Pictures of Day 1 in Hanoi


I have lots to write about, but at the end of a long day of sightseeing and a long dinner with two Vietnamese, I'm ready for bed. These pictures, with brief captions, express a little of what I experienced today.


This is a statue of Confucius in the Temple of Literature



Some traditional instruments.



This guy, who spoke no English, gave me a haircut. I pointed to the fourth picture from the left on the bottom row. He did a pretty good job. I had to ignore the fact that his scissors and comb were at levels of cleanliness well below what you might see at an American barbershop.



I'm not sure what was in these bags. Maybe powders for dyes or glazes.



The big fish on the mat was still flapping around when I took this picture.



Here's a partial view of my new haircut from a picture taken on the back of a motorbike (which is the cheap version of a taxi in Hanoi).



Shoping at Dong Xuan Market.



The long view of Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum.



Lilly pads at the temple of Literature.



I had to take this picture since it embodies the problem of what has come to be known as "eWaste." The woman is carrying the housing of an old CRT computer monitor. Someone somewhere probably extracted the lead, copper and other toxic metals and chemicals that can be reused. The woman wanted some money for letting me take her picture. All I had was a 1000 dong note (worth about $.06). She was insulted and wasn't even going to take it until her friend convinced her to accept it.

Posted: Mon - January 9, 2006 at 08:07 AM          

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