Tet Tour 2000
Hanoi
The relentless
rain that had brought flooding the previous month had gone, but a day
before everyone arrived the temperature plummeted to the low 50's. Still,
even in Hanoi where the Vietnamese are a little more reserved than their
gregarious southern cousins, everything was upbeat as Tet approached.
Peach blossom and kumquat trees lined the streets, strapped to bicycles
and delivered by cyclo.
We took comfort in food and was it spectacular. It is one aspect of Hanoi that has changed in recent years, and we enjoyed exploring a couple of Hanoi's finest French-Vietnamese restaurants.
Alfredo also had the good fortune of finding decent, even good, wine wherever we went allying his fear of a trip with only beer.
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Peach Blossoms
Tet preparatinsare not complete for any Vietnamese family without a sprig from a Peach Blossom tree. The streets of Hanoi are filled with them as well as kumquat trees -- another sysmbol of Tet.
A Veteran in Hanoi
John is given a welcome from two of Ho Chi Minh's guard outside the mausoleum who were kind enough to also pose with the group.
Tet in the Old Quarter
Hanoi's Old Quarter has a population density greater than Calcutta and it seems everyone was on the street for Tet. Here Deepa and Piyush pause between photos.
Legacy of Indochine
Hanoi is filled with majestic French Colonial buildings, many which serve as government buildings, hotels and embassies. This was the former palace of the president of Indochine.
Water Puppets
An old tradition in north Vietnam, water puppets theater is unlike any other. The show recreates ancient folk tales-- mostly about fisherman -- accompanied by music and song with a lively style of puppet movement.
A Prayer Offered
Tet is also a time to remember and pray for ancestors. Here a young girl offers burning joss sticks one the steps of the One Pillar Pagoda.
All photographs by VeloAsia