Random Snaps and a Happy New Year From Hanoi.

O. decided not to buy a gown for New Year's.

Christmas decorations were more prevalent than we had expected,
especially in the upscale sections of downtown, of course.

But also in our neighborhood, where Spider-Man and Pleasant Goat
vied for supremacy with Old St. Nick. We saw several Vietnamese
dressed as Santa, but never when we had the camera, dammit.

We have invested in a good bottle of champagne to toast in the New Year. We've ordered Indian food for home delivery and are looking forward to a relaxing three-day weekend. We have tickets to see Avatar tomorrow. I'll post on the Vietnamese movie experience later.

Happy New Year from us.
And Heineken.

P.& O.

Christmas in Mai Chau. The Last Day

On our last day in Mai Chau, we got up early to visit the Sunday market in a Hmong village about 15 miles from the valley and higher in the mountains. The drive really reminded us of the drive from Guatemala City to Antigua, and the colorful clothing of the Hmong women reinforced the similarity.

The market was packed with people and goods.

Shovel and pick heads await their bamboo handles in this open-air hardware store.

Piggies for sale.

The carrying case is included in the price.

After the market, we walked through the surrounding village.

The setting is beautiful, but no one seems to worry about keeping it clean.
The livestock wander freely, and trash is simply tossed wherever.

We were invited to visit one of the families' home.

The floors are packed dirt, and the cooking fire is kept going at all times.

Note the hen and chicks in the background.

Almost every home has a satellite dish. The Vietnamese are proud
of their one satellite: Vinasat 1, which was built by Lockheed-Martin
and launched in 2008 by the European Space Agency.
Motorbikes, of course, are parked in the living room.

The decor includes pictures of pop stars and Uncle Ho.

The living room fire must come in handy during the cold months in these drafty homes.

We enjoyed spectacular scenery on the way back to Hanoi. O. spoke sharply to Mr. Toad,
who moderated his driving somewhat. At least at first.

It was a lovely break from the daily grind, and we got back to Hanoi just in time for the evening traffic.

P.

Christmas in Mai Chau. Day Two.

On the second day of Christmas, we went for a guided walking tour of several of the nearby villages. All were close enough to walk to from the hotel.

We saw local artisans hard at work and bought several lovely pieces of fabric as wall hangings.

These women were packing away the discarded rice stalks to use as mulch
for growing mushrooms. Nothing goes to waste.
We had local mushrooms in many of the dishes we ate
over the weekend, and they were delicious.

We also saw a chicken taking an ash bath. Very good for the skin.

And a man taking his chicken for a walk.

Turned out he was actually taking it to the fights.

This guy is fishing by hand, not swimming.

His wife shows off his catch. It's all in the wrist.

The setting is lovely and serene.



The landscape reminded us of the Vietnam we've always pictured--
rice paddies, water buffalo, and barefoot peasants toiling in conical hats.
They still live that way.

Other than the ubiquitous motorbikes,
there's remarkably little in the way of machinery.

But those motorbikes do come in handy.

Bamboo is used for everything. Telephone poles...

water pipes...

shovel handles. (Okay, those aren't bamboo, but we saw
some later that were, and this is a better picture.)

In the afternoon, we biked through still more little villages.


The late afternoon light was truly magical.

Then we went back to the lodge and relaxed before dinner--a delicious bbq: chicken, lamb, sausages. We met some interesting people: a couple Greek guys on holiday, and a young Australian/Swedish couple. Good conversations, good mojitos. And that was the morning and the evening of the second day.

P.