As soon as you leave the downtown and you drive around the outskirts of the city, the scenery will be totally different. The people are relaxing outside their houses, shacks or huts.. the kids play under the surveillance of the elders.

Here we are at a local market in Vietnam. Surely a place always very lively and crowded, with vendors sat everywhere along the street, a constant loud noise and a strong scent.

A classic of the local market scene in Vietnam, customers parked on the roadside for shopping sitting on their scooters and bicycles, loaded with shopping bags, in every way possible. It's always impressive seeing this motorbikes fully loaded, driving around the city... sometimes you almost can't even see the drivers.

The family plays a very important role in vietnamese people's life. This is a very remarkable attitude but can have also its downsides. Sometimes happen that the children don't have any chance to take their own choices, their own preferences. Everything is decided by the parents for the simple convenience of the family.

People with traditions sometimes controversial, people ruled by a corrupt and manipulative government (as in 90% of the world actually).. but people with a huge heart and always available to help others.. always willing to give you a smile.

This is a classical sitting position that in Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, China, India, etc.. is very common. Vietnam is not an exception, people are used to work, eat or simply smoke, on that crouching position... which is so hard for westerd people like me.

The key point of the Vietnamese culture is surely the centrality of the family. Family has definitely a crucial role in the life of Vietnamese people, every choice, from the job to the marriage, seems to be taken for the sake of the family.

The Chinese Chess (Xiangqi) is a strategy board game and is in the same family as western (international) chess. Besides China, Xiangqi is a very popular game also in Vietnam. The rules are quite similar to the western version, and the goal is the same: capture the king.

Om in Vietnamese means Hug. The scooter taxis are called "Xe Om" because the customer hugs the driver during the ride.
Here you see a little girl hugging her father on a scooter.