Autumnal Lanterns

The arrival of Autumn not only brings a bounty of seasonal shades of pumpkin, squash, chestnuts to our palate but Halloween & Jacko lanterns add to the festive lore.  While travelling in Hoi An, Vietnam, these handmade silk lanterns in Autumnal colors caught my eye…

The lantern maker starts off with a bamboo frame like this

 

Patterned silk is then cut & sewn to fit onto the bamboo frames in a Handmade shop

A tassel added on the bottom as a decorative touch & voila…purchase as is or custom create your lantern

  

 in a Shop cum Home where everything is HandMade. In todays  mass market world, I wonder if anyone studies what they purchase or wonder how things are made.  So, the next time you purchase a shade…study it carefully…& maybe just maybe you’ll transport yourself to the Country of Origin where it was made by reminiscing about this post on Lanternmaking Handmade style. With that a festive Autumnal Season to you.

Reading for Charity

Darlings,  As you know this Blog is a WordPress blog & were it not for the aces at Customer Support (what with my bad computer skills) – Travel Postcards wouldn’t even be in existence !  Well now, turns out the Word Press aces have signed up with charitable causes for Bloggers to make charitable contributions just by reading ! Imagine that…!

On the right hand side there is a ” Charity Water” cause  that I have signed up for, where readers…thats you…just have to click on the image & points are generated to go towards digging wells for cleaner water in Countries where people have to drink from polluted sources. So, lets see, my blogs stats quote is 1548 people read this Blog…well, maybe they just looked at the pictures when they had nothing to do…I don’t know…BUT, if 1548 people clicked on the Charity Water, then$1548 would have been donated towards this cause. SO…please when looking at my photos or if you happen to be reading, please click on the Charity Water icon…its as simple as that & presto…you did a good deed for the day.

Merci Beaucoup…

Summer Travel memorabilia

Darlings,  Reality hit this weekend as Autumnal leaves were found trailing on the ground & early morning mist & fog shrouded the area in a filmy mask. It was time to change the decor & put aside those Summery items picked up on distant voyages. The colorful painted basket containing  shells & beach glass

Reed bags…one can never have too many for those summer occasions. And of course

Large Straw  market bags for all those impromptu visits to the farmers markets…keeping 1 outside  for the grocery store

And lastly, my eternal Summer wardrobe of sarongs & wraps…used as clothing purposes in addition to impromptu picnic blankets

Seasonal changes are such the thing to look forward to & ofcourse Autmn brings its own colorful treats but more on that later. Until then…au revoir

Travellers Hiatus

Darlings, I started my blogging odyssey in late Winter which was all well given the weather & no choice but to be housebound & dwell on my travels but  Summer really had me stumped…I was found outdoors enjoying the endless span of blue sky, sunsets, reading , gardening & taking pleasure in the slow pace of life. Gone was the lap top & bonding with nature surpassed technology. Now that the evenings & nights are getting longer & cooler, having that tea outdoors & bundled up by a flickering pierced Moroccan lantern doesn’t seem as appealing. I returned to Travelpostcards &  can inform you with delight that normal business sharing my journals will resume this weekend.

Hoping you too had a wonderful & memorable Summer.

Meandering along Majestic & Mysterious Halong Bay

Darlings, You know the main reason for visiting  Northern Vietnam was to follow in the footsteps of the vision seen in the Movie, “Indochine ” – the streets, the countryside, the temples, the mountains, the ocean.  Ofcourse, that romanticized version  of French Colonial Vietnam no longer exists but the essence of that period remains. What definitely has not changed is this view that was seen in the movie

Halong Bay

In the movie, Catherine Daneuve’s adopted daughter & boyfriend are on a boat in Halong Bay…lost & rumor had it that anyone who dared to venture into Halong Bay would go mad…never to return…

A maze of mountains / rock formations  rising out of the South China Sea for miles on end. Mysterious & Magestic, they stand silently like ghosts ready to envelope stray sailors without a compass. These days  this destination is a 4 hr car / bus  ride outside Hanoi, where you arrive to Halong City.

From there, Vietnamese junks with compasses, ready to have you meander around the Bay as the wind whips around you, flecks of salty water land on your face, meals cooked & served aboard

 

your junk as you contemplate…the rock formations

 

and the caves that lie within

…Dau Go cave, Cat Ba cave…Stalagtite & Stalgmite hanging in all shapes & forms…and lo & behold

Sitting Lion, (with its mouth wide open)  at the entrace of a recently discovered cave.  Water, Ships,  caves & what else but Pirates go hand in hand!  Who knows what secret messages were left behind…pirates booty waiting to be discovered…

Well, some things were left to remain silent I suppose. There again the keeper of this hut might know a thing or two.

 

We can ponder all that as we sail away leaving Halong Bay to vanish into the horizon like a mirage.

