Asis Photo Trek

During my last two days in Vietnam I decided to stay in Saigon.  The plan being to see what interesting photos I could capture in and around the city versus traveling to a location outside of the city to take photos.

Although I tried to stay away for the tourist spots I did manage to stumble into the Reunification Place and snap a few photos.  Nothing too interesting; however, they do tell a story about the countries history, and I think including a little history lesson on every trip is well worth the effort. 

I also photographed some other interesting pieces of Saigon architecture at night, as they are very impressive with all the lights.

 

Opera House

 

City Hall

As the date for the Lunar New Year approaches (14 Feb) the city gets busier and more decorations get put in place in preparation for the big celebration.  It's too bad that I can not stay for the celebration, as I am sure that it would have been an incredible experience.

 

Lunar New Year Celebration Decorations

Golden Tiger - This is the year of the Tiger

The following series of photos are of the moped and how effectively it is used by the Vietnamese people to transport almost anything.  It really is amazing to see and an great example of the creativity of the people living in Saigon.  Needless to say, you would never see something like this in Canada, as we are way too wrapped up in driving huge SUVs.  I guess it would also be hard to haul a snowmobile on the back of a moped.

 

Moped and picture frame.  Just two ladies out for a day of shopping.  I wonder how many trips it takes to do a full day of shopping?

Moped and balloons.  I am sure they are just for the New Year celebration.  I watched this guy for a bit of time, and for some odd reason he was having a tough time with the wind.  I wonder why?

 

Moped and cooking oil.  I wonder if they are full cans?  Now that would be heavy.

Another picture frame.  I wonder who was the lucky one to carry the glass for that frame?

Moped and empty containers.  Can you imagine if they were full?

Moped and produce.  I am not sure, but I think this is the John Deere of mopeds ;-P

Moped and flowers.  I am sure this guy was just making a delivery.

Moped and ???.  Your guess is as good as mine.  Good use of packing tape though.

Moped and family.  I have seen up to 5 people on a single moped, so this one actually has room for two more people.

Moped and ...................wheel chair.  It took me until they actually passed by for me to figure out what was being carried.  Oddly enough I did not see any handicap parking decal on the moped.

Moped parking.  And this is just s small parking lot.  Mopeds can be found parking in pretty much every corner of the city, and even in the lobby of the hotel.

Moped and empty coke bottles.  I tried to get one of the guy hauling the full bottles; however, I was not quick enough with the camera.  I also tried to capture one of a guy hauling cases of beer.

So this ends my visit to Saigon.  My next blog entry will be from Thailand.  Although there are no stunning landscape, or sunset photos in my first blog postings the photos do hopefully provide some insight into what it is like in Saigon.  I wish that I had more time, as there are lots of other things to see and do in Vietnam, outside of Saigon.

Asia Photo Trek

I have been in Saigon for 4 days now and must say that I think the place is pretty cool....but not literally, as it is sunny and hot every day.  Yes, there are a lot of people, lots of traffic, poverty lurking around every corner; however, the city does have a certain appeal....after you get over some of the visual shock(s).  Anybody that has never experienced this part of the world needs to jump on a plane and see what they have been missing, especially North Americans that just do not appreciate what they have.

On day 4 of my trip I took a hydrofoil ride to the town of Vung Tau.  The trip in the hydrofoil takes 90 minutes and only costs 160 Dong ($8 USD).  The ride in the old Russian hydrofoil is pretty cool, fast and smooth compared to traditional boats.  A definite must if you visit Saigon.

My time in Vung Tau was only 4 hours, which really was not enough to check out all the sites.  However, it did give me the opportunity to check out a few interesting places and warrant me putting this destination on the list of places to come visit for a couple of days in the future.  Vung Tau is known for it's  beaches, which I did not visit as I not a big beach person; however, I do like to see take photographs of  that tell a story.  For example this photo of the fishing boats tell a story of hard working people.

In addition to the beach Vung Tau is known for the large statue of Jesus standing high on a  hill and looking out to sea.  To get to the statue take a short taxi ride from the ferry terminal. The cost for the ferry is very reasonable and a much better option than walking, as it too hot and way to far from town (at least on a hot day).

Unfortunately, upon arriving at the destination you will have to walk up a lot of steps to get close to the statue.  Trust me, the views from the top are worth the hike.  Hikers will also be rewarded with the opportunity to climb more steps inside the statue and out along one of the extended arms (inside) to yet another great view.

Day 5, and a side trip across the river to visit Thu Thiem.  This urban part of Ho Chi Minh has no beaches, fancy museums or large parks.  Words cannot explain the living conditions in Thu Thiem; therefore, I will rely on these photos to try and explain what I experienced after getting off the ferry from Saigon.

Note that Thu Thiem is only a 5 minute ferry ride across the river from Ho Chi Minh city, but the differences between the city and Thu Thiem are huge.

 

I tried to focus on good people of Vietnam and their humble lives rather than emphasize the living/environment within which they are forced to live.  I hope people see the beauty in the photos.  More to be provided in the gallery(s) that I will create and publish at the end of my trip.

Asia Photo Trek

So I have been in Saigon for 3 days now and starting to get pretty comfortable moving around the city.  It has also taken me a little bit of time to get over the "jet lag".

Perhaps the most challenging part of getting around the city is crossing the streets, which I am sure others who have visited other Asian cities will be able to relate to.

From what I can tell the city absolutely loves mopeds, as they are everywhere and used for pretty much everything.  Unlike North America, or many other countries, the traffic does stop long enough to really allow people on foot to cross the street.

