A study in greens and yellows, and a sense of misrepresenting the country

I am not sure if I can get away calling these photos "a study," since no painting went on, just walking. I walked by these bright rice paddies Friday on my way to the very peculiar Daklak Rubber Company tree plantation about an hour's bus ride outside of Buôn Ma Thuột, which is a city north of Dalat. (I had the best coffee of my life here! Unbelievable! So strong and delicious! I felt it cure of me some unnamed lurking malaise, at least momentarily.)

I feel a bit guilty because all my photos depict a lovely Vietnam, which exists of course, but the reality is that a lot of the scenery is abject and dismal. I am beginning to feel an obligation to add here on this blog something that more accurately represents what I see walking around or from the window of my bus. Like this photo below, which is not even that bad -- more of a hybrid of less-than-lovely (the garbage-strewn street of a poor village) and arguable beauty (as in the uplifting mountain views)!

I suppose this is true for all places -- the human habitation of the planet is mostly grotty. And the grime, development and debris is only interrupted by a quick glimpse of something more beautiful (unless you have that aesthetic that appreciates the allure of ugliness, which is a lucky gift I think).