Exactly forty years later, Vietnam is a little more hospitable place to be for Americans during Tet!
These nighttime photos were taken a couple of days ago when my friend Thao and I were downtown checking out the scene.
Dong Khoi Street (Duong Dong Khoi) near the opera house:
Bac Ho (Uncle Ho) in front of the People’s Committee Building:
The Vietnamese love to strike a pose. Here, Thao shows me how it’s done:
A pale (literally) imitation:
Le Loi and Nguyen Hue streets:
On Le Loi Street:
Living here, you sometimes forget this is a communist country. Hammers and sickles are pretty good reminders:
The sea of motorbikes we crossed in front of:
Yesterday we went down to the traditional market – I think it was called Cho Binh Tay or Cho Binh Thay – in Cholon, which is the Chinese section of HCMC. Here are some dragon heads we saw at a shop near the market:
Dudes at the dragon head shop – note one dude’s hair:
More dragon heads – this red one was $60 and I was tempted to buy it. Thao says it will be cheaper after Tet.
The watermelon appears to be the official fruit of Tet – not sure why, but probably because it comes into season right around Tet every year:
They are selling thousands of them all over town:
Tet is tomorrow. I’ll try to take some more photos. Lam Dai’s family has invited me to have Tet dinner with them tomorrow night, so that should be interesting as well.
Chuc mung nam moi! Happy Chinese Lunar New Year!
February 6, 2008 at 5:49 pm
These are great, Hank, thanks! I especially love the close-up of Uncle Ho with the purple flowers in the foreground.