On the Cruise

So peaceful and quiet. On the cruise - the best thing to do is to sketch. At every turn, the view changed with different sizes and shapes of the islands so as the sky and the waters.

Ha Long Bay

My husband and I spent an extra day after the event ended at Ha Long Bay, a peaceful and quiet beach.

Pedestrianised Dinh Tien Hoang

This is a sketch of Dinh Tien Hoang looking towards the Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square. The entire road was closed for the weekend for a big carnival. In the afternoon it was quiet but it came alive at night with music and dancing! On the left is thê Húc Bridge, painted vermillion red over the famous Hoàn Kiếm Lake.

St Joseph Cathedral in Hanoi

I completed one Molesking concertina sketchbook and this is the first sketch on the second sketchbook on St Joseph Cathedral in Hanoi. It is a very touristy, busy and lively place. The church was built like Notre Dame in Paris as a late 19th-century Gothic Revival church that served as the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi to nearly 4 million Catholics in the country.

Dong Xuan Market in Hanoi

Dong Xuan Market where the locals go and it is also a tourist landmark. Originally built by the French administration in 1889, Đồng Xuân Market has been renovated several times with the latest in 1994 after a fire which almost destroyed the market.

Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square

So I sketched from the top of the building over two or three Vietnamese coffee at the Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square in Hanoi. There were not traffic lights at all at this busy junction. Can you imagine how traffic and pedestrians move? Incredible!

Ancient House

Ancient House at 87 Ma May Street on the right. There were only two such original old buildings left along this street when I sat at Lantern Lounge. Again, they were painted in yellow. This Ancient House is one of the few intact remains of an old-style home open to the public with an entrance fee. Initially the house was built for one family, but from 1954 to 1999 five families lived in the house. Today, except for 81 and 87 Ma May Street, the entire row of similar old shophouses had since been demolished and rebuilt.

First sketch in Hanoi

My husband and I arrived in Hanoi a day earlier to attend the Aisa-Link Sketchwalk 2019 in Hanoi. First impression of Hanoi was the busy streets, motorcycles everywhere, women street vendors selling all kind of fresh produces, electrical posts and overhead cables dangling here and there. The sights and sounds of the Old Quarter were so exciting and overwhelming. I sat at coffee shop at the road junction and sipping my local iced coffee for about 15 minutes before pulling out my sketchbook from the bag. Yellow is the colour of the old buildings in Hanoi and that was the focus for my first sketch. Two ladies in traditional colourful Ao Dai just walked past the junction of Hang Bac and Dinh Liet, how not to capture them in the most graceful gesture?

Asia-Link Sketchwalk 2019

I am back from Hanoi for the Asia-Link Sketchwalk 2019. The event was from 3 to 6 Oct but I was in Hanoi from 1 to 8 Oct. I also went for a 2-day 1-night cruise trip to the beautiful Ha Long Bay after the event. I will be flying to Hong Kong tomorrow to spend the weekend with my son's family in Hong Kong to celebrate Steffi's 6th birthday. I will scan and post my Hanoi sketches when I come back for the new semester starting week 14 Oct.

Poolside Sketch

I sketched Steffi, my younger granddaughter as she posed for me at the poolside. I had to add Nicole, my elder granddaughter next to Steffi later when she was looking for herself in the sketch. My younger son was making the 'V' sign on the yellow float and the princesses were telling stories pointing at the young uncle. So fun.

Total 8 pages Seawhite Concertina Sketchbook. This sketch got the family talking during the vacation, we are making memories together.

Vacation Trip to Vietnam

It's a family vacation in Lang Co, Vietnam. We spent real quality time with my two granddaughters aged 5 and 3 who are staying in Hong Kong. We spent 7 days together from 4 to 11 Aug in Lang Co, Hoi An, Da Nang and Hue. We are building family memories together and some are collected in this long Seawhite Concertina Sketchbook.

at the airport

Going to meet the two princesses for a family holiday in Vietnam, spending quality time with them and may not sketch much. One sketch at the departure hall and splashed some coffee later plus sticking something to remember like Jetstar flight details etc.

Visitors here at PUAL inside the airport lounge are very well groomed with branded handbags for ladies and expensive wrist watches for men.

I may look out of place with my t-shirt and jeans but who cares, I am on vacation.