Morning light through mesh curtains.

Sunrays coming through my white mesh curtain. I am waking up in Hanoi. It feels like London. The windows are damp.

My damp windows.

Outside it’s cold by Saigonese standards, not so by Norwegian standards. Unfortunately, I have spent too much time in the warmth of the south to have the Norwegian layer of protection. To me it’s cold. London cold. The dampness on the window act as vaseline smeared on the lens. Soft blur. Old school way.

My view from the room through the damp window.

I arrived the day before. Supposed to be arriving in the morning. Check. Did that. Supposed to be leaving in the evening. Checked into a hotel instead. Shoot got extended. Good news. However, I didn’t prepare for an extended day. Neither did my client. No change of clothes and 60kg of photography gear. A local convenience store stocked deodorants, we all bought one each. Next day would not be too bad.

We did have a great time. Ate crickets for the first time. That was part of our lunch. They looked like bees, we expected larger ones. It’s not the main season, hence the smallness, we were told. They tasted different than I prepared myself for. Kind of melted away. We shared a couple of them each, then decided it was enough bravado. The other expat diners politely declined our offer to share our remaining crickets.

Our lunch, crickets.

I cannot post any images of the work that we did at present. All I can say is that we travelled around, having a great time and learned that even for a day trip it pays to prepare extra clothing. Also, that Vietnam airlines have a limit of 32kg per piece of luggage. A bag of 40kg of photographic gear was simply a hassle to get on board, but we managed both ways as long as we promised to split it up the next time. Relief. Didn’t want to start to unpack and having to hand carry more equipment just to get below the 32kg requirement.

We hailed a cab. Buckled up and off we drove.

Seat belt Hanoi style.

With lessons learned and Uncle Ho smiling from the front, we were on our way. To Ho Chi Minh City.

Bank note with portrait of Ho Chi Minh.

 

 

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