Magic in Hanoi

It’s a beautiful night .

It’s been a cold day. Cold because the skies were clear and the usual heat and humidity could escape. There’s a rare sharpness to the air.

I walked the dog down Dang Thai Mai. Out onto the lake road and round by the pagoda. Between there and Xom Chua, I noticed a couple having wedding photos taken.

It reminded me how ridiculous I used to think this was. Wedding photos not taken on your wedding day?

Now it seems magical.

Not a chore but a genuine slice of romance. Young kids who've come from nothing being allowed a little taste of cinematic living. Starring in their own scenes from a South Korean soap opera.

I guess Vietnamese wedding photos are part of the incentive to be married. An indulgence before you move in with in-laws, take on more responsibility and say goodbye to carefree youth.

These two were in black suit and white dress. At the lake edge the clear night meant they were silhouetted against Hanoi’s increasingly impressive skyline. Front lit in a clear white light.

I stopped and watched from a distance. Enjoying their moment.

And then, quite unexpectedly, a catherine wheel lit behind them — spinning a halo of golden sparks around them into the night sky.

In the moments before the fireworks flickered out I felt my eyes water.

I walked home smiling.