vendors – Maze Vietnam

Flower Street Vendors in Hanoi

Hanh Le — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 00:01:59 +0000

“As I read an old poem composed by Tố Hữu – one of the greatest authors in Vietnam, I feel like each line unconsciously provokes such a strange feeling of how much Hanoians used to and still, embrace those little quintessence. We seem to love all the flowers overwhelmed in Hanoi through the street vendors as it is one of our instincts.

It is not something random that these flower street vendors have brought somewhat a refreshing reminiscent breeze to people in the city, but simply because they need to earn a living and customers need those beautiful bunches of flowers. Despite what kind of season it is, flower is always a constant and unchanged beauty of Hanoi with which the respectable tradition is consistent as a life-time companion.

In the olden times, a common motif of a Vietnamese lady sitting by a trellis of flowers always stole hearts of men. Especially in the 80’s, the appearance of a young girl in the charming Áo Dài (Vietnamese traditional dress) would always be accompanied with a few branches of gorgeous flowers. Every single corner of the street saw a basket of flowers sold by women a lady, or even a man. Sometimes, a few ladies altogether turned the corner into a little flower market. Hence, as such a pride, Hanoians have got their famous flower markets such as Ngọc Hà, Nhật Tân, Tứ Liên. In spite of a strong Westernization, these vendors have not lost their pure beauty. Whenever you leave home, they are always out there with familiar conical hats and old rusty bike carrying baskets of roses, daisies, sunflowers, feverfews or pomelo flowers.

These familiar scenes are somehow dear but hidden with pain as well. They portray small women, just like moms and grandmoms, who try to make some money with the withstanding from severe heat and rain.” – Trang Nguyen

To see more photos, check the open album below or go to Flickr:
Photo Album Flickr
(Please use the left/right arrows to navigate in the files of the open album)

Words by Trang Nguyen (Trang Nguyen‘s profile)
Photos by Hanh Le

The post Flower Street Vendors in Hanoi appeared first on Maze Vietnam.

The pace of Life in Hue | Photo Gallery

Trang Nguyen — Fri, 12 May 2017 10:28:00 +0000

Never in life or at least until this moment have I encountered an interesting local life Huế (Hue). Huế, where everything is at a slow speed that I could have never imagined, offers me probably one of the best experiences.

I once came to Huế as of my admiration for a long-existing city with a rich culture influenced by both the French and Eastern architectures. Before departing, I had actually received a “friendly warning” from a friend of mine living in Huế: “Don’t go or you will be bored to death”. At first, I thought she was just kidding but then I finally realized that it was actually a bit boring as I am kind of an extroverted party goer. The pace of life seemed extremely slow and peaceful as if there would be no crimes or fights. Huế’s life is as semplice and unobtrusive as its culture and people. As a small city with not so many citizens, Huế brings home to mind. I remembered going out on the street at rush hour with a friend who lives in Huế and it seemed like “rush hour” is not a good term to describe such a place like Huế. Mostly in the evening, people like to walk on Trường Tiền Bridge to enjoy the peaceful night on the beautiful Hương River, which literally means “River of Perfume”. Tourists normally take a cyclo around the city to a small China Town, Áo Dài Street and night market.

I reckon that it seems like this city is almost sleeping at 9 pm or maybe 10 pm. However, under Tràng Tiền Bridge or on the night street, there are gonna be lots of people still enjoying their supper. And if you are a “speed lover”, you will be driven crazy because some restaurants’ services are slow to death!

But after all, Huế is still a special city carrying a dignified atmosphere throughout hundreds of years. And I highly recommend it to those who love something “off the beaten track” with no bars, pubs or anything common for a lousy night.

All the photos below are taken by one of Maze Vietnam’s contributor recently living in Hue. She took her camera out and captured all the moments of the pace of life in Hue on a rainy day. All the friendly Hue people are still calm and moving slowly no matter how heavy the rain could be.

To see more photos, check the open album below or go to Flickr: Photo Album Flickr (Please use the left/right arrows to navigate in the files of the open album)

Words by Trang Nguyen
Photos by Mai Nguyen

The post The pace of Life in Hue | Photo Gallery appeared first on Maze Vietnam.

Street Vendors in Hanoi

Hanh Le — Fri, 07 Apr 2017 15:49:58 +0000

“Street vendors, wonder since what time or age they have become a kind of “mental treat”, a part of Vietnamese souls, beath and that cannot-be-replaced culture given away by our ancestors. Those bamboo frames holding with two big baskets carrying from small fruits to huge pots of rib congee have been the daily bread of their whole life. A beautiful culture also means a cruel reality. Whenever a street vendor appears, it also represents an encumbrance of someone as they are carrying the life of their whole families on their skinny shoulders and walk from day to night. That is why sometimes street vendor is also known as ‘burden vendor’. There was a time, probably in the 80s, when street vendors were very popular that they were often seen in each path of our country. And people when looking in those old captures of Vietnam would wonder why the sellers are mostly female. Just imagine when you live in a primitive community or simply recall what you have learnt from the books, men those days would do the hunting while women were in charge of harvesting. That way of thinking still exists until this moment that women are supposed to do small things. And as those glorious days pass by and people begin to prefer shopping in modern supermarkets and big grocery stores, street vendors start to lose their original position. When small streets have no longer been their place, they begin to “withdraw” to the walking street as they hope for something to change, to become better and to help their ‘intrinsically miserable’ life. Those small but firm humans still walk, even on a cold night of New Year; I still see them on the walking street, trying to sell up their baskets to return to their family.” – Trang Nguyen

Here are the street vendors in Hanoi Walking street at weekend

Street vendors by Hoan Kiem lake

Cotton candy

To see more photos, check the open album below or go to Flickr:
Photo Album Flickr
(Please use the left/right arrows to navigate in the files of the open album)

Words by Trang Nguyen
Photos by Hanh Le

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