Hanging Lanterns at Hoi An

Hanging lanterns in a shop in Hoi An, Vietnam
Hanging lanterns in a shop in Hoi An, Vietnam, 2006

Good old memories of Vietnam came flooding back as I was looking through my old photos tonight. On our last day at Hoi An just before we left the cute little artsy town, we did the rounds of local crafts market. And gee there is a lot of it for a small little village it is. If only Australian Customs were relaxed we’d have bought some back with us as these are hand-stitched, threaded and made out of thin bamboo frames right off the jungle. Almost! They look so pretty. Don’t you think?

Ming-Mang’s tomb – Hue, Vietnam

Ming-Mangs tomb in HueBefore I embark on writing another personal anecdotal sojourn I had better warned my readers that this might well be yet another unfinished write up… given the fact there are only twenty four measly hours of which I usually sleep seven, work eight, travel two, eat, rest and mac-about… there is not enough time to do much. I’m lagging behind in keeping up my site looking pretty and posting photos I’ve recently shot in Viêtnam and Brunei.

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Back from Viêtnam and Brunei

We’re back from a fantastic trip to Viêtnam, the old the new, from Ho-Chi-Minh City, Siagon right up to Hanoi and then of course to the richest country in the world… Brunei gee whiz what a good time was had by us all. I shot up 17 Gig’s and the Epson P2000 was a big help.

a view of the green rice field
Across the rice paddy on our way back from Halong Bay to Hanoi (north Viêtnam).

a man looking towards the chinabay from a mountenous road
Looking over chinabay at De-Nang on the way to Hue through the meandering mountain roads.

I’ll have some exciting stories for you soon. My only regret is that I truly forgot to buy one of those beautiful conical hats in Viêtnam. Rumour has it that only women wear ‘conical hats’ in Viêtnam but am pretty sanguine I saw loads of men wearing ‘em too.

Vietnam and Brunei soon!

map of vietnamHo Chi Minh City, Cu Chi tunnels, the Cham Museum, Marble Mountain and China Beach en route the delightful fishing town of Hoi An, exploring its narrow streets filled with historic buildings, tailors and inviting restaurants, historic Hue for its splendid tombs, ornate pagodas and the remains of a once magnificent Imperial Citadel, overnight cruise on the scenic Halong Bay also known as the Jewel of the Bay, dotted with thousands of limestone islands and hidden grottos, Hanoi’s Old Quarter, the Temple of Literature, the History Museum and Ngoc Son temple oh I can barely contain my excitement, a few weeks from now, we’re headed to Vietnam for two weeks.

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