Wired World.

Maybe because the ground is so saturated with water (there are seven or eight major lakes in Hanoi, and the whole city is tucked into a bend of the Red River) all the electrical and communications wires are hung from poles, trees, and the sides of buildings. It looks like an accident waiting to happen, but it seems to work.

The street outside our hotel is festooned with wires.

Beautiful old temple and modern office building alike are girded by a rat's nest of cable.

Of course, without them you wouldn't be reading this wonderful blog. So there's that.