July 16, 2012
The state of the Vietnamese economy...

1:24pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZKO3XvPSFDVJ
July 11, 2012
Friday, December 29th, 1967: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. sends this reassuring telegram to Joan Baez in prison. (x) Joan Baez - according to Metropole history - sang songs to the men and women trapped in the bunker under the Metropole during the bombing of Hanoi in the Vietnam War. Worth a visit if you’re in Hanoi, for the history or the cocktails.

Friday, December 29th, 1967: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. sends this reassuring telegram to Joan Baez in prison. (x)

Joan Baez - according to Metropole history - sang songs to the men and women trapped in the bunker under the Metropole during the bombing of Hanoi in the Vietnam War. Worth a visit if you’re in Hanoi, for the history or the cocktails.

(Source: telegramsfromlastcentury, via oldfilmsflicker)

9:44am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZKO3XvP6NH2O
(Notes: 1,758)
  
July 7, 2012
Apologies for the blurry photo, but I think that despite the low quality you’ll get the gist of it. Which is essentially, do not muck about with the power lines or you will get a lightning bolt IN YOUR FACE. Obviously. Apparently it’s a fairly common practice to hack the tangled and often low lying power lines here. True Darwin Award material.

Apologies for the blurry photo, but I think that despite the low quality you’ll get the gist of it. Which is essentially, do not muck about with the power lines or you will get a lightning bolt IN YOUR FACE. Obviously.

Apparently it’s a fairly common practice to hack the tangled and often low lying power lines here. True Darwin Award material.

1:17pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZKO3XvOsUFfz
July 7, 2012
Went to visit Ho this morning! In order to add to my list of dead communist leaders I have seen, we made a trip to pay our respects to Uncle Ho this morning. The mausoleum is only open from 7.30 to 10.30, and the lines can get incredibly long, so an early start is a necessity. We actually got in quite quickly, and had only about a half hour wait. It turned out that this was because I managed to get us in through the appointment only entrance. Apparently I walked past the guard with such blithe self-confidence that he didn’t question me, and the other girls just followed. Whoops. Happy accident, though! Anyway, above is a statue of Ho Chi Minh from the museum on the grounds, since you’re not allowed to take photos of Ho when you’re quickly and quietly ushered by the armed guards through the mausoleum.

Went to visit Ho this morning!

In order to add to my list of dead communist leaders I have seen, we made a trip to pay our respects to Uncle Ho this morning. The mausoleum is only open from 7.30 to 10.30, and the lines can get incredibly long, so an early start is a necessity. We actually got in quite quickly, and had only about a half hour wait. It turned out that this was because I managed to get us in through the appointment only entrance. Apparently I walked past the guard with such blithe self-confidence that he didn’t question me, and the other girls just followed. Whoops. Happy accident, though! Anyway, above is a statue of Ho Chi Minh from the museum on the grounds, since you’re not allowed to take photos of Ho when you’re quickly and quietly ushered by the armed guards through the mausoleum.

1:10pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZKO3XvOsTmXG
July 6, 2012
On the downside of the bicycle purchase, after cycling home and getting nice and sweaty, I found out that we have no running water, and the above photo is the hole in the ground we are currently (supposedly) getting it from. This could prove interesting in a house of 13 people…

On the downside of the bicycle purchase, after cycling home and getting nice and sweaty, I found out that we have no running water, and the above photo is the hole in the ground we are currently (supposedly) getting it from. This could prove interesting in a house of 13 people…

4:53pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZKO3XvOomnif
July 6, 2012
So I am now the proud owner of this secondhand, fixed gear, thankfully Western-sized Vietnamese bicycle. It is not terribly shiny (or sexy) but I think we’ll be good friends! Just managed to ride it six kilometers home in peak hour traffic from where I bought it, without any traffic trouble - though a fair bit of adrenaline.

So I am now the proud owner of this secondhand, fixed gear, thankfully Western-sized Vietnamese bicycle. It is not terribly shiny (or sexy) but I think we’ll be good friends! Just managed to ride it six kilometers home in peak hour traffic from where I bought it, without any traffic trouble - though a fair bit of adrenaline.

4:50pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZKO3XvOomVxI
June 30, 2012
I may be far from home, but my beer radar is impeccable! The Australian Embassy in Hanoi runs a bar the last Friday of every months, unsurprisingly known as ‘Matilda’s’. It is a very expat thing to do, but the beer is cheap and it’s pretty much like going to a summer BBQ.

I may be far from home, but my beer radar is impeccable!

The Australian Embassy in Hanoi runs a bar the last Friday of every months, unsurprisingly known as ‘Matilda’s’. It is a very expat thing to do, but the beer is cheap and it’s pretty much like going to a summer BBQ.

12:55pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZKO3XvOPOwMT
June 24, 2012
Spent an hour drinking lemon iced tea and eating sunflower seeds on tiny tiny stools  (like, not even as high as my knee) by St Joseph’s Cathedral in Hoan Kiem - the favourite pastime of Vietnamese youth in Hanoi. If I hadn’t felt like a giant, I would have felt very Hanoian. Still, the tea was delicious!

Spent an hour drinking lemon iced tea and eating sunflower seeds on tiny tiny stools  (like, not even as high as my knee) by St Joseph’s Cathedral in Hoan Kiem - the favourite pastime of Vietnamese youth in Hanoi. If I hadn’t felt like a giant, I would have felt very Hanoian. Still, the tea was delicious!

7:29pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZKO3XvO0VHK5
June 24, 2012

Ingrish / Crazy Asian Spelling - a touch of ‘moussy glmauow’ in extra-extra-extra-extra Vietnamese small.

Also, yesterday evening, we went on a supermarket run and I found these gems. My favourite was the ‘hip-hop tiger’ chocolate.

7:26pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZKO3XvO0Ux9a
June 24, 2012
Pho for lunch today, to follow my awesome $7, hour-long, someone-honest-to-god-walked-on-my-back massage. Hurrah for Hanoi!

Pho for lunch today, to follow my awesome $7, hour-long, someone-honest-to-god-walked-on-my-back massage. Hurrah for Hanoi!

7:20pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZKO3XvO0UMDl
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