Vietnam 2013

Breakfast Pho

Whole chicken cooked in a can with lotus leaves and other herbs. Very medicinal.

These are towers of wedding gifts. Apparently, the bride's father negotiates with the groom to determine how many he will bring.

Small family alter for offerings to one's ancestors.

Local market - the meat counter. Everything here is very fresh (alive this morning).

Flower seller

Elephant statue in the temple

Offerings in the temple.

Temple

Vase in the temple.

Buddha statue in the temple

Man burning offerings for his ancestors

Temple

Woman making rice dumplings

Rice dumplings

Variety of yogurt/coffee drinks

Flower seller on a bicycle - it was amazing what folks could carry on the back of a bicycle or a scooter.

Food

Sweetened tofu with fruit

Van Cong Tu - our street food guru and a great source of information about Vietnam for someone who just arrived.

View of Hanoi

Hand painted pots

Ceramic birds

Ceramic urns

Freeing an urn from the mold

Pot in a mold

Worker taking a smoke break

Finished, hand painted tea pots

Boat on Halong Bay

Halong Bay

Cave at Halong Bay

Wet market fish seller at Halong Bay

Halong Bay

Fancy shrimp dish on the boat

Halong Bay

The group we were traveling with - minus our fearless leader, Tuan, who was taking the picture

Chef creating a net made of carrot

Carrot net

Tuan playing with his food.

Ethnic masks at the Museum of Ethnology

Wooden statue at the Museum of Ethnology - looks a bit like George W. Bush.

Ngyuen Citadel

Elephant at the Ngyuen Citadel

Ngyuen Citadel

Closeup of the details in the Ngyuen Citadel

Closeup of the details in the Ngyuen Citadel. Note that the mosaics in Vietnam are made from broken pottery.

Closeup of the details in the Ngyuen Citadel

Ngyuen Citadel

Closeup of bronze pot

Bronze pots at the Ngyuen Citadel

Ngyuen Citadel

Bronze pots at the Ngyuen Citadel

Ngyuen Citadel

Ngyuen Citadel - the shot that Tuan recommended as being very "artsy-fartsy".

Ngyuen Citadel

Ngyuen Citadel - note the carp motif in the roof drain.

Ngyuen Citadel

Dragon boats!

Buddhist monastery

Buddhist monastery - local meditating at the temple.

Buddhist monastery - a young monk catches a nap before sounding the gongs.

Young monk at the monastery sounds the gong.

In the 60s, the monks were protesting the repression of Buddhism by the government. One very famous monk drove to the central square in this car and set himself on fire in protest.

Lotus flowers at the monastery

Monks on a motorcycle

Ngyuen's palace

Floor tiles

Ngyuen's palace

A bride takes a traditional photo at Ngyuen's palace

Ngyuen's palace - a symbol of longevity worked into the wall

Ngyuen's wife's tomb

Ngyuen's tomb

Street food vendor

Street vendor

Girl at the park

Jill by the river

China Beach

Jill & Chris

Boat at China Beach

When we arrived at Hoi An, we went to a family restaurant where they spoke no English, had no menus in English, and Tuan had to order for everyone.

Boat on the river

Dog statue at one of the Chinese meeting houses in Hoi An

Jill in Hoi An

Chinese meeting house in Hoi An

Chris & Jill in Hoi An

Jill sounds the gong in Hoi An

Tour guide in Hoi An

Bridal(?) couple in Hoi An

Bicyclist in Hoi An

Boats on the river in Hoi An

Decorative(?) bicycle in Hoi An - I'm not certain I would want to sit on this one.

Lanterns in the Hoi An market

Street food vendors in Hoi An

Just a pretty flower

Statue in a Chinese Meeting House in Hoi An

Floor in a Chinese Meeting House in Hoi An

Alter in a Chinese Meeting House in Hoi An

Inset in a Chinese Meeting House in Hoi An

Large incense burners in a Chinese Meeting House in Hoi An

Water spirit statue in a Chinese Meeting House in Hoi An

Door in a Chinese Meeting House in Hoi An

Two men that we think were repairing pottery at one of the cultural centers.

Statue in a Chinese Meeting House in Hoi An

Jill lighting incense at one of the family alters in Hoi An

Shoes used for foot binding

Bonsai village in Hoi An

Flower sellers in Hoi An

Market in Hoi An

Market in Hoi An - mushrooms and various forms of soy.

Market in Hoi An

Street in Hoi An

Market in Hoi An

Building in Hoi An

Building with lanterns in Hoi An

Building in Hoi An

Bracelets in Hoi An

Building in Hoi An

Street in Hoi An

Shopkeeper burning offerings for his ancestors at the end of the work day.

Building with lanterns in Hoi An

Moon festival in Hoi An

Interesting door in Hoi An

Moon festival in Hoi An

Cooking over a charcoal brazer

Moon festival in Hoi An

Market in Hoi An

Jill standing next to the flood lines in a house in Hoi An - note that she's standing on about a 1.5' tall platform.

Railings

Street vendor

Bus of awesomeness - no we didn't ride it.

Street vendor

Turmeric at the market

Hoi An Market

Banana flower seller at the Hoi An Market

Hoi An Market

Flying fish at the Hoi An Market

Hoi An Market

Grubs for sale at the Hoi An Market

Hoi An Market

Rice paddies

Bicycle tour guide playing with a local dog - there were dogs everywhere in Vietnam (pets, not food!).

Betel nut trees

Tuan taking group pictures - note that if you gaze too long into the abyss, the abyss gazes back into you.

Rice paddies

Local with a water buffalo

Workmen building a bed - note, not a bed frame, a bed. They like their mattresses hard in Vietnam.

Cemetery in Hue

Circular grave - when the Vietnamese move, they often bring their ancestors with them, so the circular grave holds the remains of several people.

House off of the main strip in Hue

Shrimp farms

Bicycle guide crossing a local bridge

A boat, a hammock, a house, and flowers - what more could you want

Cemetery in Hue

House in Hue

Boat on the river

Our boat captain

Boat on the river

Andy on the boat

Boat on the river

Saigon

Saigon - love the orange jumpers

Two workmen play Chinese checkers at the end of the day

Water puppet theater - the dragons

Water puppet theater - the emperor and his boats

Water puppet theater - the actors

Traffic in Saigon

View of Saigon from our hotel

The group walking to dinner

Lotus flowers

House in the Mekong Delta

Tuan!

Pressing coconut into candy

Stirring the coconut juice until it caramelizes - yeah, I would look irritated too.

Pressing the candy into strips

Wrapping coconut candy

Cobra liquor!

Jill battles the python

Chris battles the python

Jill gets her helmet on before the tuc tuc trip. This might have been her favorite part of the Mekong Delta

Woman in the back of a horse-drawn cart

School boys heading home for the day

Fish traps on a scooter

Whole fish with onion scales

Origami grasshopper made from a bamboo leaf

Bee hive in the Mekong Delta - the bees are smaller than ours, as is the hive. I wonder if they don't build as fast or if they swarm more often?

Boat on the river

House boat on the delta

Saigon building

Bull City Bees Beekeeping adventures in downtown Durham

April 1, 2013

Vietnam 2013

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