Traffic is insane in Hanoi. Sidewalks aren’t for walking on, they’re for parking on. Motorcycles weave in and out of pedestrians and visa versa. Everyone lives out on the streets; doors are wide open with life spilling out onto the streets and there doesn’t seem to be any concept of privacy.
I was trying to capture the insane movement and traffic of Hanoi. This orange vendor, burdened with her heavy load, was the only person moving slow enough to be in focus.
You can suffer in the cold, or you can have fun!
Another orange vendor in slow motion.
One of the many narrow alleys in the Old Quarter.
This wedding takes place in a marked-off area of the street; the photographer manages to take wedding photos despite the traffic whizzing by.
Motorcycle taxi drivers taking a break.
Somewhere under this mass of pottery is a bicycle and a transaction going on. What I’m amazed at is how the vendor manages to get through all that insane traffic without breaking all that chinaware.
For more on this challenge: http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/street-life/
Albatz Travel Adventures 
Looks pretty hectic.
janet
It’s terrifying!
Wonderful! Great way to capture that hectic and crazy street life. I feel like you caught the moment really well! I don’t know if I’d want my wedding shots out on the street with all that craziness! 🙂
I was amazed how everyone just seems to live on the streets with traffic whirling around them. Ho Chi Minh City was the same…
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you love Hanoi, no?
I love all of Vietnam!
Thank you.
But I agree to the point that traffic in Hanoi is such a nightmare, even to me who lived in Hanoi in more than 10 years.
I thought the traffic was horrendous until I went to India, and learned that it could be even worse! (But I’m still afraid to cross the larger streets in Hanoi – especially near the large traffic circle…)
That’s pretty impressive how that vendor could move that much china without breaking it!
If you’d seen the crazy traffic you would have been even more impressed!
I particularly like the last one with the pottery – it seems full of chaos at first glance. Holding it all together must be a skill in itself. You captured this wonderfully
I took several shots of the wrapped pottery – as far as I could tell the only ‘padding’ between all the china is the occasional sheet of torn newspaper…
I particularly like the photograph of the alley way in the old quarter with its sense of perspective and character.
The Old Quarter is a great place to stay, lots of interesting inexpensive hotels and food galore, and because of the narrowness of the streets, it is almost pedestrian-friendly, at least compared to the rest of the city…
Amazing shots!
Kat.
Thank you!
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