Hanoi, Vietnam April 2011
Photos taken by me during a nine days stay in Hanoi, April 2011. The locations were the lakes, pagodas, Temple of Literature (the 800 year old university site in Hanoi) and the Fine Arts museum. Also the Maison des Arts temple on the fourth floor, and the Water Puppets. As the traffic in Hanoi is so crowded and dangerous (when crossing a road at a pedestrian crossing you feel like the drivers are using you for target practice, and the horns blare nonstop.) It did not feel safe to ride a bike, so I got around (slowly!) by foot, even that was tricky when crossing the roads through the hectic traffic. I hope you enjoy the music I composed for the photos. I used a Vietnamese traditional instrument, the same as the Gu Zheng from China, as the lead in the ensemble. The Ja[anese koto derives frm the Gu Zheng. I mixed the Gu Zheng sounds with some guitar, bamboo percusion, voice, and some other sounds.