Tag Archives: hanoi

Just some amazing photos of modern day Ha Noi Vietnam

28 Mar

    ‘Living Hanoi’ Series by Joseph Gobin Delves Into the Capital’s Eccentricities

    Friday, 21 March 2025.

    For many of us, images of rice paddies and conical hats have grown insipid as a consequence of overuse. Yet in the following collection, French photographer Joseph Gobin trains his lens on what’s often unobserved — an artist, caked in plaster, creates a mold of himself just as Gobin forms his own image of the young man; a couple watch a film in the shade of their umbrella, the most intimate of theaters; in a school playground, onlookers appear like film directors while enjoying the subtle tension of a volleyball tournament. 

    As Ansel Adams once said, even in a landscape photo “there are always two people: the photographer and the viewer.” In Gobin’s images, his gaze focuses on endearing or touching aspects of Vietnamese culture with affection, a caring antithesis to the likes of Vietnamese Cursed Image.

    Stripped of visual clichés and taken on an atypical camera, the images gain a tender vitality and quirky appreciation for contemporary Vietnam. Not all were taken in the capital, but all cherish the earnestness of Vietnam. And yes, that includes the swan boats in Vinhomes Riverside. 

    Take a look below:

    A couple watches a laptop video on the street, beneath an umbrella. 

    Butchering a pig while it’s still drooped over a Honda Dream. Also known as “slow-smoking meat.”

    A contemporary artist makes a mold of his body for an upcoming exhibition. 

    Motorbike traffic couples in the French Quarter. 

    Ladies dressed in áo dài stay in the shade. 

    An archetypal Hanoian street ninja with long-sleeved top, sunglasses and mask for camouflage. 

    For these discarded fans, an occasional breeze gently spinning their blades is the only reminder of their former life. 

    Spectators watch a volleyball tournament in Vũ Yên Village in a scene reminiscent of a film set. 

    The worst-ever attempt at hiding a motorbike? Photo taken in Hòa Bình Province. 

    Waiting to catch a train back to Hanoi from Đà Nẵng. 

    A gang of brothers in the far north. 

    Traditional style meets modernism at Pà Cò Market.

    Waiting. 

    Boris Zuliani creating images using 50×50 wet plates between Da Nang and Hoi An. 

    A swan boat lingers beside the grandiloquence of a Vinhomes Riverside villa. 

    A portrait from Gobin’s face mask series. 

    A contemporary dancer poses for a photoshoot. 

    It’s never too late to get fit. 

    Guess who won the most games?

    Contemporary Hanoi in disco hues. 

    Love and peace John

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    SaigonSighs – 111. “The ordinary things apply- as time goes by” 1942 film Casablanca. – Dooley Wilson. How will history look upon our stewardship of our planet as our time goes by? Some lovely black and white photos of life in simpler times. (Not necessarily better times).

    20 Oct

    The famous Cassini Probe shot of Earth – our home – taken from Saturn’s rings.

    The Hustle and Bustle of Hanoi Streets in the 1950s

    Chaotic streets and bustling markets, Hanoi in the 1950s was not much different than it is now.

    Sure there were less cars and motorbikes back then, and the air quality was probably much better. But these black and white photos show that the spirit of the capital is very much the same. Through these photos, one can almost hear the cacophony of life on the streets and feel that familiar sense of being lost in the crowd.

    let’s visit the past, strolling by the Old Quarters and meeting the vendors at Đồng Xuân market through these photos below.

    Vendors on Đồng Xuân.

    Đồng Xuân Market.

    Why such beauty in this place?

    Tràng Tiền Street.

    Tràng Tiền, Hàng Bài, Hàng Khay intersection.

    Basket weavers.

    More basket weavers.

    For your woodenware needs.

    and I don’t have a wooden heart

    Blankets for when it’s cold.

    Pottery shops.

    Offerings for the ancestors.

