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"A woman without an áo dài was like a cat withou

"A woman without an áo dài was like a cat without a tail."
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The áo dài (pronounced like "ow yai") is the national dress of Vietnam and one of the iconic symbols of the country. It's a long tunic-like dress split on both sides. Both sexes can wear it but it's more common for women and is typically fitted at the top (for women) and worn with loose pants. Literally translated áo means "shirt" and dài means "long" but a direct translation doesn't convey the real meaning of the áo dài, therefore it can't be translated.
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The áo dài used to be worn by most Vietnamese women in everyday life and as one older gentleman explained to us "A woman without an áo dài was like a cat without a tail". Now it is typically reserved for special occasions, uniforms, and photoshoots. If you've ever flown on Vietnam Airlines the women are wearing it. In Vietnam, it is commonly worn by women in the service industry as it is a beautiful representation of Vietnam and Vietnamese culture.
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"Nowadays, fashion designers have been designing áo dài with different styles and a variety of colors, but I still like the White áo dài most. I wore it every Monday for the three years I was in high school. In Vietnam, every high school girl always wears áo dài as a reminder of our tradition. The white color of the dress represents purity and beauty."
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Trinh Nguyễn
Hoi An, Vietnam

<img src="https://360nomad.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png" alt=""A woman without an áo dài was like a cat without a tail." . The áo dài (pronounced like "ow yai") is the national dress of Vietnam and one of the iconic symbols of the country. It's a long tunic-like dress split on both sides. Both sexes can wear it but it's more common for women and is typically fitted at the top (for women) and worn with loose pants. Literally translated áo means "shirt" and dài means "long" but a direct translation doesn't convey the real meaning of the áo dài, therefore it can't be translated. . The áo dài used to be worn by most Vietnamese women in everyday life and as one older gentleman explained to us "A woman without an áo dài was like a cat without a tail". Now it is typically reserved for special occasions, uniforms, and photoshoots. If you've ever flown on Vietnam Airlines the women are wearing it. In Vietnam, it is commonly worn by women in the service industry as it is a beautiful representation of Vietnam and Vietnamese culture. . "Nowadays, fashion designers have been designing áo dài with different styles and a variety of colors, but I still like the White áo dài most. I wore it every Monday for the three years I was in high school. In Vietnam, every high school girl always wears áo dài as a reminder of our tradition. The white color of the dress represents purity and beauty." . Trinh Nguyễn Hoi An, Vietnam">

"Giving me this picture is more meaningful than gi

"Giving me this picture is more meaningful than giving me money. It is so beautiful!"
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Huệ, 68
Hoi An, Vietnam
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Swipe to see another photo and short video!
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One morning Trinh and I stood on the street corner in Hoi An, photographing people as they went about their lives. I was done shooting and we planned to leave but I figured, why not stay another 10 minutes. That's when we saw Huệ zoom by on the back of a motorcycle. She smiled at Trinh and in a blink, she was gone.
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I loved the moment captured. I loved the way she sat, her cheerful demeanor, the color of her clothes, and how they matched the background. The way the morning sun cast shadows on the wall. I wondered about her and wanted to learn about her life and give her a photo. The problem was, we had no idea who she was or where she was going.
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So we printed the photo and after searching a few times we found her. Pictured here are those moments. She was so happy to receive her photo and showed it to everyone walking by, smiling and laughing.
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As a kid, I was a photographer. I took photos of my friends. I shared the photos with my friends. It was meaningful, personal and I always looked forward to picking up the photos from the developer.
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As an adult, street photography didn't interest me much. I felt it was invasive and even when it wasn't, I just didn't have much feeling for it. Perhaps it was too impersonal.
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Vietnam kindled my interest in street photography. I was curious about all of the people around me. I wondered about their stories. Printing photos, finding people, and learning about their lives made it more worthwhile and meaningful to me.

<img src="https://360nomad.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png" alt=""Giving me this picture is more meaningful than giving me money. It is so beautiful!" . Huệ, 68 Hoi An, Vietnam . Swipe to see another photo and short video! . One morning Trinh and I stood on the street corner in Hoi An, photographing people as they went about their lives. I was done shooting and we planned to leave but I figured, why not stay another 10 minutes. That's when we saw Huệ zoom by on the back of a motorcycle. She smiled at Trinh and in a blink, she was gone. . I loved the moment captured. I loved the way she sat, her cheerful demeanor, the color of her clothes, and how they matched the background. The way the morning sun cast shadows on the wall. I wondered about her and wanted to learn about her life and give her a photo. The problem was, we had no idea who she was or where she was going. . So we printed the photo and after searching a few times we found her. Pictured here are those moments. She was so happy to receive her photo and showed it to everyone walking by, smiling and laughing. . . As a kid, I was a photographer. I took photos of my friends. I shared the photos with my friends. It was meaningful, personal and I always looked forward to picking up the photos from the developer. . As an adult, street photography didn't interest me much. I felt it was invasive and even when it wasn't, I just didn't have much feeling for it. Perhaps it was too impersonal. . Vietnam kindled my interest in street photography. I was curious about all of the people around me. I wondered about their stories. Printing photos, finding people, and learning about their lives made it more worthwhile and meaningful to me.">

