Day 116 - People Working in Hanoi

Another day spent doing some preparations for my further travels but also got to walk in some less tourist areas of Hanoi so it was interesting.

Hopefully tomorrow will be the last day I need to find what I am looking for and get my birthday present.
From then the focus will be back to photography and to the series I want to get done from Hanoi.

Day 115 - More from Hanoi

The past days have been very light on photography and more heavy on chilling out and sorting some things for my further journey out.

Today, was no different but I am getting closer to having everything sorted and ready. Once this is done there will be more photos coming and also some themed series from Hanoi  have in mind.

On another note, my interview on ePHOTOzine has been published and you can read it here.

Day 114 - Evening in Hanoi

Partying till late at night or early morning meant I had a late start to the day and took easy. I did however go out and looked at options of how to continue my journey around Vietnam and into Laos.

The decision fell on the mode of transport most used in this country so after having a look at a few models I know what I am looking for so will probably have an update on  the coming days.

Day 113 - Just Chilling

Just a quiet day of taking it easy and chilling in Hanoi without doing much photography.

The evening and night were spent out partying so this was nice.

Although I don't usually update my blog on my birthday, I thought it was important this time to keep the continuity going.

Day 112 - Views in Hanoi

After chilling in the morning I set out for a walk without any particular destination in mind. I just wanted to enjoy the city and also try to take some slightly different pictures of it.

I ended up walking to the B52 lake and then around the Ngoc Ha area with it's narrow streets and passages.

It was fun to wander and get lost in the area and I ended up taking more pictures of the buildings than people.

After a brief walk through the botanical gardens, I got to the West Lake and wandered around there for a bit.

Will have to see about the theme for my Hanoi photo project in the coming days.

Day 111 - Back Again to Hanoi

Arrived back in Hanoi early morning after a nice train journey, despite the hard sleepers actually being very hard to sleep on. The journey was made very pleasant thanks to the people I met on the train. It's always great to meet new people during my travels. Especially in Vietnam it's easy to strike a conversation with the locals even if they don't always speak English or I speakVietnamese.

Being back in Hanoi is very nice, I like the atmosphere and energy of the city as well as the chaos and madness at times.

Being back in Hanoi means that I can just relax and take it easy, wander around and take in the city. This is why the series is  bit shorter today.

It's nice to be back here again, this time I will stay for a longer time to enjoy and take in the city properly. Will look for a photography project in the coming days to keep me focused on something rather than just wandering the streets taking pictures.

So if there is something you would like to see me do s a project in Hanoi leave a comment, this will also get everyone reading and following this more involved.

Day 110 - Colours of Bac Ha

Got up early after almost changing my mind about going to Bac Ha market so the morning was a bit rushed.

Bac Ha is about 2.5h from Sapa and one of the highlights in the area. It is oneof the biggest markets here and one where you (or more likely the locals) go to buy and trade everything fromclothes to fruit to water buffaloes and other things.

The market is a explosion of colour with the different dresses of the various tribes, the fruits and vegetables and crafts.

Being one of the major attractions there are a lot of tourists around as one would expect and at times you see more tourists than locals in some places.
Still, it does not detract from the market too much. It was also funny go see everyone sporting a massive telephoto lens on their cameras and me not only not being happy with 28mm but putting on the 21mm adapter to get closer on the action but also to get a different perspective than anyone else.

I took a lot of pictures on the market and almost managed to fill up my card with them, this made choosing only 15 for this post quite difficult.

While wandering around the market, I got invited to share some rice wine and food with some locals so this was great fun. People in Vietnam are fantastic and very welcoming so if you're open you will always meet locals and get rice wine to drink (lots of it if you're not careful).

After the market the bus stopped off at a Hmong village nearby, then in Lao Cai at the Chinese border crossing and finally at the train station.

While trying to buy a ticket, I found most trains were full. I managed to get a slightly overpriced ticket from a guy re-selling tickets to people like me who did not pre-book their tickets and wanted something last minute.

This means I will get to Hanoi in the morning for a few days or weeks.