Hanoi, Vietnam

benji77

benji77

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Hi all

Sharing a few images from my recent trip to Hanoi, Vietnam (20 - 27 Oct). The weather now is warm (24-31'C), but dry and with some breeze. The Vietnamese claim its the best time of the year to visit, and I just happen to be lucky 🙂

All done on film, with the Summaron 2.8 / Zeiss 25/2.8 and the Fuji GF670. Mainly Acros, Legacy 100 & some TriX (pushed to 6400). All via DDX.

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nice pic! as a Vietnamese , I can tell you your pics are not look like from foreigner tourist 🙂 maybe you are Vietnamese too and understand the hidden charm of the street?
 
Hi Huyvuvn

🙂 I am a true blue tourist who spent 7 days in your lovely country. This was my second trip to Hanoi, and 4th trip to Vietnam over the past 5-7 years.

The energy of the country is amazing, where I witness the characteristics of Vietnamese in many aspects. Their 'never say die' attitude is evident in many things that they do, especially true for their skills in handicraft, machinery and agriculture.

All Vietnamese should be proud of what they do, and what they have achieved, where they have much, much more to look forward to.

Side street, where you mingle with the locals, sip on fantastic Vietnamese coffee (I love their iced milk version). These chairs disappear at closing time (which is very late), and appear later in the morning when the stall reopens. This is one reason why they prefer them short, making them portable and 'easy to hide'.
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Somewhere near the Long Bien Bridge, Old Quarters. Some people would say 'the streets are dirty, they have grim everywhere' blah blah....but if you look deeper, what they have is a resolute drive behind all of them, to endure all these 'hardships'. It is not a hard life to them, it is life. Where people like us, who are used to a 'clean, well organized' life, skeptical to be in their shoes.
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I personally feel the Vietnamese have excellent street food. From full blown meals to snacks, they have it all. It is fresh, and I do mean like fresh from the land, not days old, imported food from across seas. This was Banh Goi and Banh Tom. A fried dough like snack that became my lunch. I was actually on my way to a 'TripAdvisor' rated cafe, but these street food waylaid me along the way.
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Great photos! Thanks for sharing. I wasn't familiar with banh goi nor banh tom so I looked them up. Banh goi seems similar to what Koreans call yaki mandu; mandu fried (as opposed to boiled in a soup or steamed or baked). Banh goi must be delicious, banh tom as well. Funny, my first thought on looking at the photo was goi might be a north Vietnamese word for chicken (the south Vietnamese word is 'ga' and I thought there was chicken in the stand). I correctly figured the banh as a type of bread or batter, and tom as shrimp. Funny how you remember some words and not others.

Back when, I never got sick from eating off the economy as we called it, for the reasons you mentioned. No refrigeration means things can't be kept for days or weeks before trying to eat it. It's always fresher that way too.

Looking forward to more of your photos.
 
Many times we forget how fortunate we are to be able to sip a coffee/tea and read our daily papers at the comfort of our living room or balcony.

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A craftsman cutting aluminum/stainless steel sheets after measuring them with a Right Angle plus simple metal ruler. How he gets the lines straight and remembers the design as well as measurements really puts me in awe.
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Though they cannot speak much English (most of them cannot), sometimes a wave or smile can give an indication of 'yes you may photograph me' please.
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Then there are some who are shy, or afraid. I heard there was a myth about how some races do not like their photograph taken for fear of their 'spirits' being taken away. It must be quite frightening to have that thought in your head, dont you think?
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Thank you everyone for the kind words.

Tonkatsu-Dog said:
Great stuff - thanks for sharing.

Have you been to Saigon also? I hear it is very different from Hanoi. I've been there but never to Hanoi so I can't compare.
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Yes I have been to Saigon too, and though the bustle in the street is with the same energy, the people tend to be more 'upfront' or some would say 'more aggressive' in their manners.

I personally find the Saigon more commercialized, where cafes and coffee joints seem more accessible than Hanoi.

I have been to a few cities in Vietnam, and I find them all very photogenic. Its time to save up $$ and experience more of this very fascinating country.

oftheherd said:
Great photos! Thanks for sharing. I wasn't familiar with banh goi nor banh tom so I looked them up. Banh goi seems similar to what Koreans call yaki mandu; mandu fried (as opposed to boiled in a soup or steamed or baked). Banh goi must be delicious, banh tom as well. Funny, my first thought on looking at the photo was goi might be a north Vietnamese word for chicken (the south Vietnamese word is 'ga' and I thought there was chicken in the stand). I correctly figured the banh as a type of bread or batter, and tom as shrimp. Funny how you remember some words and not others.

Back when, I never got sick from eating off the economy as we called it, for the reasons you mentioned. No refrigeration means things can't be kept for days or weeks before trying to eat it. It's always fresher that way too.

Looking forward to more of your photos.
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Yes, it is amazing how we can remember only certain words! I can always remember what 'Ga' is, but never for the beef!

This 'Banh' snack was so good I had to ask the daughter to write down what it was for me. Its really nice to see how certain food/snacks are associated with a country, and how they actually prepare it differently. The ingredients could be similar, but the preparation work could be different, bringing forth a totally different product.

I admire the work they do, and how passionate they are in preparing 'street food'. In my country, if we prepared this in a cafe, it would easily cost us US$3/piece. However, without the passion, it would not taste as good.
 
I have been going to Vietnam regularly for over 15 years on business travel. Saigon is pretty well developed now with lots of glass and metal buildings. Even Cholon where I prefer to shoot is pretty "clean". There used to be a river running through the city with people living in shanties on the banks, abandoned derelict vessels, black water from the rubbish, deal animals. But the government transformed it into one long park and now neighborhoods sprout along side. It is quite amazing how this city has changed in 10 years. I make it a point to visit Hoi An once a year with 4x5 gear and a Rolleiflex.
 
Great stuff! I especially congratulate on the fact that none of the photos include women with traditional hats.

Namely, it is a formidable challenge when photographing in Vietnam to avoid the "women with hats" cliché.
 
kymar said:
Beautiful photos. I'm heading to Saigon and Hue early next year and definitely plan on shooting some (b+w) film while the wife takes care of the digital side of things.
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I wanted to visit Hue during this trip, but did not have sufficient time. Besides I also heard that they usually have floods during this period.

jukka said:
Great stuff! I especially congratulate on the fact that none of the photos include women with traditional hats.

Namely, it is a formidable challenge when photographing in Vietnam to avoid the "women with hats" cliché.
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Haha! That is quite true. The hats are perfect for sun protection, and it really shields their face so you basically dont get their faces in the photos at all.

I shot about 351 B&W images on film, where I only managed to 'pass' 36. These make up the 36....


Sunset, Ba Be National Park about 1645hr. Lovely, lovely place. Surrounded by three lakes (thats what Ba Be means) (pronounced as Baaa Bayyy), the lakes are pristine and really nice to swim in.
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Homestay, Ba Be National Park, overlooking the valley in the image above. Food though simple, warms your heart. Hot shower, comfortable room with clean beds. This is their 'garage' where they park their motorbikes, bicycles and dry their clothes.
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These are our transportation around the park, navigating through the lakes they fish in for their survival either for food on the table, or their livelihoods.
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A beautiful series of photos. The street life and ordinary are most of interest. The debate of mono vs color continues. These mono shots are great. They are also challenging to those who follow.
 
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