Hanoi - more rickshaw

There's no other way to get this close to traffic in Hanoi and take a picture. I'm glad I took the rickshaw ride.


Surrounded by mopeds



Moped to my side.



They are faster than my man-powered ride.

Hanoi - rickshaw ride

I couldn't resist being a tourist.


I rode one shortly after taking this picture.



Tiny hats



Another drive by photo.



Waiting in traffic.

Hanoi - quiet

As busy as the city is. There are moments of peace and quiet.



At the lake.



Outside the travel agency we booked Halong bay at



Outside our hotel.


Sometimes some time alone is good to sort things out.

Hanoi - walking back

Took these on our way back to the other side of the lake.


I'm pretty sure she is biking the wrong way.




This picture is to a power grid, what vietnam traffic is to transportation



Here's what Cartier looks like in Hanoi

hanoi - waiting

This is me waiting for Aaron to plan something for the trip. He's sitting inside a travel agency in Hanoi trying to figure out how to get to Cambodia. I am outside shooting what's around me and trying to figure out how I flew all the way to Hanoi to spend my day inside travel agencies. We went to three of them before he gave up.


I found a rich person



I'm pretty sure whenever I travel I get a picture of:

A bicycle.

A phone booth.

hanoi - the other side

I don't remember where these came from.

Hanoi lunch

It's feeding time!!

My first bowl of Pho. Yes, it's at a sit down place indoors. I was taking baby steps.

The pho was good, and the coffee was also great.


Just like back home.



The view.



The food.

Yum.

more Hanoi

Yes, I'm still walking around Hanoi.


This looked like a very official building.




Some graffiti under an archway.

Hanoi, still...

Here are some more around the Lake.



This is the same bridge I took a picture of earlier in BW




Fellow tourist. There was nothing to see out there.




The light was so bad around this time that I tried to take more pictures of light vs. shadow




Another attempt. I decided it wasn't working. Also I was getting hungry.




On the way out from the inner path around the lake.




I think that sign is saying: "I <3 Communism" :P

Hanoi day one

More photos from the lake.


I think this is recycling of some sort. I can't figure out what categories they're separated into though. By the looks of the pictures it is separated based on pure randomness.




I might just like this better in black and white than in colour

Vietnam - day 1 - Hanoi

Here are some more pictures I took around the lake.


My gut reaction was to crop this tighter, but I like the effort you have to make to "get to" the bridge in the image.



In hindsight, I wish I had eaten something here.

Vietnam, day 1

The moment we landed in Vietnam, somebody tried to rip us off. I had arranged for a private shuttle to our hotel from the airport. Once the SUV pulled up, we were ushered into the van along with several other travelers. I told the organizer there that we were supposed to get a private car, and he looked at me like he already knew. Annoyed, he called in another car.

I regretted my decision immediately. There is the unknown etiquette that we have in Toronto for Vietnamese restaurants. Don't complain about the food, because it will come back with extra goodness in it. I should have thought of that earlier before requesting a private taxi.

The car that pulled up was unmarked and just seemed to be some guy willing to drive us somewhere. The ride was probably a lot shorter than it seemed. Half the time I felt like I was in danger of being in a car accident, the other half I was entertaining the idea that we might not even be going to Hanoi right now.

Perhaps sensing this, the driver turned on his DVD player mounted on his dash and begun to Karaoke to some 80's remix complete with a dance ensemble. We eventually ended up at the hotel, and got a quick dinner at a backpacker recommended place (horrible) and went to sleep. We had AC, that's all that mattered.

The next morning we set out to explore


We start off with a little breakfast sandwich. Not the most remarkable thing in the universe, but as I've learned to discover, the greatest thing about the food in Vietnam is not so much when you eat it. It's later, when you can still remember how slightly different and new it tasted.



In the center of the city is a lake called Hoan Kiem. I don't know what it means, but it's nice in the morning to walk around. There are plenty of people doing the same or even exercising.

Last HK post

My last day in HK was spent mostly missing it before I was even gone.

Some parting thoughts:


One of the great things about Asia is how everybody works as a conscious collective. This is how so many people are able to live so close to each other. In America, I'm pretty sure everybody would kill each other. Here's a subtle example. Every single building is the exact same height.



We had to fly to Singapore before flying to Vietnam. This is because I like to save money at, what apparently is the cost of my time. Whatever. Nice clouds.

First impression of Vietnam?
The Vietnamese can unboard an airplane in about 30 seconds. No joke.

Day 4 cont'd

Ok so the last couple photos weren't so great. These last several are probably out of order too as we get closer to Harry's big day. Sad part is, I've already begun to forget what happened on what day. Oh well. It was fun while I was in the moment.





This was taken outside the building where Harry got married.

One more post before Vietnam

Day 4 cont'd

Hong Kong, as busy and compacted as it is, has a large park in the middle. When I say, "Hong Kong", I of course mean Kowloon.


This looks horrible on a non-calibrated monitor.



They have flamingos there. Weird.

Day 4

Not to be outdone by the amazing tour guide Carol, Hammer, a friend from work suggested we go to a breakfast joint run by former gangsters the following morning. It was great.


Gangsta?



I like bottles arranged in a row :)



Although stuffed, we managed to stop by this place where they make a supposedly healthy jelly from blended up turtles. It was yum.

Day 3 pt 5

After the ferry we headed back home. I hit the showers after walking around a bit, and then had my first and most awesome foot massage.


Catching the last bits of light in Yau ma tei.