Hands on shopping

68 Ford Falcon

Gucci

Petrol station

124 Pasteur street

Ships in bottles

Good Morning Vietnam

The now defunct Eden Mall

At the tailors

Thanh Camera Shop

Parkson

Triumph Inspiration Award

Am not sure whether this was self-awarded, but it is definitely more funny and silly rather than inspirational. I am sure they running out the stores

Funky door handle

Tool shop

Asian Monopoly

I was interested to see this Monopoly board in a shop recently. There were no street or station names on the board, which surely must take a fair bit of fun and identity out of the game. Buying "Dark Blue Space #2" rather than Mayfair in the English version and Park Lane in the American version is what I used to enjoy about Monopoly. When I inquired as to why there were no names, I was told that it was the "Asian" version.

Empty hairdressors

These shops tend to serve more women than men, which may be an indication that the topless advertising out the front is not working

Gucci on Dong Khoi st

I love this kind of advertising - completely culturally irrelevant and depicting pointless lifestyle scenes. Yet in obviously works as ridiculously expensive handbags walk out the door, especially when you could walk down to Ben Thanh market and buy rip offs at 10% of the label price

Queuing for the ATM

Anyone who has visited Vietnam will know that the Vietnamese are not known for their ability to queue. Airports especially are an incredible phenomenon, although this has improved over the years.

This is a standard scene outside an ATM, where a few people mill around with no real structure, just waiting to ounce on the cubicle once the person inside comes out.

April Theme Day - Red

Communism and socialism identify with the colour red. However with the push of globalisation into socialist politics all is not as clearly defined as it once was.


Bill Hayton, BBC correspondent in Vietnam in 2006-7 had released a book that charts the changes in Vietnam with a mix of reportage and behind the scenes analysis. It tackles big topics - democracy vs one party rule, development vs environment and much more.

"Examining nearly every aspect of Vietnamese politics and society, from the economy and family life, to religion and the plight of indigenous minorities, Hayton gives a balanced, intelligent account of a country whose history so differs from our own." Justin Wintle, Financial Times

"This is a cleverly pitched book, one that will appeal equally to a businessman or investor seeking a briefing on Vietnam, an old Asia hand, or an inquisitive backpacker." Petroc Trelawny, Irish Times

Get on it 

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Writing instrument

When did the word "pen" go out of fashion?