While wandering around (lost most of the time), I have noticed really captivating mixes of old and new and urban and rural. I took this picture (left) because I thought it was interesting to see the woman in the conical hat watching the group of young people behind her flirt and use their cell phones and PDAs.
This picture to the left is of VINCOM Towers, a new mall-like building that was built less than a year or two ago. It is really nice, but it seems so out of place! I took pictures of the women selling fruit right out front of this mall.
3 comments:
Hi Natalie,
I really enjoyed your pictures of new and old Ha Noi and those of Cat Ba. Funny, while watching your commute video I remembered the day when I dared a taxi driver not to honk his horn during my ride. For the first half of the ride he did not do it, but gave up and went back to the horn. He said that it was impossible for him not to honk because all the cyclists, xe oms, xyclos, scooter drivers, and pedestrians kept getting in his way. He said that he always had the right of way. I also remembered the days when some scooter drivers tried to force their right of way by modifying the sound of their measely (sp?) horns with those of MAC trucks. Hearing those modified horns used to scare the beejeebees out of me. I hated to think there was a speeding 16-wheeler coming up behind me as I rode my bicycle through a narrow Hanoian street. Some sounds I do miss are the melodic calls of the female bread street vendors: "banh mi, banh mi nao" (fresh bread here) as they walked through the streets in the early morning and evening hours. Natalie, are they still around?
Yvonne
Hi Nat, I'm just a passing by blogger. Are you still in Ha Noi? I taught English in a village north east of Ha Noi for three years. Reading your blog and seeing the pics brought much of it back. I guess Cat Ba is much different these days. I hope things turned out for you ok in the end. It's not easy stuff. Thanks for your writing.
Anna
Hi,
I've made a small page about teaching all over Asia, including Vietnam. We offer advice on getting a job, the culture, and the lifestyle of an ESL teacher. If you'd like to have a look it's here:
http://www.teacheslinasia.com/teach-esl-in-vietnam/
Thank you!
Sam
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