Vietnam 2013

We had a day off last Friday so went wandering...like well seasoned tourists this time. It was really nice. In our daily routine we can sometimes forget where we are. We found ourselves lost in markets and side streets in which there was no denying that we were in South East Asia. It was wonderful. The first photo is of a very elegant older woman selling lottery tickets. This is a very common sight here. The tickets are very cheap and many people come out to buy them every day, especially the older generations. This woman seemed so poised and beautiful to me, I can imagine here as a young woman... The next photo is of our wonderful Cafe Sua Da's (Iced coffee with condensed milk- a vietnamese favourite). Then there was a man sleeping on newspapers on the pavement. I wonder what he has seen and been through... War... Poverty... an ever changing world around him... Bia Hoi, the cheap beer made fresh everyday- costs only 6,000 VND (about 30 cents or 20 pence!) Not too good if too many are consumed, but one or two are very refreshing, always served with peanuts or sunflower seeds. We discovered a huge park today, it is completely contrived with a man made lake and very worn looking amusements, but I imagine the place is packed at night, weekends and school holidays. It was wonderful to be surrounded by greenery, although the grass is untouchable. There were some lovely flowerbeds around, and some interesting statues. :) Lovely day, now we are just off to our English Club to play 'would you rather' games and sing!