So, you have to do like the locals and simply start crossing the street....mopeds and bicycles will just naturally flow around you as long as you do not make any sudden stops or move too quickly.

Cars on the other hand need to be given a little (lot) more respect, as they can hurt when they hit you :-) .

When it comes to transporting goods the mopeds in Saigon are king, closely followed by bicycles.  I have seen mopeds with entire families (5 people) riding on them, mopeds hauling cases of beer, livestock, building materials and way too much weight.  The same thing goes for bicycles...I have seen them hauling some interesting stuff.

For instance in the photo on the left, can you spot the person that is actually riding the bike?  No?  I am not surprised, as all I saw were the balloons.


The many images of mopeds I seen so far have inspired me to create/dedicate photo gallery to the power of modern moped transportation....it should be interesting and available shortly after I return from my trip.

The city of Saigon is a buzz of activity right now, as everybody prepares of the upcoming New Year celebrations.  Everywhere you look there are people putting up decorations, setting up lots of lights and preparing the streets for a very big party.  As each day passes, and 14 Feb (New Years day) draws near, the city gets a little busier.  I cannot imagine what it will be like on the actual New Years day.  I guess I will get a taste of the excitement during my visit to Phuket (13-19 Feb).

As expected, I am plan to get as many photos of the decorations in this city, as well as the other cities I visit in this trip, and include a special subset in a gallery for all to view at the conclusion of my journey.  Hopefully you will return to read this blog and check out the photo galleries that get created.

Day 3 in Saigon and I decided to go on a road trip to Cu Chi, which is basically park/site dedicated to the Vietnamese freedom fighters and their heroes from the Vietnam war.  The historical significance of the site and the amazing story behind the tunnels built/maintained by the freedom fighters was very impressive.  However,
the 90 minute drive from Saigon, and back again, were not so impressive.  Regardless, I believe the experience was worth the trip and something that others should add to the itinerary when visiting Vietnam.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment for me was that Cu Chi did not afford me much opportunity to get a lot of photos that I can include in my gallery of images from the trip.

I am going to wrap up this blog with a few details on the food.  I can say without a doubt the food is some of the best that I have experienced in my many travels.  There are way too many places to eat and, I am guessing that the odds of picking a bad place to eat is pretty low.  To date I have been batting 100% and have enjoyed all the small restaurants that I have walked into.  However, the restaurants that I have come to prefer are all Vietnamese (no surprise).  Halal@saigon for example serves incredible dishes at amazing prices.  The total cost of my meal being under $5.00 Canadian.

I have a few more days in Saigon, and hopefully a few more great restaurant names to share with the readers.

Asia Photo Trek

Day 1 of the photo trek starts in Burnaby, BC with me jumping on the Skytrain and heading to the airport. Unfortunately this is a two part train ride, Skytrain to Waterfront Station and then the new Canada Line out to the airport. Total travel time for the trip was only 1 hr and cost $3.75 (2 zones). Except for the challenges associated with luggage the trip was pretty much uneventful, and the new Canada Line very impressive. Thanks Ron for taking my photo at Waterfront Station.

My arrival at the airport brought the first excitement for the trip. Although I am usually very good with math it would seem telling time is an issue, as I really messed up the time that I needed to be at the airport and instead of being 2 hrs before the flight only arrived 51 minutes before departure. Yikes, I am outside of the 60 minute minimum and was at risk of not being permitted to board. I must have looked desperate, as the Air Canada quickly spoke to her supervisor and obtained approval for me to board......THANK YOU SO MUCH....I wish that I had taken note of your name.

With 46 minutes remaining I did a mad dash to/through security and then right onto the plane. Thankfully there was no line at security.

I am hoping today is not an indication of how things will be for the rest of the trip. As I would prefer my excitement to be about the great sights that I will see versus missing flights, trains, etc.

The first leg of the flight was uneventful, thankfully, and ended with me landing in Shanghai China.  The unfortunate thing about having to make a connection in China, at least for this trip, requires picking up your luggage, clearing customs, checking in at the counter (again), and then going back through customs.  Which probably would not have been that bad had I not been told that my luggage was checked through to my final destination by the Air Canada staff in Vancouver.  So after a little running around I managed to find my luggage, check in, and make it to my gate....only to realize that I had 5 hours to wait.  Thankfully I qualified to use the Star Alliance lounge at the airport, and a fine looking airport it is if I must say so myself.

After a nice rest in Shanghai I boarded the flight for Ho Chi Minh city (only an hour late).  The connecting flight was operated by Shanghai Airlines, and I must say that I was a little concerned with boarding the plane as it was a little rough.  Sorry, no pictures, or should I say that you are welcome.

Although I was about 90 minutes arriving in Ho Chi Minh the hotel driver was still there waiting for me to arrive.  Note that anybody visiting Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City) for the first time should definitely pre-arrange for a taxi to pick then up at the airport, as I cannot imagine driving in the city.

My first day in Ho Chi Minh was spent checking out the city, capturing a few photos of the architecture, enjoying some great Vietnamese coffee and relaxing.  The first photo I captured was of the the city hall (better photo, without me, to be posted as part of the gallery being produced for the trip (at the end).  For now you have to be happy with a few photos that also include me.

In my first day I spotted several opportunities to capture some interesting photos (e.g. lot of mopeds and the things people carry, architecture, people, Chinese New Year celebrations preparations, etc).  Now I just need to get out to capture the images when the light is good (these images will also appear in the gallery that will be produced at the end of my visit.)