Vanishing Asia- The Khau Vai Love Market

Ruou and Hoa, a Hmong couple, both 20 years old from Ha Giang Province traveled an hour by motor bike with their daughter to celebrate their 5th anniversary since meeting at the Khau Vai Love Market.






The mountainous region beyond Meo Vac town, gateway to the Khau Vai love market, is one of the poorest and most remote areas in Vietnam.






Khen flute players perform a traditional flute dance, in which Hmong men must play their instruments without pause, with the best dancer attracting attention from the girls at the market.






Hmong women carry farm tools in the northern Frontier Area which borders China in the Ha Giang Province, about 150km southwest of the Khau Vai Love Market.






A Hmong couple from neighboring districts in Ha Giang Province reconnect at the Khau Vai Love Market after several years apart.






Tourists have left their mark on the authenticty of Khau Vai, where a Nung girl was photographed.






Tourists from Hanoi photograph a billboard at the boundary of Meo Vac city, a city rich in ethnic minority culture, as they make their way to the Khau Vai market. Meo Vac is the gateway to the market area about 20 km. above the city.

High Noon at Sewage Canal

Ha Noi Drainage Company director general Nguyen Le says 450,000-510,000 cubic metre of waste water is presently discharged daily in the city. More than 90 per cent of it is directly poured into the drainage system without being treated.

This includes waste water discharged from industrial zones, hospitals and factories, he says.

Only 5 to 7 per cent of waste water goes through any standard treatment procedures. The city currently has one big waste water treatment factory, North Thang Long-Van Tri, and two small treatment stations, Kim Lien and Truc Bach.

"Water of the city’s drainage rivers and canals is usually black in colour and gives off putrid smells, which affects human health and the environment," he says. -Viet Nam News Service

One More from Bangladesh

Pubro Bhuterdia, Kedarpur, Babugonj, Barisal, Bangladesh-A mother with her child takes wheat at a food distribution center sponsored by Save the Children.

Hanoi Skyline

The view of downtown Hanoi at sunset from our apartment balcony.

Etc.

Barguna, Bangladesh- Three young workers pause from their road building to have a portrait made alongside the portraits of two former prime ministers. They are wearing cardboard crowns that were given out in the town as part of an advertisaing campaign for a national wireless service. (ref. May 23rd entry)





Barishal Dsitrict, Bangladesh- A woman stands at the back of her shelter provided by Save the children after her home was washed away by cyclone Sidr in Nov. 2007. Officials with the NGO have taken note of the higher water line as rising waters in the delta region threaten structures and livelyhood.





Pubro Bhuterdia, Kedarpur, Babugonj, Barisal, Bangladesh-A farmer who has lost the use of his field due to flooding points to a bag of rice he will take away for his family at a food distribution center sponsored by Saudi Arabia.





Dhaka, Bangladesh- A man stands on the city pier directing a ferry landing.





Pubro Bhuterdia, Kedarpur, Babugonj, Barisal, Bangladesh-People wait for the opening of a food distribution center sponsored by Save the Children.





Bangladesh- Village elders discuss the needs surrounding a new girls school in their village.