Ride to work. After taking this photo we printed i

Ride to work. After taking this photo we printed it and found the woman in Hoi An to learn her story.
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"This is me. I was on my way to work. This is my grab bike driver. He takes me to work in the morning and back at noon every day."
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Huệ is 68 years old and while it isn't uncommon for a Vietnamese woman to be working at this age, she never had kids and so looks after herself.
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"I cannot retire yet. I do not have kids. I live alone. If I work, I can earn money to buy food."
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Huệ works at a small street food stall in an alley of Hoi An, selling Cao lầu, Bún bò Huế and other noodle dishes. As we talked to her the owner of the stall (her boss who is younger than her) told us: "Every day, she always comes here even it is rainy or sunny. She has been working here for 4 or 5 years. She is very sweet. We are like mom and daughter."
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Huệ loved her photo and kept showing it off to every one that passed. Beaming, she said "Giving me this picture is more meaningful than giving me money. It is so beautiful!"
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Huệ, 68 years old
Hoi An, Vietnam
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This photo is part of “Colors of Hoi An” - a photography project to highlight the bold colors of Hoi An, Vietnam, juxtaposed with the daily life of the locals. More stories and prints are available at 360nomad.org

<img src="https://360nomad.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png" alt="Ride to work. After taking this photo we printed it and found the woman in Hoi An to learn her story. . "This is me. I was on my way to work. This is my grab bike driver. He takes me to work in the morning and back at noon every day." . Huệ is 68 years old and while it isn't uncommon for a Vietnamese woman to be working at this age, she never had kids and so looks after herself. . "I cannot retire yet. I do not have kids. I live alone. If I work, I can earn money to buy food." . Huệ works at a small street food stall in an alley of Hoi An, selling Cao lầu, Bún bò Huế and other noodle dishes. As we talked to her the owner of the stall (her boss who is younger than her) told us: "Every day, she always comes here even it is rainy or sunny. She has been working here for 4 or 5 years. She is very sweet. We are like mom and daughter." . Huệ loved her photo and kept showing it off to every one that passed. Beaming, she said "Giving me this picture is more meaningful than giving me money. It is so beautiful!" . Huệ, 68 years old Hoi An, Vietnam . This photo is part of “Colors of Hoi An” - a photography project to highlight the bold colors of Hoi An, Vietnam, juxtaposed with the daily life of the locals. More stories and prints are available at 360nomad.org">

"I am a shaman doing ritual worship of the land go

"I am a shaman doing ritual worship of the land god, river god, house god, and door god. The ritual is to pray for health, luck, and peace. Whenever people need it, I will do the ritual worship for them."
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"I also see where a good location is to bury the dead, when is a good day to hold a wedding, or read people’s age (Shamanistic recommendations based on the person's age). I have been doing this for 12 years."
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"Cham people always live near rivers or water sources because water is strong. Water is stronger than wind. Wind is weaker than water. Water is so strong that nothing can beat it."
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"It was amazing in the past because we could use curses and magic to fight against enemies. For example, we could make the wood hit the enemies and make bees attack them. Now, all the curses and magics are almost gone. I don’t know how to cast them."
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While 83 years old, Bẻo is quite strong. When we met him we were at his house when he pulled up on a motorcycle with his friend on the back, dressed just like he is here.
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Bẻo, 83 years old
Chăm Ethnic Group
(Balamon Cham)
Ninh Thuan, Vietnam
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I've always had an interest in the other side. I'm not sure if it was my upbringing in the cult-like Church of Scientology, promising godlike powers and teaching of past lives, spirits and promising a look behind the curtain. Yet when I finally left in my early 20s and discovered most of it was little more than vaporware, I became a bit of a skeptic.
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Despite this, I still have an interest in the mysterious beyond the scope of modern science. Those mysterious things that we can't yet explain. Perhaps this is why I'm fascinated with the Shamans of Vietnam.

