Streets in Vietnam - Tet 2011

Just some snapshots of the streets in our hometowns during the Tet - Lunar New Year 2011. Interestingly, it turns out that she photographed my hometown (Ho Chi Minh city) and I photographed hers (Bac Ninh).

Last day of the Tiger Year, Ho Chi Minh City - by Admiré

6th day of the Tet celebration, Bac Ninh - by Analox

Analox

Chùa Bổ Đà - Bo Da Pagoda, Bac Giang, Vietnam

Chùa Bổ Đà - Bo Da Pagoda is situated at the foot of a hill of pines, beautiful and quiet, surrounded by walls of soil, with mountains and rivers at the distance. Everything in this old pagoda has a distinct brown soil color: the wall, the tiles, the big water jars, the plant pots, etc. The pagoda was first erected in the 11th century, in the Ly dynasty when Buddhism prospered in Vietnam. After nearly 300 years, it has been renovated many times and the current architecture style is from the Nguyen dynasty (the last dynasty of feudal Vietnam). Especially, there kept the oldest Buddhist texts in Vietnam, engraved in Diospyros decandra wood and lasted for hundreds of years without any preservatives.

Writing a proper introduction about the place may exceed my humble knowledge, so check out here for more information (in Vietnamese). However, we hope that the photographs here can be our invitation for you to visit this place in Vietnam.

For us, the most interesting scene in the pagoda must be the field of old tombs lied along the hill, which are said to be of the chief monks of the pagoda and some others.

You need to climb up the hill to visit another temple

And this is the view from the top of the hill

It was truly a pleasant trip in the afternoon and we must thank our brother & sister (Tú & Thủy) for bringing us there ;)

On our way back on the levee, we were lucky to catch a beautiful sunset by the river...

Technical info: Olympus XA (35mm f2.8) / Kodak ColorPlus 200

Analox & Admiré

Đền Ngọc Hoàng - Emperor of Jade Temple, HCMC, Vietnam

The Emperor of Jade Temple is located in Dakao Ward , District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The temple was built by Cantonese Buddhists who settled in Saigon in the 19th century. Aside from the historical facts and information which you can read from here, there is one thing I noticed when visiting the place two years ago: the temple looks beautiful and solemn at the midnoon, with the sunlight from above that lightens the temple and highlights the incense smoke.

So this year, I came back to the temple just a few days before Tet (Lunar New Year in Vietnam) so that the place won't be too crowded by visitors and prayers. And here is what I saw.

Technical info: Olympus XA (35mm f2.8) / Lomo LC-A 25th Anniversary Film ISO 800
Analox