    This is still a very ‘alive’ tradition in Vietnam. There is no ‘official’ religion but unofficially it’s a mixture of Buddhism, Taoism and ancestor worship. Every Tet holiday family graves are cleaned, painted and offerings of flowers and food placed.

    Pots and pans.

    The iconic cone hat.

    It’s called a Non La.

    Phở vendor.

    Pho – pronounced phurr, is probably the most popular street food in Vietnam. Currently it will cost between 1.50 to 2.00 UKP’s and a bowl will keep you going all-day. It comprises of noodles and thinly sliced morsels of beef along with herbs and vegetable leaves all in a hot broth made from boiling beef bones. Delicious!

    Learning to sew.

    Trung Liệt Pagoda.

    Street food.

    On the left looks like ‘Binh Bao’ a white rice based soft dough containing minced and herb infused pork and often a quail egg.

    Metalware shop.facebook sharing button

    Humanity seems to be on the cusp of massive and frighteningly quick changes mainly due to A. I. Humanoid robots doing boring dangerous work, driving a car will become a thing of the past. Personalised treatment for cancer. Changes to your baby’s DNA to remove potential diseases. Teachers will disappear, information instantly available, languages instantly translated, Cash will go, and maybe in a hundred years from now we may need permission from an authority to die! But hey, at the moment we’re ok! we can still fire bullets, aim bombs, send very fast missiles and kill people. I’ve forgotten why! Maybe it’s because rich people with lots of shares in Arms Manufacturing Companies can get richer! Yes that must be it!

    Love and peace, john

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    SaigonSighs 103 —Gold (Gold)Always believe in your soul You’ve got the power to know You’re indestructible. Spandau Ballet 1983. In this case they’re not. Children are used in this illegal goldmine in the mountains of Laos at the bottom of 40ft holes to dig out the earth in search of Gold.

    13 Apr

    One Hundred years ago, in quieter times when Ha Noi had a population of only 81.000, now it’s 8.5 million and is heavily polluted.

    Postcard-Ready Vintage Album Highlights a Lonesome Hanoi in the 1920s

    Looking at past albums of our cities today, I’m always stricken by a bewildering vastness — every street, every square, every building seemed to have been constructed in a ghost town, serving lonesome phantoms and nonchalant horse-drawn wagons.

    That sense of eerie emptiness extends to this collection of black-and-white shots taken in Hanoi in the 1920s, serving as stock images for postcards and illustrations for books about the city under French rule. Be it major avenues or tiny lanes, the thoroughfares of Hanoi past hosted few pedestrians and fewer vehicles, so they appear breezy and tranquil, a far cry to the pandemonia of today.

    This cognitive dissonance can be attributed to Vietnam’s skyrocketing population, the growth rate of which would quickly render even the most generously designed streets narrow and ineffective. When these images were recorded, Hanoi had a population of 81,000, compared to New York’s 5.6 million and Paris’s nearly 3 million. Flash forward to today and Hanoi’s size has ballooned to over 8.5 million people, while the streets depicted here have not changed much throughout the years.

    Have a closer look at Hanoi in the 1920s via the images below:

    A jewel shop on Hàng Bạc Street.

    A customer browses jewelry options.

    Jewelry makers hard at work.

    A glass display showcasing valuable decor and accessories.

    The fashion visual merchandising game was on point.

    The intersection between Tràng Tiền and Trần Nhật Duật.

    The building that housed the French Veteran Club, and then Unity Club. Today it has been demolished for an office.

    Hat makers.

    Inside the Hai Chinh hat workshop. It used to produce around 10,000 items a year.

    The exterior of Hai Chinh.

    The entrance to Saint Paul Hospital, which still exists today.

    Tràng Tiền Street.

    Tràng Tiền Street from the Hanoi Opera House.

    Shops on Tràng Tiền.

    Another perspective of Tràng Tiền.

    Grands Magasins Reunis, a department store specializing in imported goods from Europe.

