Waiting for fares
9:40pm

Cyclo drivers wait by the roadside too tired to chase fares down the street

At the cinema
10:17pm

We were told that films from the USA are too violent and sexual for the Vietnamese audience, so most of the films come from Korea. Few and far between, cinemas are often covered in handpainted billboards portraying the favorite characters from popular movies.

Portraits of laborers
10:39-52pm

Trying to take pictures surreptitiously is impossible. Vegetable vendors begin to notice me and we oblige each other with photographs.

The light at the end of the alley
11:21pm

dark alleys, poor light, dirty gutters, meager living.

Hammock and offal
11:34pm

When the butcher is done for the day, simply turn over a table and cordon off a bedroom.

Round midnight
11:58pm

things begin to get rolling at the night market.

The corner shop
12:12am

The delivery of onions has arrived. Just time enough to wash up before the night's business commences.

Dead end jumble
12:28am

The clutter in the narrow alleys of this market sometimes brings things to a standstill.

Tired of waiting
12:35am

A stall owner dozes off waiting for his delivery.

Lovers lane
12:51pm

Young love contemplating its' future - neon signs advertise material goods from across a wide river. An allegory perhaps.

Cuttlefish vendor
1:10am

Sitting at the corner Bia Hoi joint I saw this odd looking cart roll up. Curious to see how the food was prepared I went over to watch a young woman buying something and ended up with a cuttlefish snack and a new friend. The cuttlefish is flattened and dried in the sun. Upon ordering the vendor alternates putting the paper dry squid over hot coals and through a ringer that flattens and stretches the poor animal further. The woman was a student of English language and American culture at the local teachers university and invited us out for dinner and a night of sight-seeing for the following day.

Calling it quits
1:22am

Another day finally comes to an end.