Hanoi through my eyes

Life is hard but ain't heavy. The shoulder pole with baskets and the conical hat are part of the daily street scene in Vietnam. You can always see women carry breads, fruits, vegetables and etc in two baskets which hang from the two ends of a pole over their shoulder. The conical hat is a good tool to escape from the scorching sun and to avoid the eye contact of the stranger.

Red is in. Ladies with over-size sunglasses and trendy wear riding on a scooter is another a scene you can't miss when you are in Hanoi. I think they are cool. They have a very good stability of riding the scooter. Half-size helmet is popular there with most of the riders wearing it and it comes in many colors and printed graphic.

Cover page. The rustic orange and yellow really catch my eyes.

Mobility. With the shoulder pole and two baskets, the seller is able to carry their goods to sell anywhere without the needs of setting up a stall at a permanent location. I wonder how much they could earn in a day and if it is enough to feed their family.

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. A memorial to a great Vietnamese leader. Located in the center of Ba Dinh Square. The body of the leader is preserved inside the building. Ba Dinh Square is where the Declaration of Independence has been read by Ho Chi Minh on 2nd-September, 1945.

Meeting place. This is how Vietnamese, even the young generation, hangs out. Sitting on a small stool drinking fruit juice and eating mango or peanuts by a roadside stall. Sometime at night, they would just on a thin mattress in groups on the roadside chatting and drinking.

Walk with your chin up. Crossing the road on Hanoi street is an experience which I can't possibly forget. You just have to walk straight ahead as if nothing has come from your left or right. Never hesitate. The motorcycles, which come from left and right, will just whiz past you as if they are avoiding a lamp post or a pothole on the road.

"It is not about the equipments but your eyes!"


To view the complete album of this trip, please click on this link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tang_sk/sets/72157614993004823/

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Mono Hanoi

Hanoi is a destination where I would visit again but not in the near future I guess. It is less developed than Ho Chi Minh city and quite dusty.

To me, it is an interesting city, especially the Old Quarters area. You need two to three nights just to skim the surface of the Old Quarters and more nights in order to fall in love with this area.

One thing I always do when traveling is to observe how people there lives their daily life and the Old Quarters is the perfect place for that purpose.

I spent about RM1200 for the whole trip including the air tickets. RM610 on the air fares and another RM600 on food and accommodation. We changed 3 hotels during this one week trip. The first hotel is a bit far away from the Hoan Kiem Lake where all the activities happen around it and the area around this hotel is not as happening at night. The second hotel refused to reduce the room rate to what they had promised. Actually, it was a mis-communication between the morning and afternoon shift staffs of that hotel. The afternoon shift staff promised us that the room rate is USD18 whereby the morning shift staff insisted that the room rate is USD20 per night. We felt cheated and decided to move although we only paid USD18 per night. Finally, we settled in a hotel which is two blocks away from the Lake and next to a morning wet market. You could have spent less on food if you are really adventurous and would like to try to roadside hawker food there.

I would like to do a longer trip next time. Maybe go to Sapa and also a road trip to one of the cities nearby.

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(Im)Blur-fection

Got the idea while browsing through Flickr.

Just make your camera out of focus and snap. It's that easy!

But it will be a bit hard to take this kind of photo using a PnS camera because you can't make it out of focus and then press the shutter.

For those who is allergic to the sensor noise, pardon me. I'm still shooting using my old and faithful camera!

Anyway, the result here is still far from perfect. I will keep on trying!

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Beautiful dream

Yeah, nearly after one year, I am on the road again.

I have forgotten the password to log in to the website to buy the air ticket.

I am trying hard to recall my AT&T pin number.

but I still remember how to pack my luggage.

I will be safe.

and I must be.

p/s: I have taken the jab too. 2 more to go.

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