Vietnam 2014

Hi all.

A couple of weeks ago i spent nearly a month in vietnam traveling solo for the first time and really enjoyed.

I took with me my canon 5d3, 16-35L f2.8, 70-200L f2.8, Gizto 2 series tripod and some spare memory cards and batteries.

https://v4s.yimg.com/so/7438/1237750...a81731ed_c.jpg
Untitled by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

All the above gear was stored inside my fstop loka 37L bag plus i bought a smaller bag for extra things:

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Untitled by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

This along with 4 days worth of clothes was all i took with me as i wanted to travel as light as possible.

Before i reached vietnam i did a stop over and stayed in singapore for a whole afternoon/night as my flight got delayed and i missed the flight from singapore to hanoi:

So as a result i went up to the marina bay and took some pics :)

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5500/...167f9038_c.jpg
Singapore stoppover-293.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

https://s3.yimg.com/so/7455/12510825...087c5a2a_c.jpg
Singapore stoppover-30.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

full set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/josh140...h/12510825274/

After finally arriving in Hanoi i went to my hotel. unloaded everything but my camera gear from my backpack and began exploring this wonderful place.

As i took this particular shot:

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Hanoi-78.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

This local Vietnamese student approached me:

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Hanoi-45.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

He and asked if he can hang out and talk to me to practise his English. i agreed and we sat at a bar overlooking the lake and had a few drinks whilst communicating in English.

He is a Liverpool supporter who Loves Steven Gerrard!

After we chatted, We then grabbed Dinner in a street food place 5mins from the lake. It was my first Street food i tasted in Vietnam and i fell right in love with it!

Stunning shots and very jealous of 'Nam. I spend a month there in 2011 while doing my London to KL overland trip and loved the place. One of my fave countries in the world :D

I took a few other pics that afternoon/evening below:

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Hanoi-30.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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Hanoi-103-Edit.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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Hanoi-88.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

Later on that same night i went to a local store to see if Beer really cost as low as 50p and bought a couple and was just walking around hanoi with my camera in hand drinking beer and soaking up the atmosphere and the sheer joy and excitment of being here.

I came across a group of vietnamese guys sitting outside a massage place who invited me to drink some Tea with them. I hanged out with them and instantly got along with them and never felt threatened or scared.

One of the guys even became my personal Tour guide throughout my stay in Hanoi

On my first full day i did not waste a second, i got up, had breakfest early in the morning and met up with my personal tour guide and we explored the city with his motobike

Here are some shots from the temples i visited

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Hanoi-200.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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Hanoi-198.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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Hanoi-473.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

By that same lake i took a shot on number 4, history says that there is a sword buried beneath the water that has not been found.

Apparently these very large turtle creatures use to live in this very same lake protecting the sword:

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Hanoi-206.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

Below are more temple shots:

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Hanoi-424.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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Hanoi-409-Edit.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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Hanoi-433.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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Hanoi-436.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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Hanoi-440.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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Hanoi-471.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

After visiting a few temples my local tour guide and friend took me to a place where they make potteries and plates just outside of hanoi. The advanatages of having a one on one tour guide is that they tend to take you to places that are less touristy and this was one of them as i was clearly the only tourist in this small village:

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Hanoi-325.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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https://v4s.yimg.com/so/7419/1258723...4cc980fa_c.jpg
Hanoi-266.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

i even made one my own but unfortunatly i broke it when i moved from Hanoi to hoi an :(
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Hanoi-292.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

Some of teh tools used to craft it
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Hanoi-259.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr


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Hanoi-307.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr


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Hanoi-309.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

They put it through this large oven to help seal and dry it
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https://v4s.yimg.com/sk/3738/1261075...d4f0448b_c.jpg
Hanoi-318-Edit.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

<reserved 2>

Below are images on adding the final touches:

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Hanoi-335.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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https://v4s.yimg.com/sm/5524/1261583...278bd6fc_c.jpg
Hanoi-339-Edit.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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https://s3.yimg.com/so/7454/12615934...acd3747f_c.jpg
Hanoi-340.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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Hanoi-351.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

Here is the end product:

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https://v4s.yimg.com/sk/3711/1258751...44c29089_c.jpg
Hanoi-226.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr


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https://s2.yimg.com/sm/5471/12616128...f5297912_c.jpg
Hanoi-348.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

As you can see, i did ALOT in just over 24hours of staying in vietnam so you can imagine how much and how amazing this holiday was for me!

Expect this thread to contain easily over 100 pics and thats me culling and being as strict on my choosing too! i took close to 4000 shots! I hope you enjoy and i will update this thread with new pics and stories as i go along. I am still editing them!

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Hanoi-358.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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Hanoi-141-Edit.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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Hanoi-355.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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Hanoi-329.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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Hanoi-128.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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Hanoi-4.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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Hanoi-327.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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Hanoi-106.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr


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Hanoi-7.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

This is pretty much how the locals eat or drink :) No need to go inside some fancy restaurant! While i was there i eat and drink in places like these
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Hanoi-18.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr


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Hanoi-8.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

My hotel was close to this church
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Hanoi-11.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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https://s2.yimg.com/sm/5517/12624017...f949c993_c.jpg
Hanoi-379-Edit.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

Love the look on the face of the cyclist in the last of the Hanoi ones! When are the rest coming?

Next week :) Been quite a mad weekend so i will continue to cull and edit next week.

very nice pics! thanks for sharing :)

your welcome :) more to come during the week!

Glad it all worked out in the end with the weight.

Nice pics BTW.

Have to say that your style has improved immensely over the time you've been posting on HEXUS, I really love the night and street scenes !!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by g8ina

Have to say that your style has improved immensely over the time you've been posting on HEXUS, I really love the night and street scenes !!

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Cheers. I tend to get more motivated when I shoot in new locations. I'll post more during the week. Thanks for viewing this thread

On my last full day in Hanoi i briefly visited a famous busy market called the Dong Xuan Market. i visited it in the perfect time which was just after closing time.

This was the perfect time to visit this place as it was less crowded and i got to take some amazing pictures of the people there packing away their belongings and cleaning up their stalls.

Lots of photo opportunity at this time! My personal driver parked at the front and waited for me. i only wanted to stay briefly inside here but i must have spent an hour or two wondering around taking pictures and chatting to some of the locals there.

Here are some of the images i took of this place.

Packing stuff away as the day is over:
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North Vietnam-129.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr


Do not take your children to this stall!
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North Vietnam-130.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

This friendly chap asked me to take his portrait :)
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North Vietnam-122.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

messy:
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North Vietnam-116.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

View outside:
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North Vietnam-106.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

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North Vietnam-75-Edit.jpg by jonneymendoza, on Flickr