Persongalleriet #709: Hanoi, Friday

March 10th, 2017.
Stayed in my room until lunch since yr.no had promised sun during the afternoon and I wanted to reserve my energy.

A bit of joy to start off with!

At first it was as cloudy as ever, but then the sun actually came out. A little half-heartedly, but still. I got a golden hour in the Old Town, but with a very soft touch. Sort of mixed with a little milk.

I dug out the little flash that came with the camera for this shot.

At the Centre of Attention.

Be well, everybody!

Niklas

Persongalleriet #708: Hanoi, Thursday

March 9th, 2017.
Today I took a walk along the narrow train tracks that go through central Hanoi. I've seen the photos how people live right on the tracks and wanted to see with my own eyes.

After about a kilometer, I left the tracks and got into the northern part of the Old Town.

Got this super yummy lunch from one of those portable mini kitchens n an alley. If I had the power to give out Michelin stars I would have! Amazing taste and freshness! And it only cost about 1 euro...

After lunch I happened onto Chợ Đồng Xuân market, the largest indoor market in Hanoi.

Chess game at the market.

I reconnected with the railroad at Ga Long Bien bridge, which spans the Red River.

The bridge has a bike lane in each direction as well.

A small arm or maybe backwater of the river.

Street Barber.

Walked back to the hotel and a much needed rest after a five and half hour walk.

Be well, everybody!

Niklas

Persongalleriet #707: Hanoi, Wednesday

March 8th, 2017.
Woke early and got myself out on the streets by 8. Just to walk somewhere else I took a route past the park with the Lenin statue, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the sight nearest my hotel, The Temple of Literature (which looked nice, I might visit it later). Sorry, no tourist pics from these attractions this time...  ;-) I did get to do high 5's with an entire class of 10-year-olds at the Mausoleum!

Sanitation, RGB style!

Mainly the R and B parts in this one...

Back at the hotel by 10 for a mid-morning tea and snack. And a nap...  :D

Got out again at 12:30 and walked some new (for me of course) alleys near the hotel, just west of the main train station.

Found these guys playing their chess. The guy on the left spoke very good English and surprised me by knowing where Umeå is. He had even passed through on a trip to Sweden!

I got hungry and started looking for something to eat. I found this little place where the guy offered to make me my first Vietnamese kebab! He said since I was such a special customer, he wanted to take a photo of us together. His buddy held the phone and of course i asked for them to take a shot with my camera also.

That's my kebab he's hold and yeah, it was super delicious! Different than a "Swedish" kebab, more like Gyros with cilantro...  :-)

While waiting for the sandwich to be prepared an elephant walked by:

And this scene made me stand up and cross the street:

Three chicken.

The afternoon walk was cut short by massive rains. I jumped into a cab and holed up for the rest of the day.

Be well, everybody!

Niklas

Persongalleriet #706: Hanoi, Tuesday

March 7th, 2017.
Hanoi has been very grey with heavily overcast skies so far. The only opportunity for more dramatic light has been the electric light in the evenings. On this my second day in Hanoi I did a long morning walk in the Old Town and an evening one in the alleys and streets in the vicinity of my hotel.

Be well, everybody!

/Niklas

Persongalleriet #705: Hong Kong - Hanoi

March 6th, 2017.
A morning photo walk in Hong Kong and in the evening another one  in Hanoi.
It's not the first time I've shot street in two countries on the same day. I can recall Copenhagen+Malmö last summer, though I only shot a few pictures in Malmö that time.

Although it was only a short flight between the two cities (1h20m), they are very different. Hong Kong vertical, Hanoi horisontal. HK has a very modern feel to it, while Hanoi feels ancient in some way. Just two things that come to mind.

At the point of writing this blog post, I've been here in Hanoi for just under 24 hours. What I can say so far is just: WOW! My hotel lies smack dab in the middle of market alleys teeming with life. Soo, soo perfect for the streetie! If I only moved two blocks in each direction for the entire stay, I still would have all the subjects I could dream of. And all the delicious street food I would need!  :-)

600 grams of chicken.

My first meal in Hanoi: Noodle soup with tomatoes and other vegetables and meat which turned out to be pig's tongue.

Everybody's snacking!  :-)

Be well, everybody!

Niklas