1 min readPhoto Essays
Views: 2Incense, smoke and fire
From dyed bamboo sticks drying in the sun to the smoke rising in a temple: a short essay on incense.
#vietnam
1 min readPeople
Views: 3Áo dài and nón lá
Portraits around two of the most recognisable shapes in Vietnamese dress.
1 min readPlaces
Views: 3Hội An, from the river to the alleys
Yellow walls, silk lanterns and the Thu Bồn river: a small trading port that kept its old streets.
2 min readVietnam
Views: 1Thinking of Vietnam from abroad
Living away from home changes how a country looks. A short reflection on what a Vietnamese student abroad comes to see in the places he has known.
2 min readTaiwan
Views: 1Taiwan, seen from Vietnam
Close on the map and familiar in many ways, Taiwan still surprises Vietnamese visitors. A look at the island through a Vietnamese lens: what feels like home, and what does not.
1 min readLife
Views: 1Peach blossom season
In northern Vietnam, Tết does not really begin until the peach branches arrive.
1 min readMoments
Views: 1Incense, fanned out in colour
Bundles of dyed incense sticks fanned out to dry, a woman arranging red bundles seen from above, racks of colour for sale.
1 min readTravel
Views: 4Hà Giang: notes for a first trip north
Vietnam's northernmost province is all limestone, switchbacks and river canyons. A few things worth knowing before you go.
1 min readVietnam
Views: 0Quảng Phú Cầu, the incense village near Hanoi
In the countryside south of central Hanoi, a craft village has made incense for generations, and its courtyards of red bundles fanned out to dry have become one of the most photographed scenes of the north.
1 min readPeople
Views: 0Working with incense in Vietnam
Red bundles laid out to dry, fans of colour spread across the yard: the craft behind one of Vietnam's most photographed scenes.
2 min readLife
Views: 0In praise of the morning market
Supermarkets are convenient, but the traditional market is where a city shows what it eats and how it lives. A reflection on chợ in Vietnam and morning markets in Taiwan.
2 min readVietnam
Views: 0Saigon street life: sidewalks, alleys and Phạm Ngũ Lão
Vietnam's largest city lives on its sidewalks. A profile of Saigon's street culture, from plastic stools and alley kitchens to the backpacker streets around Phạm Ngũ Lão.
2 min readTravel
Views: 0A slow walk around Hoàn Kiếm Lake
The small lake at the heart of Hanoi is the easiest way into the city: a legend, a temple, an old quarter next door, and a walk anyone can do.
1 min readPlaces
Views: 0Mountains and clouds of northern Vietnam
A sea of clouds at sunrise, rice terraces on the slopes and a river cut deep into limestone.
1 min readVietnam
Views: 0The delta countryside through the rice seasons
Flat fields, bamboo hedges and a calendar set by two rice crops: a look at the farming countryside of northern Vietnam's lowlands.
1 min readPeople
Views: 0Tết portraits in red and blossom
Red dresses, peach blossoms, a pot of tea and bundles of incense: the colours and rituals of the Lunar New Year.