Under Construction.

The peace and quiet of our little enclave has been disrupted over the last two weeks by workers tearing down the house next door. Every morning at the stroke of 7:00 the jackhammers start pounding. I think they've finally finished, but it was an ordeal.

Where the house once stood.

It's interesting watching the construction process here. Since nothing bigger than a motorbike can fit down the alley, everything must be transported by push cart or motorbike or bicycle.

Every bit of rubble is bagged and put on a hand cart
or a specially rigged bicycle and wheeled out to the main street.

All new construction materials are brought in in the same way.

These pedicabs (note the wood-block pedals) at the front of the alley are hired
by people who arrive at the alley in a cab with lots of packages.
They and their goods are then pedaled to their home.

They even have small cement mixers built onto the back of a tricycle motorbike. The workers come from small villages nearby, lured the princely wages of 150,000 dong per day (about $8.50), far more than they could earn at home.

They set up a little plastic tarp dwelling just off the main street, and there they live for the duration.

They also stack all the bricks and other construction materials right on the street.

They throw down a few wooden shipping pallets for beds. For power, they stretch an extension cord to the closest house or shop. Where they bathe and go to the bathroom we're unsure, but they probably have an arrangement with someone in the neighborhood.

Laundry is also done on the premises.

Once they basic structure is up, they will move into the empty shell until the place is finished. It's quite a process.

In all but the very biggest high-rises, supports are simple wooden poles.

Rudimentary by our standards, but it gets done quickly and to everyone's satisfaction.

P.