Tag Archives: Vietnam
DAILY PHOTO: Yoked Veggie Vendor in Hanoi
DAILY PHOTO: Cemetery Next to Thiên Mụ Pagoda
DAILY PHOTO: Boats on the Sông Thu Bồn
DAILY PHOTO: Give Me A Sign, Oh Lord–Not That Kind
We saw this little chapel flanked by huge billboards for a vocational college and a beer. If anyone else was out on the river-walk that night, looking steepleward for answers, he must have concluded that he should settle for a career in HVAC repair and get wasted at his earliest convenience.
DAILY PHOTO: Cave Dining
One of the interesting experiences to be had on a junk boat tour in Vietnam is dining in a cave. This cave used to be employed as a shelter for fishermen during storms. Given all the rocky skerries in the bay, I suspect being in a boat in a storm here would be terrifying. However, the caves are now prohibited to those without a license. Because the fishermen took to lopping off stalactites and stalagmites because they make for impressive mountains for bonzai displays–and those displays can be big money makers when done well.
An example of what I’m talking about can be seen below.
DAILY PHOTO: Hanoi Opera House by Night and Day
The scaffolding was a stage erected for New Year’s Eve festivities. I assume the flowers and lights were part of that function as well, but my experience is limited; I only saw the Opera House before and after New Year’s Eve. (We were on a junk boat over the holiday itself.)
DAILY PHOTO: On the Perfume River (Sông Hương)
DAILY PHOTO: Lantern Market
DAILY PHOTO: The Eyes Have It
In the Mekong Delta, the ships have eyes. Well, many of them do anyway. The eyes painted on the bow of boats and ships are to ward off evil. Interestingly, the one class of boats that typically don’t have eyes are fishing vessels. Fishermen fear the eyes will scare away the fish, and they’re willing to take their chances with evil. Plus, we all know that evil fish are the most tasty.




















