TRAVELMAN VIETNAM: THINGS I SAW WALKING AROUND HANOI

The following are shots I grabbed as I walked around the city during the days I was In Hanoi.

I guess the piggy bank business isn't as joyful as you might think...

I wonder what this guy sells? Maybe lawn mowers...

I snapped the next shot as I was walking by the shop. I'm amazed it's framed and in focus because I just snapped it without stopping. I didn't want to be more rude than I was being. I wanted to not be caught being rude.

There was a ceremony going on next door to this flower shop. The ceremony involved many of these flower arrangements. It appeared to be very serious. Old Vietnamese men wore wide white headbands fashioned from thin strips of cloth. I didn't take a picture because I didn't want to be the disrespectful tourist- By that I mean, there was no way not to be noticed taking a secret shot. It may have been a funeral service.

Could you imagine a group of Chinese tourist snapping selfies outside of your loved one's funeral reception? I see too many tourists treating people like props for their photos. If I get pictures of people I haven't spoken with, I try to be very discreet (or sneaky, depending on how you look at it. But discreet makes me sound more polite.) There's been many times on this trip I skipped taking a photo when I really, really, really...REALLY wanted to get one. And there's been many more times that I've struck up a conversation, had a nice interaction, then asked to take a photo. The latter have been the great moments of the trip.

I love this photo. It's another that I grabbed as I was walking by the store. I like the depth of it.

Need a cooler for your next picnic?

I like pictures of alleyways because I always think "What's down there?" ...There's a guy down there.

I think it would be funny to carry around my own full-size fold up chair, so that when I sit at a sidewalk restaurant I would tower powerfully over everyone. Of course, it'd be uncomfortable eating at the low table, so I'd have to carry a fold up table as well, and that would be overkill, so people would just think I'm weird.

If I tried to deliver fruit in this manner I'd arrive with one, lonely, green apple or lime or whatever those are, and I'd be proud...

I painted this right before I took this picture. The cops were running up behind me so I had to run immediately afterward, didn't want to end up in a Turkish Prison...

Good place for and AirB&B...

I don't know which side is the wrong side...

Either the owner doesn't understand the word "tiny" or he has a great sense of irony...

Break time...

I taped this scene of traffic to try and give you a sense of the chaos, but it still falls short...

!steemitworldmap 21.0377 lat 105.8510 long A walk around Hanoi's Old Quarter, Vietnam, d3scr