More street scenes

An almost full moon -- it was a like a scene out of the movie The Letter! Except Bette Davis did not have to deal with all the droopy, dangling electrical wires all over the place. (Here they are relatively taut and straight.)


A shrine still smoking in someone's doorway. The shrines to ancestors, or perhaps a god or two, are set up in the middle of the month and the end of the month, on the full and half moon. Last night was the full moon, but sometimes the incense smokes for two days, according to my source. The fragrant smoke cleanses the air, allowing for renewal and better luck next time.


A woman preparing a few bagfuls of che, which should be lighting these girls' faces up with anticipation, but they are unmoved for some reason.


All different types of delectable che ingredients (che being a good synonym for the ability to turn any food into a dessert), from chestnuts and water chestnuts to rice balls filled with mung beans (I think), to rice and beans, everything loaded up with sugar! Good thing the Vietnamese eat so many herbs and drink so much green tea to counteract the possibility of contracting adult-onset diabetes!


Rice probably absorbs extra glucose. (I mean, to be fair, our diet contains oodles more sugar.)

These young boys play Vietnamese music loudly from a pushcart filled with discs in hopes of selling CDs to people who, inspired by hearing the tunes blaring outside their windows, come running out in their nightgowns to snatch up a newly pirated CD for 5,000 dong. The brothers say they're 17 and 18, but they look younger. And they mentioned their parents live in the country, so they're not technically "street kids." They make about 70,000 to 100,000 dong (17,000 dong equals $1) a day. Lena and I bought some hardcore dance numbers.


The banana lady down the alley. Actually, she's not just a banana lady, she's got all sorts of specialties, like little shriveled eggs that look like miniature yellow boats that are really boiled eggs fried with herbs and meat. And she cooks up a good and greasy banh xeo, the Vietnamese crepe, which is made from rice flour, turmeric and coconut milk, and filled with shrimp, fatty pork and bean sprouts before being fried. She also makes fresh spring rolls; a thick banana-and-coconut pancake that fits into your palm and only hints at sweetness; and a roasted banana treat that's wrapped in sticky rice and banana leaves before being set on a portable grill. Often, she's grumpy. But tonight she's in a good mood. By the looks of it, she has very little nibblers left after a successful day of feeding!


The ladies who run this stand -- they cook up fried rice and stir-fried stuff -- have the best display around. Although those leaves could use a bit of refreshing.