Last night I realised I was hearing christmas carols playing from houses around the neighbourhood. They were in both English and Vietnamese, but of course the melodies are unmistakeable no matter what language the lyrics. Later in the evening while sitting at a small pavement style seafood place I even noticed the CD vendors are using christmas carols to broadcast their presence at warp 10 through junky speakers mounted on bicycles with cart attached. In yet another sign that christmas is upon us, decorations are going up here and there. I'm very impressed with the effort the people from this small house near ours have put in, this nativity scene is hand crafted from alfoil and to my untrained eye they've done a great job.