A festive crowd turned out for the Hanoi International Womens Club’s annual Charity Bazaar - the capital’s biggest ‘expat event’ - on 28 September.

Hundreds of expats and Vietnamese were queued at the gate near the National Stadium minutes before it opened to visitors at 10 am.

At the Chinese community booth, New Year decorations; at the Russia booth, a photo op.

Sales were good at the joint British-Irish booth. All the profits from the fair go to support Vietnamese charitable organizations.

A member of Dance4Life, an AIDS prevention group, offers greeting cards, while a little girl gets her face painted in rainbow colors.

The photographer bought a delicious dish of Koushari — lentils, chick peas, macaroni, and rice in a tomato sauce – from this smiling Egyptian lady.

Many stalls offered grilled meats. Santa was collecting contributions to Caritas assistance projects.

By the Australian booth, you could have your photo taken as a kangaroo.

The sun was hot at midday, and just a few trees offered a shady place to eat.

Flags sold well at the Danish booth.

A Thai woman painted exquisite umbrellas.

David Brown