A Hmung woman, seen along the road, poses less formally than is (too) often the case, and well illustrates the environmental within which she lives
Another woman from that ethnic group was probably unaware of the photographer, some ethnic groups are less concerned about sitting directly on the ground - the Viet avoid it
The pictures on this page are of people seen along Route 32. The first half of the page has a variety drawn from the length of the road, while in the lower half are photographs from a social event that we happened upon one evening. As these display dances at that gathering were not directed towards tourists, we were the only ones there, it was especially interesting to see the kind of entertainment the local community enjoyed. And less comfortably to see that not everyone welcomed the intrusion we presented.
Wrinkled faces from a small town - the lesson 'Don't shot with the sun behind you'
This group is beside their coffee plantation, a little coffee is grown in the area, far exceeded by the large tracts of tea
A good use for a crash barrier - women resting while collecting firewood
Land work most commonly falls to women in Vietnam, although gender roles are not too sharply drawn...
...Here two groups engaged in fencing. Two disparate pictures, they were not near one another
A small roadside
kiosk
- (and possibly a family group?)
Here a woman poses with the three essentials of Vietnamese life: house, dogs and motorbike
A different essential for many men in the country
- women rarely smoke
Three smokers. OK, the man above needs the photo below as confirmation
Two of those men again, making the excuse for an 'Add your own caption' competition. Squatting down is ubiquitous in Vietnam, but most of the population always take great care not to actually touch the ground
Fan dances such as these are seen in many parts of the country. Go to
one in Hà Nội
Last pose, with mountain backdrop
Another rather similar dance - this time with hats. The monochord player (left) is hitched up to the sound system
One of the dancers
The crowd of locals gathered to enjoy the evening spectacle
Maybe you can just see the woman with baby top left,
she is poking her tongue out at me...
...I didn't notice at the time as most people
were gently welcoming
Here a member of our party is being thanked by the children shaking his hand
And here you may be able to see the reason for the thanks - distribution of sweets
Probably it is the younger men who show most interest in a group such as ours. Our 35 year old Jeep was always an attraction
But children, bribed or otherwise, show their pleasure at a novel diversion
We are off, and to the last page about Route 32
Trailers...
The next Picture Posting
page turns the camera back and onto members of our parties enjoying Route 32.
The next page
of the Mosaic Section is to be headed 'Stigma'.
Or go to the contents Go to the contents of the Mosaic Section. of the Mosaic Section.
The previous page had photos from markets along Route 32
Passing photos of people in the west are not so easy - Moffat Show in Scotland
...guide to this site