hanoians and their 'xe om' (motorcycles), or hon-da, they rather call. almost everyone owns one. though recently, a fleet of new public buses are covering a network of roads. one wonders how they are going to get around those narrow little roads.

i was right in the middle of the road when i took this one. as my co-workers would put it, i'm 'vietnam-trained' - i no longer' look right, look left and look right again' before crossing.. the only way to get to the other side is be nonchalant and let the vehicles avoid u.

baguettes! the french left more of those in vietnam than the brits left fish and chips in singapore. i don't think the vietnamese eat these as much as the noodles. but still, they are everywhere. 10 US cents for a plain one. if u are feeling a little richer and braver, u may want to run down to the stall nearby, where u can ask for stuffings like pork fats *cringe* , vietnamese ham *i call it ambigious meat*, cucumber and tomatoes.

the street vendors. noodles. rice. water snails. meat. grime. dirt. everywhere. had these a couple of times, when i was *nudge nudge* by my co-workers to get into the swing of the local culure. food so cheap, they might as well give it away. though much later, i was warned by the International SOS clinic doctor that 80% of vietnamese have worms - which kinda explains for the skinny bodies - and that i shouldn't be hanging out along the roads for food.

at the museum of ethnology. a life-size replica of a Mnong ethnic group longhouse. this area is where the single male guests gather and, if they want, spend the night. further inside the house, usual activities are carried out by the rest of the family

at the ho chi minh museum... much of the museum's devoted to uncle ho, his life, his struggle and his heroism. but interesting how they attempt to relate also, world events during his life time, such as the spanish civil war (as seen in replicas of picasso's cubist art pieces below). i'm not sure what kind of statement they are trying to make here, if any at all. in fact, there is a really strange exhibit (no pictures, unfortunately!) that brings the visitor into the glass enclosure full of completely random images, ranging from gustav klimt's art, to the invention of the telephone and aeroplane, to einstein's portrait. hmm...

the omni present 'bo ho' (uncle ho). why, his embalmed corpse is just lying next door!

an artistic representation of the trauma going on in the developing world... 'nam my' - south america ...

... 'chau phi' - africa...

hoan kiem lake. lake of the restored sword.

heart of the city

hoan kiem at night.

i had no camera tripod. ;p