<img src="https://360nomad.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png" alt=""I am a shaman doing ritual worship of the land god, river god, house god, and door god. The ritual is to pray for health, luck, and peace. Whenever people need it, I will do the ritual worship for them." . "I also see where a good location is to bury the dead, when is a good day to hold a wedding, or read people’s age (Shamanistic recommendations based on the person's age). I have been doing this for 12 years." . "Cham people always live near rivers or water sources because water is strong. Water is stronger than wind. Wind is weaker than water. Water is so strong that nothing can beat it." . "It was amazing in the past because we could use curses and magic to fight against enemies. For example, we could make the wood hit the enemies and make bees attack them. Now, all the curses and magics are almost gone. I don’t know how to cast them." . While 83 years old, Bẻo is quite strong. When we met him we were at his house when he pulled up on a motorcycle with his friend on the back, dressed just like he is here. . . Bẻo, 83 years old Chăm Ethnic Group (Balamon Cham) Ninh Thuan, Vietnam . . I've always had an interest in the other side. I'm not sure if it was my upbringing in the cult-like Church of Scientology, promising godlike powers and teaching of past lives, spirits and promising a look behind the curtain. Yet when I finally left in my early 20s and discovered most of it was little more than vaporware, I became a bit of a skeptic. . Despite this, I still have an interest in the mysterious beyond the scope of modern science. Those mysterious things that we can't yet explain. Perhaps this is why I'm fascinated with the Shamans of Vietnam.">

"I met my wife when we were young because we lived

"I met my wife when we were young because we lived in the same village. I 'paid attention' to her first. She was kind and talented. She weaved well. She was the only daughter in a family of 6 siblings."
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"We started dating when I was 21. I had 'paid attention' to her for a long time."
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"At that time, there was no TV at home, so we just watched the TV at the market. But we had to buy tickets. Every night, people went to the market to watch movies, and I invited her to go with me. It was 1,000 dong per ticket." (4 cents USD)
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While 1,000 dong doesn't seem like much Tình had to find a way to work and earn money to take her to watch the TV at the market. "I dug the soil to collect worms and sell them to people raising fish. I earned 200 dong per 1 kg of worms" he says.
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Tình had to dig up 5 kilograms or 11 pounds of worms from the ground in order to take his sweetheart to see a movie.
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"Hong Kong and Indian movies were popular at that time. We just walked to the market together, no hugs, no hand-holding until we got married" Tình says with a giggle.
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"Four or five months later we got married."
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Tình, 50 years old
Khmer Ethnic Group
Mekong Delta, Vietnam

<img src="https://360nomad.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png" alt=""I met my wife when we were young because we lived in the same village. I 'paid attention' to her first. She was kind and talented. She weaved well. She was the only daughter in a family of 6 siblings." . "We started dating when I was 21. I had 'paid attention' to her for a long time." . "At that time, there was no TV at home, so we just watched the TV at the market. But we had to buy tickets. Every night, people went to the market to watch movies, and I invited her to go with me. It was 1,000 dong per ticket." (4 cents USD) . While 1,000 dong doesn't seem like much Tình had to find a way to work and earn money to take her to watch the TV at the market. "I dug the soil to collect worms and sell them to people raising fish. I earned 200 dong per 1 kg of worms" he says. . Tình had to dig up 5 kilograms or 11 pounds of worms from the ground in order to take his sweetheart to see a movie. . "Hong Kong and Indian movies were popular at that time. We just walked to the market together, no hugs, no hand-holding until we got married" Tình says with a giggle. . "Four or five months later we got married." . Tình, 50 years old Khmer Ethnic Group Mekong Delta, Vietnam">

“Show me your favorite toy.” . They pulled out

“Show me your favorite toy.”
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They pulled out this one-armed barbie doll, laughing hysterically.
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I guess in life it’s more about the friends you have than the toys you play with.
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Hue, 10, Phai, 5
Ta Oi Ethnic Group
Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam
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Did you have a favorite toy as a kid? When I was 7 I guess mine would’ve been my Ninja Turtles collection. I even had the sewer. Does anyone remember that? Early 1990’s.

<img src="https://360nomad.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png" alt="“Show me your favorite toy.” . They pulled out this one-armed barbie doll, laughing hysterically. . I guess in life it’s more about the friends you have than the toys you play with. . Hue, 10, Phai, 5 Ta Oi Ethnic Group Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam . Did you have a favorite toy as a kid? When I was 7 I guess mine would’ve been my Ninja Turtles collection. I even had the sewer. Does anyone remember that? Early 1990’s.">

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