These Charming Men

Inspired by today’s featured article on Wikipedia here are a couple of pictures of some charming Vietnamese men. These pictures were taken during my short visit to Hanoi in 1995. Here is what I wrote at the time:

“Dec 7, 1995. Another long day in Hanoi, I enjoy sitting by the lake with the old men. This morning I went to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum with two Danish women I met on the train. It was not as strange as visiting Mao in Beijing, but still weird. Last night I ate at a Vietnamese restaurant that only serves on dish – Fish Stew. It was great! Later, I wondered the streets and a very old lady with black teeth stopped me and said ‘Bonjour!’ I didn’t know what to say. Did she think it was 50 years ago and I was a French colonialist? I said ‘Bonjour’ in return. It was strange, but I found an odd reassurance in talking with her.”

For more about my trip to Vietnam see this earlier post.

2 thoughts on “These Charming Men

  1. Chuck,
    I couldn’t agree more. I’m sure these guys had more than their fair share of suffering, living in a war torn country tends to do that. It is good to know that by the time I met them they could spend their days sitting around with friends.

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