Hanoi's Alleys

The last stop on the Viet Nam tour was the northern city of Hanoi. Hold-overs from its' early history are the alleys - small backstreets where the local vendors are gathered, based on their specialty, like rug alley, vegetable alley, or furniture alley. The streets have since been given modern names, but the locals continue to call them by their specialties.
Wedding doweries from the bride's family to the groom's family are often red colored symbolic gifts like those at this shop.