    A view of Tràng Tiền from the Opera House.

    A football match at the Stade Mangin, now Cột Cờ Stadium.

    The exterior of Le Coq d’Or, a high-end hotel. Today it’s the Hòa Bình Hotel.

    Students in the yard of Yên Phụ School.

    Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
    Turn and face the strange
    Ch-ch-changes
    Don’t want to be a richer man
    Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
    Turn and face the strange
    Ch-ch-changes
    There’s gonna have to be a different man
    Time may change me
    But I can’t trace time.     —– David Bowie 2004.

    Love and peace John

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    SaigonSighs100. “This may be the last time – This may be the last tine – This may be the last time I don’t know -oh! Oh No! Oh No! The Stones with uncle Mick in 1965.

    26 Jan

    Richard Nixon seriously considered the Nuclear Option for Vietnam!

    The following photos are not quite so old 1992 in a different time and place.

    In 1992 Vietnam, the Streets Were Brimming With Love and Life

    Thursday, 18 January 2024. Written by Saigoneer. Photos courtesy of Mark Hodson.

    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.How has your life been transformed in the past 30 years? Changes might materialize overnight, but some tend to creep up on you at a glacial pace. Through this collection of images from 1992, mull over how Vietnam as a country has grown with every 12-month cycle.

    These photographs were taken by travel writer Mark Hodson, who had a rare opportunity to tour Vietnam in the early 1990s when international tourism was virtually unheard of here. Without the presence of themed resorts, travel agents, cable cars and cruise boats, scenes in the country were captured as closely as possible to the quotidian life of locals.

    A busy phở joint in Hanoi.

    “I was using a Canon AE1 SLR, shooting on Fujichrome Velvia 50, mostly with a 50mm lens,” Hodson writes on his website about the trip. “I had prints made from the original transparencies, and what you see below are scans of those prints. I haven’t adjusted any of the coloring.”

    Here are some glimpse of Hanoi, Hội An, and Nha Trang in the 1990s:

    Fruit vendors set up shop in front of rows of old buildings in Hanoi.

    The vast emptiness of Hanoi’s airport, where Hodson was heading to “Vientiane aboard an ancient Russian-built Tupolev jet.”

    A casual food street in Hanoi where one can slurp on porridge and instant noodles, or chew on a plate of hot xôi.

    Sampans were often homes of families in Hạ Long. There wasn’t any hotels in the area, so Hodson reported sleeping in a Russian workers’ hostel.

    I told yu once and I told yu twice.

    Living on the water was much more common in 1992 than today.

    Wood-fired inter-province coaches were quite unreliable and often broke down mid-trip.

    But yu just don’t listen to my advice.

    The colonial design of Huế’s train station.

    An ice cream cart in Hội An.

    There’s too much pain, too much sorrow.

    The boats of Hội An.

    In Đà Nẵng’s Chợ Hàn, a grain merchant took a nap during slow periods of the day.

    Fishmongers in Hội An with their catch of the day.

    Boats in Hội An.

    Guess I’ll feel the same tomorrow.

    A dapper Hội An man posed for a photo.

    It’s corn!
    A big lump with knobs
    It has the juice (it has the juice).

    Cross-country trips were often truncated by rest stops and engine failures.

    Xích lô drivers in Hội An.

    A fiery cockfight in Nha Trang.

    A Nha Trang resident and her morning fish haul.

    So! Two people were assassinated in Bosnia, politicians failed to contain the situation 20 million people died (WW1)

    A despotic madman wanted to rule the world (Hitler. WW2) 70-80 million people died, about 3%of the worlds population.

    About 20,000 dead so far in the Ukraine / Russia war, instigated by the leader of the largest country on earth who just wanted more!

    However!

    Now we all have NUCLEAR CAPABILITY, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump

    SO THIS REALLY COULD BE “THE LAST TIME.“

    Love and peace John

    PS Happy New Year let’s hope for another one!

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