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photographie-irie > Local Home, Road to Muong Houm, Vietnam In route on bumpy, dusty roads, occasional homes would appear where people would always stop and look as we passed by. Initial inquiring looks generally turned to gawking stares or broad smiles with attendent "thumbs up" as they checked out the friendly alien presence. Meeting other bikes along the way was especially entertaining as shocked locals riders' heads turned in situations on roads where that was probably not a good idea.
photographie-irie > Black Hmong Women Hauling Bamboo, Sapa, Vietnam      In character, two of three Black Hmong ladies smiling for no one but themselves as they carry some bamboo up this steep Sapa street. I can't say the third isn't smiling inside, though, because that was their pleasant nature. Walking long distances with big loads was everyday stuff for both men and women. You would pass Hmong walking most everywhere you went, coming and going along the roads in the woods away from the city . That is where they live, coming into Sapa town or going to market for commerce and socializing.
photographie-irie > Bamboo Basket Boat at Sea, Nha Trang, Vietnam       These amazing basket boats are woven from bamboo, and lacquered in some fashion to make them waterproof. They are lightweight and easy to carry from place to place, apparently good in shallow water because of little draft, and often used as tenders for larger boats. But they are also utilized for fishing and getting from place to place in their own right, as this guy demonstrates. His curious use of a plastic pot is atypical for steerage or propulsion, as normally a paddle is used in seasaw fashion to advance the vessel at walking pace. Perhaps he is bailing, as appears to be the case, but the boat does seem to be setting well in the water. Controlling these boats is another mystery to the uninitiated, as you might well imagine, in that they tend to just go round and round like a spinning bowl in the water when powered with improper technique. One of those things you have to know how to do, looking somewhat easy as you observe local use, but quite baffling without proper instruction and lots of frustrating practice. They tend to be freqently seen throughout central Vietnam. Where bamboo basketry of all sorts is commonplace, this is one of the larger, more inventive uses. People baskets, intended to contain the water on the outside rather than within.
photographie-irie > Bamboo Basket Boat Beach, Nha Trang, Vietnam      On a beach at the northern end of Nha Trang, looking south down the coastline. The city of Nha Trang proper lies on the other side of the point, to the interior, while the tourist sector extends south from well below the other side of the point down along the beach. These bamboo basket boats are probably tenders for the fishing boats buoyed offshore, but could also be lieing in wait for trips to sea on their own, up or down the coast. Can you imagine trying to control one of these, especially in less than calm water?
photographie-irie > Bamboo Bicycling, Nha Trang, Vietnam       Bikes and motorbike are everywhere in Vietnam, getting people and things where they need to go. One of my future projects has to be cataloging the ingenuity and variety of these human powered two wheeled vehicles as incredible beasts of burden. It is amazing what people can accomplish when not burdoned with safety regulation, and the amount of gear that can be ingeniously strapped to a motorbike or bike. Another project should document bamboo as used in every day life in all kinds of ways. This bamboo carrying push bike is heading north out of Nha Trang along the coast, quite away fro the tourist scene.
Local Home, Road to Muong Houm, Vietnam

In route on bumpy, dusty roads, occasional homes would appear where people would always stop and look as we passed by. Initial inquiring looks generally turned to gawking stares or broad smiles with attendent "thumbs up" as they checked out the friendly alien presence. Meeting other bikes along the way was especially entertaining as shocked locals riders' heads turned in situations on roads where that was probably not a good idea.
photographie-irie > Local Home, Road to Muong Houm, Vietnam In route on bumpy, dusty roads, occasional homes would appear where people would always stop and look as we passed by. Initial inquiring looks generally turned to gawking stares or broad smiles with attendent "thumbs up" as they checked out the friendly alien presence. Meeting other bikes along the way was especially entertaining as shocked locals riders' heads turned in situations on roads where that was probably not a good idea.
Local Home, Road to Muong Houm, Vietnam

In route on bumpy, dusty roads, occasional homes would appear where people would always stop and look as we passed by. Initial inquiring looks generally turned to gawking stares or broad smiles with attendent "thumbs up" as they checked out the friendly alien presence. Meeting other bikes along the way was especially entertaining as shocked locals riders' heads turned in situations on roads where that was probably not a good idea.
See photo in original gallery.
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