More Hanoi and on to Halong Bay

Motorbikes in front of a small temple near the Temple of Literature. Motorbikes are absolutely everywhere and fill the sidewalks of the narrow streets in the Old Quarter which leaves you no alternative but to walk in the street dodging traffic.
The Old Quarter of Hanoi where I choose to stay is a warren of tiny winding streets, each of which is named for the original craft which was found on that street. The neighborhood is now becoming increasingly upscale with tiny shops replacing the tube houses (narrow and deep to avoid taxes). But you still see lots of people eating their meals on the street in front of their hot crowded houses. One famous section of the Quarter houses workers making tombstones.
A first stop for me of course is a dealer who I work with to purchase the gorgeous embroideries made in this area. Much of it is piecework and I often buy embroideries which have just come into the shop. The owner packs them up for me with cardboard backing and cellophane wrapping. Unfortunately I have noted many changes in the art over the last 9 years. A decline in quality, a simplifying of designs and an increase in price among others. A typical street scene.

More embroideries. A local school. The students sit on narrow hard benches and work from another higher bench.

On the road to Halong Bay. We made a stop at two schools...one is for the Vietnamese Embroidery which I love. Most of the embroiderers are physically disabled and are being taught this work as a means of livelihood. All the "paintings" in the photo are embroidered.

When I first visited Vietnam in 1999 i bought a huge gorgeous tiger embroidery from one of these schools. It was made by a boy in his late teens and took over a month to embroider.
Another section was a pottery factory. These are always fun to go through but of much less interest in terms of purchasing and trying to get the item home in one piece.

Waiting to be fired in the kiln.