Admire beyond...

Look beyond the scratches, there's beauty within. Always.

This planet is stunning.

The Alps from above. Journey: London-England to Bari-Italy (17th November 2012), and that hint of orange suggests it's on trusty Easyjet.

November caned

A week or so later - these frequented trees are looking a little sparse and have now become naked. I'm glad to have caught them in all their autumn glory.

With the winds hitting hard, we've moved onto the next stage of the cycle...I feel a chilly winter coming on.

Nude season has begun.



Can't wait to meet the new batch,
Ciao ciao m'precious leaves x

November Vain

Time out, please! Bless their little hemp aprons and wot-not, but we need a break from you wondrous tribes.
On a seasonal & more present note...



A U T U M N

The warmth I love, but this season (ceteris paribus..)
I adore. Immensely.

Autumn is b l i s s.

Those brisk chilly days where the season is enthralled by a massive blue sky and an intuitive obliterating sun - especially.

Priceless colours swarming; ambient, warm and charming - withering or muddled on the grounds from shade to shade. Glare. Even terrible and scratched lensed camera phones are able to capture the English autumnal flare.

On a frequent route of mine, I watch these specific trees change. Admiring nature in its element. Change. Its absolute f i n e s t. Change. Here be my (unprofessional) captures on that frequent route during that luscious smelling autumn euphoria.


Every right to be... November Vain.

Flower Hmong II - defined versions (they got the blues)

.Flower . flora. fleur. fiore. flor. blume. bloem. hoa. 花. ดอกไม้. फूल. زهرة.


Right! In a previous post I talked of the Flower Hmong - the colourful type typically found in Bac Ha area of the Lao Cai province. They were indeed a colourful, albeit - multicoloured bunch.



.Defining. Types.
Of each group, there will be a sub-group within a sub-group. So we have the Hmong which consist of the Flower Hmong...but then there are variations of these Flower Hmong - and I have probably not seen a fraction of them. Wow.

Here, in these locations headed below, these types of Flower Hmong were found...


>Muong Hum
Muong Hum market once again, these blue ladies were fetching in their sky blue, white and green colours, combined together with silver coins and green beading. Again, they have the very asian style of a wrap over asymmetric top, sometimes arm bands and headscarves, cropped bags, aprons and infamous eye-catching puffy crinkly skirts!

The men of this hill tribe also seem to wear the trendy slick styles too. Cropped top/jackets are definitely way to go, together with high waisted flared trousers. Sleeves, borders and hems of clothing (top half especially)are embellished with decorative features.






>On the road + SaPa
Found these treasures on a weekend day in SaPa and whilst on the road (on motorbike) in the Lao Cai province. I didn't stop to capture them for the latter, though in SaPa, eye-spied their pretty hairstyles from afar in the main square. They had travelled into SaPa to sell their old clothes and textiles; fairly similar to a jumble sale! It's clear that their outfit colours are similar to the other Muong Hum Flower Hmong (blending in with nature colours) - with a differing head dress/style...interesting. It's an art.

What a technique! Buns, ribbons, silver clips, silver comb = a Star Wars style. How did they think of such a style? Adaptions from nature/flora and fauna, perhaps?





Beauties of the nature,
Wowzers x

Red Dao II - the Muong Hum version

Neverending hill tribes!


It's amazing how many subgroups there are and I'll continue ploughing this blog with innumerable tribes I had witnessed on the Vietnamese getaway. These people wanted to be differentiated I am imagining - as aesthetic as it can be. They signify elements of their groups as well as the surroundings around them. Their costumes: represent, differentiate, are an armour, a status, a being, a belonging. They have foraged and used what is/was around them to develop their textiles. Evolved. However, sadly, as with most textiles in this day and age, chemical dyes and synthetic materials are becoming more & more popular with these hill tribal groups.



.Back in Muong Hum

On that end of April 2012 Sunday, on that same trip to Muong Hum Market (See previous post ), along with the Ha Nhi people, I witnessed another pleasing sight: White with floral red beauty. Very pure, without even trying too hard.

Focusing again on the ladies (they always steal the show, bless), these pure beauties seemed very similar to a tribe I'd taken note of in Sapa...the Red Dao. And, indeed, they are the Red Dao - but of a different subgroup.





.The Red Dao (this time: with floral reds and whites)


>You stand out:
-White embroidery (handcrafted)
-Red floral headscarves
-Indigo Hemp
-Silver coins and charms
-Red bobbles
-Single breasted V-Neck jackets
-Cropped trousers with embroidery
-White embroidered apron
-White embroidered waistbelt
-Your subtle, yet eye-catching elements. Smooooth.



>Visualise this:
Through a slow & bad camera lens and an intermittent shaky grip...









Adorable and pleasant,
Smile (with them!) x