The Lake

It’s good to be home after a while on the road. When I say the lake I mean Hoan Kiem Lake, the centerpiece of central Hanoi. Its shady banks are a meeting place for young teenagers chatting on mobile phones, couples posing for pre-wedding photos alongside aging war veterans playing chess. Furthermore, photo bombing or […]

K.I.A Soldiers

Note: K.I.A stands for Kachin Independence Army As an ‘disputed area’, soldiers are all around Laiza. On patrol. A soldier guard outside a General’s meeting on the second floor of the building while two others guard on the ground under the rain. A group of soldiers reading books at the local library on the first […]

Laiza League

I accidentally stay near the (only) local football field where the Laiza League just started recently. There aren’t so many entertaining activities in Laiza so the Laiza League gets a lot of attractions from local people. Pouring rain makes the field muddy and the ball goes unidirectional but all the players still play freely.

Ancient Town

The 2.25 sq kilometers ancient town of Pingyao, an example of Han nationality, covered by the 10m in height wall was the financial and business center of the Shanxi Province in both Ming and Qing dynasties. Shops open their doors to reveal modern cashier equipment perched on antique tabletops. Bustling about are bicycles, rickshaws and […]