Large painting on the move

This one cracked me up - not for the sheer size of driving around with at least a 2 m x 1 m canvas on a motorbike, but that the canvas was uncovered and it was spitting rain. Hope they were not going far. In the past I have only seen large pictures transported like this, still uncovered, but slightly more protected

Red onions

Where is the Tehran24 blogger?

Today the City Daily Photo bloggers have arranged a "sub theme day" to support the owner of a daily photo blog from Tehran called Tehran24, who has been reported missing since June 17, 2009. The images captured on Tehran24 highlight symbols of protest, made famous by the shocking images of Neda Agha-Soltan's death.

This reminded me of a famous symbol of protest from my own city. Back in 1963 a Buddhist monk named Thich Quang Duc sat down crosslegged in the middle of a busy street in Saigon, his robes soaked in fuel, and set fire to himself; his body was quickly engulfed in flames. The haunting and horrifying protest against the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese regime got results: as more monks began to emulate Thich Quang Duc's example, President Ngo Dinh Diem fell from favor. In November 1963 he was removed from power by a coup d'etat and executed.

We are all concerned about the situation of Tehran24 and hope to hear positive news soon Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Lanterns

Clear skies yesterday afternoon

Although the wet season is among us, it has gotten off to a unpredictable start. No rain yesterday made for a very hot afternoon and evening.

Drive through helmet shopping

This scene is one of my favourites in Saigon. Families on motorbikes drive up the footpath to the shop they wish to purchase from, choose what they are after and depart - all without taking off their helmets, getting off the motorbike or even turning the engine off.

Clouds over the Saigon river

Dragon fruit

Sidewalk driving

One of the classic motorbike behaviours is to drive on the footpath if the traffic has come to a standstill on the actual road. I must admit I do it occasionally if I don't see any future in waiting for the traffic to clear. Can be great fun as long as you are not a pedestrian. This was taken on the dreaded Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh st around lunchtime.

Late night at Q Bar

Q Bar is situated under the Municipal Theatre. The interior is pretty funky, but I prefer sitting outside around the fountain in the coolest part of day

Mattress home delivery

Tough work for this cyclo driver

Oranges

While probably not significant to readers from outside Asia, to see orange coloured oranges in Vietnam is a rarity. The majority have a dark green skin which makes identifying whether they are ripe or not very difficult. No problem with these babies though

No anchoring

You need to enlarge this picture to get any sense from it

Toll booth

Steak tartare at L'en Tête

I love the richness of French cuisine, and steak tartare is right up there as one of my favourite dishes. A great history of the dish can be found here. I know horse meat is available in Vietnam, but I am assured this is beef mince

Table mat

A common sight for sale in markets and on tables in restaurants - the locally made grass or bamboo table mats are relatively popular, durable and cheap

Coolers, Eskies, or if you are from NZ, Chilly Bins

Alpenliebe tower

I have always wondered if this tower with the Alpenliebe confectionary advertising down the side was ever used for something. If anyone knows the history, please let me know

Ship parking

On a flight last week I was surprised to see a whole line of ships parked on one side of the Saigon river. I am assuming they were waiting to unload or be loaded with cargo

The wet season is upon us

Have been meaning to get a photo of the beginning of wet season for some time. It seemed to have started about 6 weeks back. This is a shot (with the wiper blades on high) driving down Diên Biên Phu st in Bình Thạnh district. It was your classical tropical storm around 4 pm

Mirrors on the move

The transportation of odd and large things by motorbike is nothing new to regular readers of this blog. Here are a couple of blokes taking some mirrors for a drive to a new home.

Ciabatta steak sanga

Quite possibly the tastiest sandwich I have ever had

Inside the Hanoi Opera House

The Hanoi Opera House is a classical French colonial masterpiece. It has been designed as a small-scale replica of the Palais Garnier, the older of Paris's two opera houses. While small, the interior is stunning

Lone cyclist

Rạch Miễu bridge

This new bridge connecting Bến Tre with Tiền Giang opened at the start of the year. It is the second bridge to span the Hau branch of the Mekong after the Mỹ Thuận, which is further north connecting Tiền Giang with Vĩnh Long

Standard bitch and pups

I do not know the exact breed, but this is the type of dog that you see all over Vietnam. Not sure why all the pups look so different

Many houses

Somewhere down there are streets as well

Tug boat on the Saigon river

Storm approaching on Nguyễn Văn Linh Blvd

Nguyễn Văn Linh boulevard is one of the widest roads in Saigon, running from District 7 down to the start of the Mekong highway southwest of the city. Seldom is it packed with traffic, although this may change once the infrastructure is in place to hook up the north and south highways, creating a HCMC bypass.

June Theme Day - Feet

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Vietnamese women have a fascination with style and fashion. Probably the one that I find more interesting than most is the market for manicures and pedicures. Seeing women go to outrageous lengths with nail polish designs and diamantes is quite peculiar in my eyes, yet it is classical all the same