IKEA megastore - Vietnam style

At the dentist...

I'm not sure this will ever catch on in the UK....

...fancy being in full view of anyone walking past as you grip the chair, white-knuckled...?

It's very hot this week in Hanoi.

A rice seller having an afternoon nap among her wares. (She is there... hidden under the conical hat)

Even the plastic flowers outside my front door look wilted in the heat.

Reunification day. 30th April

It's been a long while since my last post... Since I suffered a snapped Achilles tendon, I have been recuperating back home, but I am now back in Hanoi teaching English. On Friday 30th April I had a text message from my TA (teaching assistant) inviting me to go and see the fireworks at Hoan Kien lake in the centre of Hanoi.

We decided to walk to the lake from my hotel, which was a good decision as Pho Hue was mobbed with people. We couldn't get to the lake because of the crush so we had to watch the fireworks from near Pho Hai Ba Trung. We were standing next to a shop blaring out the Vietnamese National Anthem (apparently) as the fireworks cracked overhead and people cheered and clapped.

The fireworks lasted for about 15 minutes, from 9pm to 9:15, then it was a while until we were able to move as the crowded slowly thinned. We took a walk up to the lake, where there was still a carnival atmosphere. I tried some candy-floss (something I haven't eaten for many a year) made by hand on a hand powered machine on the back of a bicycle. These people work hard to make a living.