Dogs must have their day

In Hoi An dogs are venerated. I crossed the famous Japanese covered bridge and encountered this image. Many Japanese emperors were born in the year of the dog .

Lazy in Hue

Hue (pronounced way) is a large city though not nearly as big as Hanoi. I only had one day here and there were many places I wanted see, so I hired a rickshaw even though I've been somewhat critical of other tourists for doing this in the past. It was great!

Memorial to Ho in home he lived in while a school boy

Hanoi ....

More street scenes.

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First day in Hanoi

Alley in front of my hotel

I am enjoying Hanoi!!! It's vibrant and intense and the food is wonderful.

I will spend another day here and take the night train south tomorrow to Hue.

Beutiful young girls preparing to graduate
from seconday school

Beef steamed in bamboo

My last day in Laos

I went for a walk yesterday down a small lane that left the main street in the old part of town and meandered down to the Mekong. Cafes, galleries, a heritage center, Old Luang Prabang houses and an interesting wat made up my journey.

1) Motorcycles and flowers

2) A public bench -- unusual in LP

3) Entrance to the Heritage Center

4) A fine example of an old dwelling 

5) Entrance to Wat Xeingmauone 

6) A studio where novices make statues of Buddha

7) A Buddha garden

8) A mysterious open well

9) Old French homes on the street where I emerged from the lane 

Christmas comes early in Luang Prebang too

I was very surprised to see Christmas decorations today when I stopped off at an high-end coffee shop on my way to teach at the library.

A magical weekend

I spent the weekend on my own in Nong Khuai, a small village on the Nom Ou river. It was an arduous five hour trip here in a packed to the gills mini-bus, but the trip was well worth the effort. For young travellers, Nong Khuai is the jump-off point for rock climbing, trekking and kayaking activities. For me, it was a relaxing two days spent photographing the clusters of limestone mountains that surround the village and the village itself and getting to know people who live here and visit here.

View up the river 

My $10 a night guesthouse lower left

  A villager's back garden

One of the three village streets

Small farms under a karst cliff

A view from the bridge at dawn