Such neatly tied faggots to be used only as fuel?
Here, the tour which has conducted you in a wandering fashion, northwards from Hà Nội, concludes by crossing back to the district of Na Hang in
Truyên Quang Province.
This is an isolated area, well aside from any tourist route, and the main interest of these photographs is the large reservoir that was being constructed at that time. Maybe a sense of the desolation that such damming produces, can be gathered from the pictures below. In other respects the area is typical of this part of central northern Vietnam: treed valleys, peaked mountains and tropical vegetation. Reaching Na Hang from the north, as we did, was extremely difficult, and as usual, in such circumstances, all efforts are directed at getting to the destination, with no energy available for taking photographs of the problems encountered. So below there are just a couple of shots indicating the very demanding route. This also serves to point the viewer to the next set of Vietnamese photos which are to come from the beautiful Hà Giang Province. In the meantime, the following Picture Posting pages will return to Scotland.
Bare feet, if appropriately seasoned, are probably the only contact with this type of road that allows their owners to stay upright - motorbike tyres definitely offer no such security!
A distant bike approaching an improved stretch of road near habitation
More typically the road looked like this - only to deteriorate when the mud became a mere film over smooth rock
Hazards, such as bridges that look incapable of bearing any weight, are common
Motorcycling problems aside, here is a valley...
...and stilted Thai house common in the area
Our hosts for a night we spent here. The dog, with butter proof mouth, held up our departure for an hour or so, as it had hidden one of Han's shoes
Here the road is improving and villages are larger...
...this jolly group was entertained by our approach
Three general landscape shots of the district...
...terraces, spread out villages, scrubby vegetation...
...and everywhere the half interested observer, with motorbike
These new garden fences on neighbours houses speak of an un-identified problem. The splendid tiled roof of the left-hand house stands in contrast to the asbestos roof of its neighbour
Here another fine specimen of stilt housing. The more usual discreet fencing, quietly functional, can just be seen, lower centre
A morning view from one of the mountain passes north of the River Năng where a large reservoir was being created. The photos below show something of the way the
waters took over the valleys of the river
A village losing its terracing to the rising waters
A tree stands testimony to the inundation
Fascinating wake patterns; and a very drowned tree
The boat manoeuvres round obstacles the other trees pose
While the houses opposite effuse sadness, good use is being
made of the rising waters, and...
...away from buildings and marooned trees...
...the water does offer a soothingly placid outlook
Although maybe a last sad image is in order
At the dam, distant in this photo, the resulting lake offers many possibilities
And the dam itself, although somewhat of a brutalist monster, will produce the badly needed electricity
To finish, a look at the river, lower down its course, where it offers views
that future visitors will surely enjoy
Trailers...
The next Picture Posting page is to start a new collection drawn from a very different area: Gallowhill and its surroundings, just beside the town of Moffat in southern Scotland.
The next page
of the Mosaic Section is to be headed 'Which Reality?'
Or go to the contents Go to the contents of the Mosaic Section. of the Mosaic Section. Monitors can keep the layout, which phones may need to discombobulate.
The last page had photographs from the northern part of Bắc Kạn Province
...guide to this site