558

March 31, 2009
The Red River is struggling. The island in the middle is now connected to the "main land". Instead of boats there are now playing children and a lone photographer looking for some shots. 5:58PM is when this photo was taken.

561

March 28, 2009
There is only one queue in Vietnam. Everywhere else everybody fights to be served first, in front of the Mausoleum there is something very un-Vietnamese. If there would be any attempt for forming a second queue, it would be dwarfed by the size of the original.
Here, people are waiting to enter the Mausoleum, where the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh is on display. Several months before his death on September 2, 1969, he wished to be cremated and his ashes buried in three urns on three different hilltops of Vietnam (the North, Central and South areas). Similarly to the requests of other communist leaders this wish was not respected. In Vietnam he has an almost god-like status, yet they did not do what he requested. You ask one thing and you will get something completely different. Still very true these days.
There are exactly 561 people in this queue.

563

March 26, 2009
The Vietnamese treat illness as if they are fighting a war. Even for a simple cold a pharmacy prescribes a whole assortment of different pills. This selection needs to be swallowed three times a day. If you survive there is always another day.
Needless to say, this reduces the immune system and when you really need medicine it will be more difficult to get cured.
563 pills a day keeps the doctor away.

568

March 14, 2009
Masks are very common in the streets of Hanoi, due to air pollution. Hanoi's air is a foul mixture of all sorts of evil stuff you don't want in your body. Petrol fumes, smoke and dust are just a few. When looking around it seems an almost impossible task to turn things around and make the city more liveable.
Until then there are masks, even while waiting for a bus. An air sample could contain 568 different kinds of poison.

572

March 17, 2009
Rush hour is when you don't want to be out there, in the midst of the maelstrom. An endless stream of motorbikes washes through the main streets and those who think they can find a more quiet street all go into the same narrow alley. It seems the perpetual overdose of noise numbs the brains and make everybody do the same. Just one lane down the road there was nearly no traffic.
There are exactly 572 vehicles in this photo. A normal day in Hanoi.

573

March 16, 2009
When living in the tropics or sub-tropics you get used to the omnipresent gecko. For them it's very easy to find their way into the houses of Hanoi. It's not exactly warm yet, but they refuse to migrate to warmer regions and then come back when the heat sinks in.
Speaking of sinks, that is exactly where I found this little fellow. When he jumped into a bowl I completely lost my attention and sort of ignored the presence of my girlfriend. I may be in trouble, but I got some interesting shots.
I sometimes wonder about the gecko population in our house. 573?

574

March 15, 2009
Wherever you go, there are dogs. Especially in the alleys and more rural areas of Hanoi. Every time you pass a house you can expect a few dogs to storm at the gate or at you. Usually they just make a lot of noise, but I know one friend got bitten.
A part of the reason is security, as theft is a very big problem in Hanoi (and the whole of Vietnam). Even so big they may steal the dog which is supposed to protect you, as has happened once when I spent the night with Vietnamese family.
Maybe one very big dog of 574 kilos could handle all problems.

575

March 14, 2009
Ancestor worship plays a serious role in Vietnamese society. As an outsider I sometimes believe you earn much more respect when you are dead. Prior to western influence in Vietnam, traditionally people did not celebrate birthdays. The death anniversary of a loved one, however, was (and is) always an occasion of much more importance.
Duties at an ancestors' grave include the burning of incense and cutting the weed. I doubt whether papier-mâché helmets are already in the assortment of items to be burned and "transferred" to the ancestors.
At this cemetary, on the banks of the Song Hong river, are at least 575 other graves.

576

March 13, 2009
Mapping Invisible Cities is a project of German photographer Peter Bialobrzeski. In the past year he spent one month in each of the cities Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila, Singapore and Hanoi with the purpose to capture daily life, especially the elements we tend to overlook. Often the familiar and the unseen are captured within one image.
Together with 26 local photographers he is exhibiting a total of 96 photos in all six cities. Today was the opening of the Hanoi exhibition, which will run until March 23. It is at Goethe-Institut, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc.
In this image one of the Hanoi photographers, Dam Duc Vu, is being interviewed by 576 women, or so it seems.

582

Saturday March 07
Nothing is straight, nothing hangs straight.
There must be a law of physics here, but I can't think of which one. Wherever you go, whatever is hanging on a wall, it doesn't hang level. Sometimes a whole wall is plastered with all kinds of frames, each pointing in a different direction.
It may be all part of a bigger plan, which says it's okay when it is almost right.
I bet there are at least 582 ways of hanging something level.

583

March 6, 2009
Often you will notice someone burning pieces of paper or paper objects. They are burned in ancestor worship ceremonies which can take place anywhere.
In order to ensure that ancestors have possessions in the afterlife, their relatives send them paper and papier-mâché presents. By burning the spirit money and paper objects they will be transferred to the ancestors.
Objects include paper passports, flight-, rail- and bus tickets, telephones, TVs, paper credit cards, rice cookers, anything really.
This barrel could contain 583 items, but probably there are less.

584

March 05, 2009
Every day at Tran Thanh Tong street, about 200 metres south of Tran Hung Dao, it is table tennis mayhem. It is a very popular venue for the Vietnamese and on some days there is a bunch of foreigners who meet. Every Monday night (7 to 9) and since today also on Thursday afternoon (4 to 6). It is dirt cheap and if you get tired of hitting the same ball over and over again there are plenty of pool tables. Just show up and play. Again a photo in colour because the orange ball comes out a bit better. It may take two players about 584 times to hit the ball to complete a match.

585

March 04, 2009
Some subjects are just screaming not to be shown in black and white. This is one of them. In many Hanoi streets there is a lot of digging going on and this is to do something about the cable salad, the zillions of cables which beautify every street.
If each colour can handle 585 cables it is a good start.