In 2009 I was invited to make a record of the Vietnamese capital to commemorate its millennium anniversary in October 2010. The book Hanoi Calling , published by Magenta Publishing for the Arts, is the result. I tried to avoid the city's better-known landmarks and instead explored the often overlooked features that define daily life for its residents.
Time has flowed hard through Hanoi. Until recently the city's architectural heritage was regarded as an inventory of decaying buildings awaiting a centrally-planned fate. This is changing as the economy liberalizes, the pace of development accelerates, and at the same time an appreciation of the city's heritage evolves. For now Hanoi remains that rare SE Asian city where much of its architectural heritage still lines the workaday world of its narrow streets.
Published by Magenta Publishing for the Arts, 2010
http://www.amazon.com/Hanoi-Calling-Thousand-Years-Girard/dp/1926856015