Vietnam Holiday (Part One)

Last month I went to Vietnam for a holiday, including a brief side-trip to Siem Reap in Cambodia to visit the Temples of Angkor and a few days in Singapore at the end of the trip where I attended the Urban Sketchers Symposium - yahoo! (I'll cover that in a separate post).

It was a fantastic trip.  Friendly and interest people, smiling inquisitive children, delicious food, beautiful and varied scenery, hot exhausting weather, big vibrant cities, chaotic traffic, interesting history and culture and plenty of opportunities to sketch.
 

I went with my partner. Here he is sleeping on the flight from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City.

This is Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City.  I sat in the park in front of the cathedral, it was dusk and a relaxed atmosphere.  There were many people sitting relaxing, many families with children.  A woman (dressed in yellow) set-up behind me and started selling pancakes.

A street food vendor in Ho Chi Minh City.  I'm not sure what she was selling.  She didn't stay in one place.  She moved on pushing her kart (in the relentless traffic) soon after I'd drawn her.   

We saw many scooter repairmen like this, working on the side of the road or on the footpath.  I like how so much happens on the street in Vietnam.  In the cities footpaths are valuable space, used for scooter parking, selling, eating as much as walking.

I drew this in the peaceful courtyard at the Jade emperor Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh City.

Singing birds at the bird club in Tao Dan Park, Ho Chi Minh City.  Each morning men bring their singing birds to a cafe in the park to socialise with each other (the men and the birds).  This was a perfect morning for me - drawing, drinking coffee and meeting locals at the bird club.

We stayed in Siem Reap for two nights and spent two days visiting the temples of Angkor which are spectacular.  The number of temples and the size and detail of the temples is overwhelming, and so was the heat.  It was an exhausting couple of days, but well worth it.  I only managed one sketch of a temple, or at least part of a temple.  This is one of four corner towers at the top of Ta Keo temple.

 Pub Street in Siem Reap.  The main tourist street where all the restaurants and bar are located is called 'Pub Street'!

 

Coffee in Vietnam is good.  It is usually served while it is still brewing, in a metal drip filter called a phin filter.  The process takes about five minutes.  We're having ours with condensed milk.  Ice coffee is very popular too.  Vietnam is one of the world largest coffee producers.  Complimentary green tea (hot or cold) is always served at cafes.

There were so many people on Nha Trang Beach.  Hundreds, probably thousands of tourists, Vietnamese and foreign.  Everyone went to the beach later in the day when it was a little cooler.

Nha Trang is a popular holiday destination for Russians.  Many restaurants/bars have Russian signs and menus, like this one.

Xon Moi Market, Nha Trang.  We sat in a juice bar across the road from the market while I sketched this and drank delicious fresh mango smoothies.