Hanoi was grey, overcast, hazy and polluted from 2 million motorcycles plying the streets. Black and white seemed the right medium to depict the Old City.
An elderly woman reads her morning paper - sitting on the curb at a street corner.
Motorcycles relentlessly ply the streets in all directions. To cross by foot there is rarely an opening - just go - at a slow and steady pace - and somehow they avoid you.
A woman carrys her goods for sale in a timeless tradition.
Typical street corner - congested with parked motorcycles - pedestrians often
walk on the street with the traffic.
A man receives a haircut and a shave on the sidewalk.
Lunch of noodle soup with beef or chicken is consumed sitting on small blue plastic stools on the sidewalks and street corners.
Scooters carry large loads of anything and everything - from styrofoam to live pigs.
The entrance to Ngoc Son Temple - situated on a small island in Hoan Kiem Lake.
Huc Bridge - a red arched bridge spans from the city to the lake. Several brides and grooms were having wedding pictures taken on the bridge and around the lake.
Martyrs' Monument pays homage to wars fought in Vietnam against invading nations.
A Buddhist temple at House 102 on Hang Bac street - we were invited to join the ceremony.
Birds are kept in wire cages all over the city. One person said the bird population was decimated by Agent Orange sprayed during the war in the 1970s and had never recovered. From then on we kept a look out but rarely observed any birds flying in the city.
Tattoo shops and spas of questionable services are available in small side streets.
Large loads on small motorcycles are a way of daily life.
Produce markets spring up anywhere selling live eels from plastic buckets.
The relentless motorcycles ...... we rode for half an hour in one of these rickshaws and faced them head on at the intersections.
Finally - a splash of color - fresh flowers engulfing a bicycle.
Incense at a temple provides a moment for contemplation and tranquility.
walk on the street with the traffic.
Tattoo shops and spas of questionable services are available in small side streets.