 

 So, until the next set of postcards…au revoir darlings…

Hanoi City cultural Tour

Darlings,  No trip to the City of Hanoi would be complete without visting this famed site

The Ho Chi Minh mausoleum.  Having made eye contact with a moped driver

& a suitable “foreigner” fee agreed upon, the driver motioned with his hand that “Uncle Ho” was sleeping. I nodded in agreement “Yes”, I wanted to visit the sleeping ” Uncle”, the mausoleum not the museum. A plume of black smoke emerged from the moped & as I was about to hop on behind him noticed the 5 letter word emblazoned across the moped “MINSK”…I stared in disbelief as it was the real thing from the Soviet era , still going strong ! So, where’s that postcard… well, I was too caught up…

I chuckled at the thought of visiting Uncle Ho aboard a Minsk. Mind you, no helmets in sight here…however, women had walked by wearing cone hats selling produce.

A long line of visitors stood as cameras, bags, mobile phones were retained.  The mausoleum was located in the New section of Hanoi.

Uncle Ho lay in the inner depths of this impressive mausoleum – elegant & dignified in military regalia. Hard to believe he was gone since 1969 – his embalmed body kept for a Nation proud of the Man who had freed them from Colonial stronghold. His body lay in a  glass enclosed roped off area.  The other embalmbed body in this World would be that of Lenin in Moscow. Silently, visitors walked by…mostly Vietnamese & a few tourists.

Next stop was to see Ho Chi Minh’s house & office…yes…this is all so real, not textbook info…This was his house on stilts …there is a living room downstairs & upstairs is a bedroom & another office.

Surrounded by a koi pond & rosebush garden that he tended…how all this escaped attacks is a wonder but there is a secret tunnel underneath the house that visitors are not allowed into…

Closeby Ho Chi Minh’s house on stilts is this impressive building…

The Presidential Palace of the former residence of the governor of French IndoChina (IndoChine)…so regal & ostentatious…

Next stop was the famed “Hanoi Hilton” as dubbed by US Prisoners. Senator John McCain was here for 5 yrs & hence the Hotel terminology. This is what the Hotel looks like…

Built by the French to control Vietnamese uprisings & later retained US POW’s, the original French name “Maison Centrale” remains as a testament to a foreign language imposed upon another Nation. Much of it has been torn down as located in a commerical area to accomodate new highrise construction, however a section of it  remains along with prison cells, torture chambers, interrogation rooms, guillotines with spot lights – art gallery style, all now part of a viewing gallery. Newspaper clippings from the 60’s & photographs of President Nixon & JFK, brought to reality a bygone era.

No shortage of War memorabilia in Hanoi with the War Museum outfitted with fighter jets, raiders, hawks, anything & everything but going into the jet to have a photograph taken with camo gear…

A line of cannons at the ready , waiting word from the Tower Guard …

anno

Even in Times of War, Peace prevails with

the presence of 1 Pillar Pagoda…which was destroyed but re-built in the same location on a pond…so fung shui…

As for us, having seen all this cultural memorabilia, time to check into one of those Cafe’s for some edible culture & have a Cafe Noir & maybe a bon bon…while we plan our next excursion…

The Sapa fashion directory & guide

Darlings,  That weekend excursion to Sapa…well guess what…it got extended… between the tranquil atmosphere, the ambience & the colorful local attire…why rush to leave ? And so, more postcards of what I oogled over walking around Sapa. Caught these Hmong Women pondering…

and then the 3 children sporting Sapa style capris

A weekend excursion to Sapa, Vietnam

Darlings, When Summer heat arrives to the city of Hanoi, what better place to escape to than tread the path of French Colonialists & venture North to Sapa – Vietnam. 

 A world away from the city & these days, most if not all travellers arrive there by overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai which takes 8 hrs. You have 3 choices – the 1st class Victoria express complete with your own Cabin, white down comforter, white curtains & exclusive meals. The downsize being that the end of the journey will have you contemplate turning into a train setter as opposed to jet setter. Then there’s 2nd class cabins with 2 bunk beds per compartment with wood panelling & lastly for the budget traveller – the 4 bunk  cabin with minimalist chic metal panelling . As for the ride itself…this can be compared to a NYC subway ride with all the jerking, sudden stops & starts…well being a night train the driver might have had his share of opium!

The arrival into Lao Cai is greeted with pre dawn views of billowing clouds giving way to this panorama

Terraced mountains, cooler temparatures, summer picnics & hiking is how I picture French Madames et famille.

Oh my & take a look at the locals in their native attire !

