Not really my taste...

... but they came with the apartment. My nice nylon fitted sheet...
...and matching pillowcases...
Lovely!

When it rains in Ha Noi...

...it really can rain.









Wet weather gear.

Lap dog

A typical midget rat-dog...

... presumably too small to waste time cooking. A feisty character, who barked at me like he had a bite.

Pavement barbecue

Cooking the meat for Bun Cha, at one of my favourite street restaurants, on a little pavement barbecue - fan assisted.

Roses for sale...

...by a street side vendor.

A heavy and fragile load

I don't think I'd want to be cycling around with a huge load of crockery. Mostly, such heavy loads are just wheeled round the streets.

Teaching in Ha Noi

Since I'm working as an English teacher in Ha Noi, I thought I should treat you to a picture of one of my junior classes. (7 - 9 year olds)


How girls colour...

...and how boys colour...

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam

St. Joseph's Cathedral in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, not far from Hoan Kiem Lake (Ho Hoan Kiem, or lake of the returned sword) Apparently the French knocked down an important 12th century pagoda to make room for their new church...

On Sundays the service is absolutely packed. The church is full, and extra seating is required outside. Most churches in the west would kill for a congregation like that.

Destined for the pot?

Today, while I was on the back of a xe-om (a motorcycle taxi. Pron. "zay om") I saw two fairly large dogs trussed up in a chicken-wire cage on the back of a motorbike. I couldn't get a good picture as they were too far ahead by the time I got my camera out.

It's quite rare to see any medium or large dogs on the streets of Ha Noi, so I suspect that these might have a bleak [and short] future. It's quite common to see little lap-dogs as pets; skinny little rat-like creatures that are not worth eating...