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Sunday, 29 November 2009

Loreto Fest Saigon 2009

A few more posts from this event will eventually make their way to my adoring public but to keep you satiated here's the best 'fro seen since the Seventies.

'fro

Loreto Fest is the biggest live music gig in HCMC and all for a good cause so that makes getting drunk in the open air a good thing. Here are some details.

Saturday, 28 November 2009

The terrible truth about the Ao Dai or The Pajama Party

Browse any website aimed at tourists to Vietnam and you'll be hard pressed to find one that doesn't feature the undeniably beautiful national dress, the Ao Dai (áo dài). Sure you'll see them worn by receptionists in hotels, in tourist oriented shops and of course on Vietnam Airlines but far, far more prevalent is the pajama suit. They're EVERYWHERE.

Polyester miracles of bright patterns not seen elsewhere since the sixties adorn everyone from children to ancient grannies. They come in all sorts of patterns and styles according to the preferences of the wearer and hardly ever featured on the tourist industry websites as an attraction.

Pyjama on bike
Sleeveless and short trousered.

pyjama suit 8
Stretchy and spaghetti strapped.

pyjama suit 5
Puff sleeved and tailored.

pyjama suit 3
Flowing and edging on elegant.

pyjama suit 6

Covered with a big cardigan to provide further protection from the sun.

I love pajama suits and think they should be celebrated more but I doubt there will be a day when Miss Ao Dai competitions are replaced by Miss Pajama Suit. Shame.
Ao Ba Ba
Thanks to Louis Pasta on flickr for letting me know that the correct name for the flowing suits is Ao Ba Ba

Tuesday, 17 November 2009

Scotia Vietnam Fashion?

I'd seen the helmets, tried them on, not photographed them, I'll have to now for comparison. The helmets have a strip of tartan down the middle and the slogan "Scotland, every day is lovely". I hadn't seen the complimenting shirts though.

Scotia-Vietnamese fashion brand?

I'm suspecting, what with the wrong colours on the flags and all, that this is a local design but I'd be delighted to be informed otherwise. The Lovely Scotland helmet would go much better with this than the hibiscus strewn one.

Wiring solution?

In my previous post I showed pictures of power cables, mainly on Trang Hung Dau and mused about them being moved underground some day.


Co-incidentally Vietnam Daily News published an article about the same thing.Full article here

The main concern is that there are no standards in place and cables are being buried in a haphazard manner. On Tran Hung Dao they'll be in lined ditches with power and telecom wires kept apart. On Le Than Ton they'll be buried 75cm underground in plastic pipes with no concrete support.

Great, the era of the permanent roadworks is dawning.

Sunday, 15 November 2009

Power talks

You know what it's like, you stop seeing things after a while then something happens and whatever it is is back in focus.

I'd been trying to take some pictures of buildings and bemoaning the power cables always getting in the way so, of course, soon I see nothing but power cables.

Quite ordered power cables
These are fairly well ordered, there's still a lot of them though.

Power cable overload
The busier the road, the more houses and businesses there are, the greater the need for power and things start to get a bit more complex.

Snagged, tangled, confusing power cables

Then there's this, it reminds me of the last time I decorated a Christmas tree. Snagged, tangled and horribly confused.

I suppose one day they'll all be underground and what excuse will I have for not being able to take good pictures of buildings then?