Wander Through the Streets of the Old Quarter in 1995 Hanoi

Friday, 10 March 2023. Written by Saigoneer.

Starting this September, Hôtel des Arts is undertaking a number of initiatives to celebrate Vietnam’s architectural and cultural heritage. One such effort is the Digital Exhibition: A Journey through Saigon’s Timeless Heritage which places links to Saigoneer Heritage section articles throughout the hotel so guests can enjoy in-depth explorations of topics that the boutique hotel believes are worthy of preservation.What do you miss most about the 1990s?

Is it the jean-on-jean fashion, the distinct lack of air pollution, or the childhood snacks and toys that have more or less gone extinct? While roaming the neighborhoods of central Hanoi, a Swedish tourist by the name of Per Lander snapped these black-and-white shots of the capital on an unremarkable day. Without the fanfare of Tết or the Christmas season, these scenes of the city stand out for their pure urban rhythm and are great nostalgia fodder.

Have a closer look below:

Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam.

Nguyễn Siêu Street.

And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone

An old man selling used glasses and a street vendor grilling chả.

And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don’t criticize
What you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command

A trà đá stall and shops.

Shoe shop on Hàng Dầu Street.

For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled

Driving through Hàng Gà.

Honda Cubs are prevalent.

And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who
That it’s namin’

Bamboo for sale on Hàng Gà Street.

Local students at the end of a school day.

For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’.

So, would you buy a pair of A.I. enabled specs that instantly record eye movements/ temperature/ sweat/ heart rates / body movements/ unconscious actions and movements/ analyses exhaled breath then compares this info to all known human conditions and responses to give you, instantly, in front of your eyes what the person you are talking to is actually thinking!!!

Love and peace John.

OR!

It’s the title of my just released new book that will take you to places you didn’t know existed. The Gilf Kebir, a plateau the size of Puerto Rico that rises nearly a thousand feet from the floor of the Sahara Desert. Eight Bells Station, a mysterious abandoned RAF station from the second World War whose pilots were guided in by a huge arrow built from half buried ‘Jerry’ cans in the desert sands. Sands that were littered with glass, the remains of a direct hit meteor strike thirty million years ago.

And then!

Zerzura! The mythical (or is it?) lost oasis and white city, guarded by black giants, inhabited by fair skinned people with straight swords and a sleeping King and Queen.

Think this is fiction? Check it out on Wikipedia.

And finally! One of a series of photos taken by a friend who has recently visited Kolkata. (That’s a re-badged Calcutta for all you old Colonials out there!)

I wish I hadn’t done that. I shouldn’t have really said that. And now she’s gone.

Gone away, gone for good. Good for her, not for me. What have I done?

It was nothing, nothing much, she just smiled at him, not even a touch.

“I want to buy some flowers.”

“Yes Sir. thank you very much.”

‘Only The Lonely’ – now available on Amazon Kindle two pounds in E-format, six pounds to hold it in your hand.

“Know the way I feel tonight! Dum Dumm Dummm Dummy Doo Waah!

Love and piece John

There are places I’ll remember!

All my life though some have changed,

Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain

All these places had their moments

With lovers and friends I still can recall.

Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before.

In my life I love you more.

Love and peace. John.