Plane

X Play, f2.0, 1/341, ISO 50, JPG

A Day in Hanoi

Hanoi, always great to come back here even if it's for a short stay.

I have friends here but I also like the vibe and energy of the city. It has character and despite being crowded it feels quite laid back at the same time.

It is also very good for photography, despite me usually not doing much photography but mostly taking it easy and enjoying the local coffee and bia hoi.

People always ask me what there is to do in Hanoi but like everywhere in Vietnam, the best thing to do is to sit on the street, have a coffee or bia hoi and watch the world go by.

Tet Road Trip - Hanoi to Sam Son

After taking a bit of time in the morning it was time to leave Hanoi and head back.

This time it was only me for the journey home and without using Google Maps for any further navigation purposes but strictly only for showing the map.

Getting in and out of Hanoi always takes quite a long time, despite the light traffic around Tet it wasn't any faster.

Still, the outskirts of Hanoi are pretty scenic and once you do get out there are some great roads and views to take in.

The plan was to make it all the way to Vinh but it soon became clear that I left too late for this to work so I changed my destination for the night to Sam Son.

Sam Son is much nicer than Cua Lo out of season and it's a good spot to stop for the night. I went to visit the temple and met some of the locals there for a nice chat.

Girl with a Dolphin

TG-4, f31., 1/200, ISO 800, RAW, 46mm

Little Girl in Front of the Door

GR, f8.0, 1/100, ISO 100, RAW

On the Long Bien Bridge

GR, f6.3, 1/320, ISO 200, RAW

Selling Baloons

GR, f6.3, 1/320, ISO 1600, RAW

People in Hanoi

After the Tet celebrations last night most of the streets were quite deserted.

It's a rare but night sight around Hanoi although compared with other cities in Vietnam there is still quite a bit of traffic and people are out and about after midday.

The busiest spot was unsurprisingly at a bia hoi place and given the nice weather it's easy to understand why.

It's been a nice walk around the Hoang Kiem area but even nicer once I sat down at the bia hoi place with all the other locals.

Tet Road Trip - Cua Lo to Hanoi

We had quite a long drive to make it to Hanoi by the evening but we made good progress and thanks to quite empty roads in parts it was easy to drive fast.

A detour however added an extra hour to our journey and Google maps again decided the best way into Hanoi is to go through every single small village and narrow road instead of staying on the main roads.

The detour also meant we couldn't really enjoy the great scenery around Ninh Binh as much as we would have likes as it got late.

Still, we made it to Hanoi by dinner time and after dinner and some beers we were taking it easy and enjoying the new year celebrations here.

New Year is certainly a different celebration here than it is in Europe but it's very interesting.


So let me wish all Vietnamese friends a 'Happy New Year 2017!' or 'Chuc mung nam moi!'.

Hanoi to Tam Dao Roadtrip

Since I've been in Hanoi again and had to wait around for some paperwork, I figured why not try to get out of the city and do a motorbike trip somewhere.

With some friends, I decided on Tam Dao since it isn't too far from Hanoi and it offers nice views.

The weather was very cold and grey but this didn't stop us from setting off after lunch anyway. The first part of the road led us past the airport and through some villages.

Once we started the descent to Tam Dao, we were also greeted by fog that kept getting heavier the closer we got to Tam Dao. The fog made for a nice atmosphere but the views were quite limited and not as exciting as they surely are when its clear.

Late Night Corner

GR, f2.8, 1/125, ISO 12800, RAW

Selfie While Driving

GR, f6.3, 1/320, ISO 3200, RAW

Alley

GR, f2.8, 1/125, ISO 3200, RAW

Hanoi to Ninh Binh

After spending over a week in Hanoi it was time to head out and go for a road trip somewhere.
The plan was to go north to Sapa and Ha Giang but timing and some things with my cafe to sort out meant that I had to head back to Hue earlier.

It was pouring down with rain the whole morning so I almost expected to have to cancel he trip. Lucky it stopped by around lunchtime so despite being a bit late, I decided to head to Ninh Binh and Tam Coc via a scenic route.

The drive was great and indeed very scenic, I enjoyed being on the road and seeing the great landscape and nice small towns pass by as I made my way to Ninh Binh.

It started pouring again halfway through my journey but I didn't let that stop me and with a raincoat on I continued till the rain stopped and I could enjoy the remaining drive to Ninh Binh and then Tam Coc to spend the night (after having some bia hoi).