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Posted on May 26, 2011
From time to time, I would take a short break from wedding photography and go on a short photography trip to recharge myself. I find it intriguing and somewhat fascinating to venture somewhere outside of Singapore and see for myself how things are and how people live. However, being the spoilt and timid Singaporean that I am, I would probably not be able to plan and go on a solo backpacking trip and rough it out in unknown lands by myself.
So I chose the next best thing and signed up with Singapore Trekker. These guys are specialists in organising photography trips around the Asia region. I went to one of their trips about 2 years back to Siem Reap and it has been positive experience, hence I was waiting for a chance to go for another trip.
This time it will be Hanoi, and it would also be my first time to Vietnam.
With a population of about 6.5 million people, Hanoi is the capital and the second largest city in Vietnam. A quick lookup in Wikipedia tells me that Hanoi has been established 1000 years as at 2010!
This trip was also special because my wife Ivy signed up with me and it was her first such photography trip. Initially, I was wondering if she would be able to withstand the photography intensive nature (compared to shopping intensive which she is more familiar with haha) of this trip but after 2 days, I was relieved and somewhat impressed by her hardiness and dedication to get the shots she want. I also get a feeling that this would not be her last photo trip.
Anyway, allow me to share with you my journey from the trip. For some images, I will try to add a bit of context to it so that it would not just be a picture, but hopefully you can appreciate the story behind it as well.
Hanoi Old Quarter walkabout
The old quarter has historical roots which dates back nearly 1000 years. It is a very lively, dusty, noisy and “happening” area. What is significant about it is that the area is grouped into areas of trade. For instance, you will find metalworks congregated in one area, and then when you walk to next street, shops and shops of toys greets your eyes!
And let me tell you about the horning. Basically every vehicle that moves on the roads horn. And there are MANY vehicles. They horn at anything and at everything. I think over there, the pedestrians got to watch out for the cars and motorbikes, not the other way around. Forget about them giving way to you at zebra crossings. It takes a certain amount of skill in judgement, and sometimes pure guts to cross the street. And yes, they still horn at you!
Some locals do not like their pictures taken. I spotted this lady sitting outside her shop and when she saw me raising my camera, she quickly turned away.
However, others don't seem to mind their pictures being taken. These group of schoolkids ran out and waved at us when they saw us taking pictures of them! Love the red ribbons!
Sapa
Sapa is located about 350km northwest of Hanoi and is close to the chinese border. To get there, we had to take an overnight train to Lao Cai, and then take a nearly 2 hour bus ride to the town of Sapa. It was a slow uphill journey as the mountain town is situated at an altitude of 1600m. Sapa town has a population of about 36,000 is also home to a diversity of ethnic minority groups. Their staple is rice and corn, and due to the mountanous enviornment, most of them work on sloping terraces.
There is also a predominant existence of mist. In fact, there are about 160 days in a year where there is mist, and it was no surprise that we were greeted with thick mist upon our arrival.
The mist was really depressing because you can hardly take any photos as everything was shrouded in a thick grey blanket. Then I saw this lady appearing from the mist like an apparition and walking towards us. I took a few snaps and this was my favourite because her walking posture was nicely formed, and her facial expression was still visible thru the mist. I wonder what was in her mind...
The market in Sapa is really interesting. One can find familiar items such as pork and vegetables, and often not so familiar stuff…
I'm not sure why the locals like to display chickens in the manner above. This seemed to be the standard way of displaying the chickens for sale. It cracks me up.
That is my wife and our friend braving the drizzle en route to our next destination!
Lao Chai village and Cat Cat valley
We spent some time trekking from Sapa town to Lao Chai village and Cat Cat valley in the next few days. On the way, we saw many children such as the boy below with mucus coming out from their noses. It seems that cold and flu is a common ailment among the people due to the malnutirion and climatic conditions.
Life is tough on the little ones, many of them had to baby their younger siblings while their parents work the field all day. These 2 girls were watching their mother working.
I like this picture as it shows that despite the challenging lives they led, they still find joy in life's little moments, and can give such a sweet smile!
I saw these 3 little girls and went to take their picture. One method which seems to work well is to show them the picture review in the camera, which never fails to delight them.
During our trek the Cat Cat valley, it started to mist heavily again. I must admit I was pretty disappointed as we had already lost half a day in photography due to the mist previously. However, the skies cleared abit and even the sun came out eventually and I was able to take the images that you see below. Yay!!
Meet Melvin, our tour leader from SGtrekkers. One thing about Melvin is that he loves to jump, and in all the places that he has been, he had been jumping. So it was no surprising that he jumped (perhaps with extra vigor) at the wonderful sight beneath him when the mist lifted.
Many of the locals at Cat Cat valley who do not work in the fields, turn to making scarves, shawls and other art and craft items and sell them to tourists like us to make a living. This lady was busy knitting a scraf and her little girl was sleeping on the makeshift bed on the right hand side of this picture. I decided to buy a shawl for my wife as I was pretty impressed by her knitting skills. She was happy and despite our gentle protests, even woke up her baby girl to let us take some pictures.
I should have taken this picture with a smaller aperture...
It is not uncommon to find some children without clothes. I think our kids in Singapore live in a totally different world.
This was the last picture taken before we left Cat Cat valley. I can only imagine the magnificance of the area when bathed in golden morning light.
SaPa town at night
I spotted these 2 little girls near our hotel. The hats on their feet suggests they might have been trying to earn some tourist dollars. Poor things, they looked shagged out after a day's work.
Some kids jumping and taking photos in front of the old church in Sapa
Bac Ha Market
We travelled by bus to Bac Ha market on our last day at Sapa. Bac Ha is famous for its sunday market which attracts throngs of villagers from surrounding tribes to trade, mingle and exchange. It lies about 80km away from Sapa and the sights that greeted us along the journey was beautiful as well.
Like a leopard stalking its prey, our tour leader Melvin uses the same technique to stalk his camera subject 
Our senses were literally assualted at the market. The colorful sights, pungent smells and loud trading noises were everywhere. For some, they can add taste to the list if they are daring enough to try the many strange and exotic looking foodstuff openly displayed.
One of my team mates sharing her picture with a local.
Somehow this guy reminds me a bit of Al Pacino... Asian version...
This old lady and her grandchild did not pose for the camera just like that. I took a shot, went up to them and showed them the picture. They giggled and that was when I took this picture. Always works!
I wanted to take a group picture but I guess some were just too shy.
This old lady was with a few of her friends when I walked up to them. I gestured that I would like a picture of them taken, however, they seemed reluctant. I quickly took a snapshot of them together and showed them the preview on my camera. Guess what? Yes, it works and I took this picture shortly after.
Last days in Hanoi
We went back to Hanoi and spent the last full day shooting a model in the morning in the famous Hoen Kiem lake area and roaming the city in the afternoon.
I was told that the model from the last trip won Miss Vietnam eventually. So I am wondering if Ha (the name of our model) will share similar good fortunes. Frankly, I do not think she would have much problems.
Some of my team mates... all recharged and ready to go after some vietnamese coffee!!
Shooting St Joseph's Cathedral
Morning flag raising at Ba Dinh Square
Every morning at 6am, there would be a flag raising ceremony at Ba Dinh Square, the site of Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum. Our last day at Hanoi was spent witnessing this ceremony. We reached the square at 5:30am and it was already relatively bright. I was surprised to see many people already exercising in the square, and the whole place was buzzing with activity.
A jogger glancing at the guards standing at the entrance to the Mausoleum
After a while, I noticed that there were a few people who would walk up and stand in front of the Mausoleum. With heads bowed and observing a moment of silence, they would then walk away. I concluded that Ho Chi Minh must be a figure that still commands great respect from many of the Vietnamese.
As 6am approaches, a group of guards appeared in the square and began to wave the people away. I was hushed away moments after this shot was taken.
Onlookers, mostly locals would then line up some distance behind the flag pole and wait for the flag raising ceremony. They were hushed, as if expecting something to happen.
The flag raising ceremony commenced when a group of guards marched in along the perimeter of the square admist the blaring of a nationlistic sounding tune from the loudpseakers. They congregated in front of the flag post, facing the mausoleum, and the Vietnamese national anthem began. The flag is slowly raised with a guard holding it. At a certain point and with a flourish, the guard throws the tail end of the flag into the air.
The guards marching past the mausoleum after the ceremony, like little white figurines.
Vietnam is a country with such rich cultural diversity and history and there is definitely so much more than what I have tried to capture during this short trip! I enjoyed this trip tremendously not only for the photo opportunities, but also for the group of very fun and very nice team mates that I got to know!
If you have read this post all the way here, thanks for sharing this journey with me!
Posted on May 12, 2011
Which I got to enjoy today. I got myself a watch!
