Thursday, April 27, 2006
Hello Hanoi
I promised to be light-hearted today, so I'm posting some random photos from Hanoi. While Hanoi & Saigon are both great cities, each with their own culture and identity, I actually preferred Hanoi, with it's crazy streets, markets and Haan Kiem Lake. Pictured below are women doing their Tai Chi in the morning...at sunrise, there are literally hundreds of people doing Tai Chi in groups and individually around the lake. 
I was lucky enough to be in Hanoi while Vietnam's ruling Communist Party opened its 10th National Congress...a celebration of Communism in Vietnam filled with intense pageantry; everywhere you looked you saw the red and yellow hammer & sickle (symbolizing the unity between agricultural and industrial workers) and the flag of Vietnam....and I mean EVERYWHERE! I was lucky enough to come across some outdoor performances and capured my view from a restaurant at night...what is not shown is the crowd of hundreds of people watching from their motorbikes in the street.
Speaking of motorbikes, that is the main form of transportation and it is quite a site to behold. They say in Saigon, a city of some 8 million people, that there are almost 5 million motorbikes! It was a bit daunting at first as a pedestrian, passenger and then as a driver, but you get the hang of it...there are only TWO rules...don't hit anyone and don't get hit!
I was lucky enough to be in Hanoi while Vietnam's ruling Communist Party opened its 10th National Congress...a celebration of Communism in Vietnam filled with intense pageantry; everywhere you looked you saw the red and yellow hammer & sickle (symbolizing the unity between agricultural and industrial workers) and the flag of Vietnam....and I mean EVERYWHERE! I was lucky enough to come across some outdoor performances and capured my view from a restaurant at night...what is not shown is the crowd of hundreds of people watching from their motorbikes in the street.
Speaking of motorbikes, that is the main form of transportation and it is quite a site to behold. They say in Saigon, a city of some 8 million people, that there are almost 5 million motorbikes! It was a bit daunting at first as a pedestrian, passenger and then as a driver, but you get the hang of it...there are only TWO rules...don't hit anyone and don't get hit!
I thought I'd throw in the picture of the electrician....I just thought it was hilarious. I was walking down one of the side streets in Hanoi where everything is sold, from fruits, vegetables, meats (including whole skinned dog...sorry, but true), etc. and I saw this electrician fixing, well, who knows what he was fixing...looks like he has a lot of work to do!
