Memoirs of Vietnam

I have been for years living metaphorically "next door" to Vietnam, and not only that, but my wish to visit the country was always there, yet for different reasons I never actually fulfilled that dream and kept delaying a visit to the neighbour country. Not anymore, however, for last Christmas I took the chance and finally booked a flight to Hanoi with my sister for a family/Christmas holiday trip. We would spend 10 days in Northern Vietnam and the plan was to visit a few different places along the way. The first stop was, unsurprisingly, Hanoi. Night had already fallen when we arrived at our hotel, so my first impressions (and images) of the city were nocturnal.

Night lights, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

The pose, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

A game of strength I, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

A game of strenght II, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Night barber, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Raincoats, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Night gathering I, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Night gathering II, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Night gathering III, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

It's revealing how my travel photography has evolved over time, for it used to be much more "tourist-oriented" before but, perhaps due to the increasing time I have put into street photography in the last year, it has become very street in nature. Therefore, there are only 2 pictures that could be properly categorised as touristic in this whole post, and all the others are much more street in spirit. After the first set of images from nocturnal Hanoi, it's time to show some scenes of daylight, diurnal Hanoi.

Fish, rod, tower, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Stooped over, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Disposable I, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Disposable II, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

We then ventured further up North to the mountains and mists of Sapa and, like in the case of Hanoi, our first contact with it was at night in the streets of the small town. Here are some eerie captures of Nocturnal Sapa under the weight of thick mist on Christmas day.

Christmas lights I, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Christmas lights II, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Christmas lights III, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Glow, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Going to church, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Misty plaza I, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Misty plaza II, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Misty plaza III, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Misty plaza IV, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Misty plaza V, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Misty plaza VI, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Misty plaza VII, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Misty plaza VIII, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Misty plaza IX, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Misty plaza X, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Misty plaza XI, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Misty plaza XII, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

The boys, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

But we naturally also had time to do a trekking into the mountains to visit some of the remote villages that populate those steep, foggy valleys and get to know some of its people. The weather rapidly changed between grey and sunny, as clouds were washed away fairly rapidly and this gave us the opportunity to see those mountains in two completely different colours.

Mountain trek, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Mountain fog, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Bamboo arch, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Sapa through the clouds, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

To end our trip, we visited Trang An, a place that is crowded with tourists at some spots but that still retains all its traditional flavours if you stray off the beaten track a bit, and that's what we did, partly willingly, partly because we were unable to read the handmade map that we had been given by our hosts to make our way around town. All in all, it was a great trip, and I hope I don't have to wait so long to visit other areas of the country in the future.

Oarswoman, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Recess, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

look to the left, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Street barber I, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Street barber II, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm