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Friday, July 19, 2019

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Tiny store attached to cafe--Hoa TanTiny store attached to cafe--Hoa Tan (detail)









Hòa Tân, population 2,600. Although they hardly sell anything, they stock joss sticks. You may argue that lots of money would be saved if only Vietnamese cut this out, but every culture requires expenditures for a very long list of apparently unnecessary items.



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1 comment:

Ian Keenan said...

Americanized plastic air fresheners are a major olfactory drop off, more expensive and definitely not "l'ambre, le musc, le benjoin et l'encens, Qui chantent les transports de l'esprit et des sens." (Baudelaire) It must have smelled a lot when pilgrims came to a church or inn, now people have cars, fewer animals, and other labor saving devices. Buddhists seem to think incense cleanses the mind or they wouldn't use it for sitting.