Trilingual photo book captures daily life in Hanoi

Hanoi (VNA) - The trilingual photo book entitled “Hanoi, Hanoi” has freshly debuted in the Vietnamese capital city, treating readers to black and white photos of local daily life taken by Minh Pham, a former staff of the United Nations.

The photos were taken entirely with Minh's iPhone in 2016 during his short visits to the city when he was living in Myanmar and the Philippines.

They capture the man’s impression of the people, rhythms of life and unique cultural features of Hanoi. In each photo, the viewers witness his sense of humour reflected through unique perspectives and witty captions.

Each person has their own perspective, the man of Vietnamese origin said. He added his wish to feel Hanoi through the eyes, soul and daily life of the people. He considers it the main reason he focused on the innocence of people and the streets rather than on the symbols of the city.

Explaining the title of the book, “Hanoi, Hanoi”, Minh said the first Hanoi is for what the city looks like through the eyes of a man who has just returned to Vietnam and the second is to remember the life of his parents, who were originally Hanoians.

“I want to share with viewers the reality of everyday life in Hanoi from my perspective. My parents are originally from Hanoi so I also want to revive the nostalgia of the city they had lived in," he said.

The reason the photos are in black and white, the former UN staff said, “Black and white photos, instead of colour, help me and hopefully viewers as well, to feel the soul of the person and the sceneries. At the same time, the beauty that colours represent, no matter how brilliant they are, cannot express these feelings in the same way.”

The book is available in three languages, Vietnamese, English and Italian, with journalist and documentary producer Paola Boncompagni helping the author to select photos and do the Italian translation.

“My original intention was to make a photo book about Vietnam but due to the COVID-19 pandemic in recent years, I couldn't travel anywhere. I hope to have the opportunity to travel from the North to the South soon to capture daily life in Vietnam,” Minh said.

“Hanoi, Hanoi” is the second photo book Minh and Paola Boncompagni have collaborated on. The first book is “Mosaic Myanmar”, published by Casa Editrice Polaris Publishing House in 2019. Minh and his wife lived in Myanmar from 2016 to 2019.

About their collaboration, Boncompagni said she traveled with the couple many times in Europe and Asia, sharing with them feeling and appreciation of different cultures and peoples.

She expressed her hope to visit and live in Vietnam one day.

“Hanoi, Hanoi”, published by the The Gioi (World) Publishing House, went on sale at Chula Fashion House, at 43 Nhat Chieu Street, from June 18, with all proceeds presented to Agent Orange/dioxin victims in Vietnam./.

Minh is the first Vietnamese-American head representative of the United Nations Secretary-General. He used to work in Madagascar, Bhutan, Nepal, Siri Lanka, Madrid, Myanmar, and Laos. Minh is also a political commentator in Southeast Asia, a skilled chef and a traveller. He returned to live in Hanoi a year and a half ago and has since taken more photos of the local life.

Boncompagni is a Swedish-Italian writer, freelance journalist, and documentary producer. Her latest book is a collection of her travels during 20 years working on development projects around the world such as in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Central America.

A number of photos from the book: