnam.  "Merry Christmas, Ho-Ho-Ho Chi Minh" failed to generate laffs.  "So this is the Ho House" fell flat.  This will all be in my new book, OH BOY, DID I BOMB IN HANOI!

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TOWERS OF HANOI

   One of the things that interested me is the origins of the classic "Towers of Hanoi" problem.  Not only is there no book on this available in any language, but no one here has even heard of it!

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HANOI COCKTAILS

   These cocktails are from the Dan Chu Hotel:

SAIGON--egg, cognac
DAISY--gin, lemon, syrup
GIN FIZZ--gin, lemon
ORANGE DAIKERY (sic)--orange, vodka
CLAIR DELUNE--whisky, orange
BRISEGLANCE--Marie, briadz (??)
WHITE LADY--gin, cointreau
ALEXANDRA--gin, curacoa, milk
BROUX--gin, martin, orange
DAIKERY (sic)--American vodka, lemon

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BANH DAU XANH

   A local treat is Banh Dau Xanh, or green bean cake.  Is this in the OED?

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VIETNAM INVESTMENT REVIEW

  Is this English-language periodical available in the States?  There's a good interview section called "On the(bar) Stool."  Included in the standard questions are favorite Vietnamese word/phrase, favorite English word/phrase, and favorite drink in Vietnam.  I'd like to look at several issues to record the answers.

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RASKOLS

   Is "raskols" English?
   From the SOUTH CHINE MORNING POST, 21 December 1999, pg. 11, col. 1:

_"Robbery of the Century" bid_
   Sydney:  A failed helicopter raid on a bank in Papau New Guineau's capital, Port Moresby, on Friday, in which five men died in a police shootout, was part of a competition among local gangs to pull off the robbery of the century.
   A police intelligence report in the _Australian_ newspaper yesterday said gangs known as _raskols_, which operate freely in the capital (CANCEL MY TRIP TO PAPAU NEW GUINEAU!--ed.), were vying to stage the most daring robbery.

   My guess is that Stanky is the brains behind this.

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