This is the scene that greeted me from the window of my hotel room in Son La, northwest Vietnam.

Nice, right? But of course, being the incurable foodie that I am, I wasn't at all interested in the mountains - it was what was going on down below that got my attention.

The ladies who were trading at this little roadside market were very amused by my taking photographs of their produce, which included this bizarre looking thing.

What on earth is it?! I showed this photo to a Vietnamese women in a village about 4 hours from where this was taken, and she didn't have a clue. Can anyone help me out with identifying this mystery vegetable? Or, for that matter, this one?

Thanks in advance! But asides from all that was different, there were some familiar foodstuffs too - like the foundations of Southeast Asian cooking, ginger, lemongrass and shallots...

...and these luscious-looking mangos.

And in case you're wondering if being directly above such a busy road kept me awake all night, let me assure you that having lodged next to some super-horny teenagers the night before, I slept like a log.

Corner of To Hieu and the public square,
Son La.