mopeds

No entry on Vietnam would be complete without an ode to the moped. We only saw two accidents, both of them minor. The crazies that ride these things are the bravest people on the planet. Second only to the pedestrians when they try and cross the street.

First prize goes to this guy HOLDING ONTO the refrigerator he just put on his moped.




A lot of the walls in Vietnam are blistered with this stenciled numbers. I have no idea what they mean, but they look cool in a picture.





A store selling helmets. Luckily, everyone seems to wear one here.




Just liked they way these were stacked next to each other, just like the architecture behind it.




I never could quite capture the insanity of how densely packed these suckers get. I think I would need an aerial shot. Here was an attempt.




I snapped this one during an insane rickshaw drive through the city. Definitely a fun ride.




I leave Vietnam tomorrow. I ended up taking over 2000 pics here alone.

planes trains and automobiles

On the last day of our trip to Halong bay, we took a bus to a boat. Hopped on another bus. Ate lunch, then took a different bus to a van, that van took us to Hanoi. We got on a taxi, which brought us to our plane (which we boarded after first taking a bus there). Finally, exiting the airport we were ripped off by a security guard there and ushered into an SUV taxi. We paid about double the rate. Don't trust people in uniform. Below is one of the memorable moments in our van ride from Halong to Hanoi. The man running the van kept adding people along the way. It was ridiculous.

catching up

I'm in Ho Chi Minh now, and have been once again graced with internet access. Being the snob I am, I'm reluctant to post the pics I like best since I don't have a colour calibrated monitor out here, but I'll here are some from Hanoi and the bike tour:

A calm in the ridiculous traffic in Hanoi




We ate at this local lady's house/restaurant




This is a view from the last leg of our bike tour. The road below is the path we took.

bike tour

Dear Jane,

Please spot the health code violation. Those hands are that of a CUSTOMER by the way.

The ride itself was awesome. I have better pics. I'll share them later.

In Vietnam

I am in Vietnam now.

First day continued

I spent the day roaming around the Yau ma tei area, stuffing my face as much as I could. The apartments here have the most interesting facades. Strewn with air conditioners and clothing lines, each unit is tightly packed to the next. After several hours of walking I met up with my friend Harry for some dinner and some pool.

Arrived

 

So I made it to HK. Flight was shorter than I thought due to an overflowing array of movie choices. I also lucked out and for once didn't get the fat person spilling over my chair next to me. It was actually empty. Thank you global recession.

I've forgotten how humid weather feels like because I always seem to visit Toronto when it's nice and cold. Yes, that's right NICE and COLD. HK is a little on the muggy side, and a lot on the smoggy side.

On the plus side, so far, I am taller than everyone that I've seen. (I didn't count the white people)

left overs

kollaboration9_20090221-6, originally uploaded by akim_hobo.

My camera is back from the shop and squeaky clean. Here are some left overs from the show

boots

kollaboration9_20090221-14, originally uploaded by akim_hobo.

The Jazmin sisters' boots.

The guitar of Kina Grannis