 The Vietnamese refer to them as “Minorities” & why on earth one would refer to their own citizens as Minorities is beyond me but Tribal people do tend to take a 2nd class place in society.  On weekends / market day, this is the scene

A sea of heads as the  tribal groups flock to Sapa to stock up on supplies & sell their wares / handicrafts. There are 2 distinct tribes

Black Hmong with their hand dyed linen Indigo outfits & who are also referred to as the “Blue People” with their blue hands from constant dyeing…no rubber gloves here

And then theres the Dzao (pronounced Dao) with their elaborate Red woolen headgear, shaved eyebrows & also shaved heads

Their handmade creations sold at the weekend market, where …yes…I’ll hassle you until you purchase type scenario exists & indeed amazing handicrafts to purchase…a crafters shopping mecca of sort

Bedspreads, hats, aluminium jewelry, a Cottage industry well worth the visit – made in Vietnam & not in China! Infact the volume of handwork might be considered labor intensive for any duplication.

Easy to become a gawker here but once you are over the Tribal attire, there’s Vietnamese meals to be sampled in the local market

…here’s a chef ready to whip up a spicy concotion, made to order… FDA rules & regs’ appears to be MIA in these parts!

Shopping not your thing…the panoramic vistas of the terrain are all a natural wonder. Roads being repaired from years of war…can you imagine having a war in this verdant landscape ?

Somehow, don’t see any Colonial buildings & wonder where the French would have stayed…don’t get the feeling they stayed in a cabiny lodge like these that are dotted around.

Manmade developments  are a miss in these parts…authentic & rural

 

…an escape from modernities as contemplating the vastness of natural beauty envelopes the traveller…to which I will digress until the next set of postcards. Au revoir darlings &  please bear with me as I am in the process of updating this layout for something more appropo to the vibe of these postcard excursions.

A visit to modern day Indochine

Bonjour Darlings, I’m always looking for Travel inspiration being that I don’t exactly have a list of places to visit (can you belive no list) & so after watching the movie ‘Indochine”, what better place to journey to than Vietnam, in particular Northern Vietnam to experience the French Colonial & Vietnamese Communist stronghold as seen in the movie.

Our First stop would be to fly into the city of Hanoi from NY on Cathay Pacific into Hong Kong & then on Vietnam Airlines to Hanoi which takes 1 hr. Love those small destinations after an 18 hr hurdle…

First glimpse of early morning in Hanoi, the flower seller with long stalks of gladiolus…such the Francais touch

Then the fruit seller balancing baskets laden with clementines & wearing a conical straw hat for protection against the sun.

You know you’re in Asia when you see locals tucking into soup for breakfast, sitting on low plastic stools barely 12″ from the ground

And here’s the soup station itself with its concotions perfuming the air. Here its called “Pho”, a rice noodle soup with chicken & greens…mild or spicy…made to order.

Infact, street side dining on those low plastic stools & catching up on gossip appeared to be the norm for the youth of Hanoi

Not only the youth but also the elder community were seen sitting on those low plastic stools having coffee & a smoke…the Hanoi style corner smoke shop …so cosy…

ofcourse, the French left their mark & patisserie / bistros abound with cane chairs et all, someplace that Catherine Daneuve would have hung out while filming “Indochine’, although only part of the film was filmed in Hanoi but these were the local haunts.

 Left over from French colonialists were these quaint French colonial buildings now turned into galleries, cafes & quaint boutiques. Quintessential emerald green French shutters & faded mustard yellow buildings all reminiscent of Hanoi’s heritage. Elaborate doorways leading into

the Vietnamese world of handicrafts, embroideries, lacquerwork abound

ofcourse to maneuver oneself amongst Hanoi traffic with all its mopeds is an art for the traveller & far worse than anything elsewhere in Asia  but isnt that part of the thrill ?

You know after a day of walking around the Old Quarter of Hanoi…we’ve only just seen a glimpse…there’s more but those will be another set of postcards …au revoir darlings…

Rites of Spring, Earth Celebration in New York

Darlings,  The month of May not only starts with May Day but all over the World, people are celebrating something or other to herald the arrival of Spring. In Asia this week, its Family Week & in New York, its the rites of Spring festivities in the East Village section of town. The pageantry starts with elaborate fairy tale like costumes donned with paper mache figures worthy of viewing in a Soho art gallery

Under the guidance of a Shaman Woman, the pageantry makes visitations to each NYC Community Garden with bessings to follow

 The ever so watchful Sun Goddess towering above

And what garden would be complete without a She Devil to becon those weeds

And lets not forget the Moon Goddess

Magical Floral beings to rival annuals & perennials

No matter which way you look

All this created my hand…even our feathered friends were not forgotten

 even the newest wee garden additions insisted on joining in

the pagentry ended with a show of color, a folkloric tale in itself

until this time next year when new invitations would be handed out for another Spring Season to mark a new beginning

And so I wish you all a wonderful Spring, happy gardening & I’m planning our next flight of fancy…so until the next set of postcards…au revoir