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SAPA- northern Viet Nam

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coochiemal

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Dear Forum Members,

I am a little hesitant about posting the below link as I am not sure if the forum members should be subjected to my passion for this country. The people are warm, friendly and extraordinarily inquisitive of our western lifestyle and language, whilst still wishing to retain their heritage. The images are only a very small representation of my favourite region of this esoteric land.

These are only ten of over 10,000 images I have taken and I would appreciate any comments, especiallly concerning the web presentation, as I am considering categorising all areas within Viet Nam.

The link represents an initial storyboard only and does not reflect any sophistication relating to index or homepages. I am aware that the dark blue Exif details are hard to read, and these will be changed.

I am more interested in your impressions of the images and whether they are of interest and of appropriate standard.

Thanks,

Malcolm (coochiemal)

" http://www.savyadata.com.au/Sapa%20Landscapes "
--
Evil Triumphs when Good Men do nothing.
 
.. very warmly remembered by me, I was there in Dec 2000, it was a wonderful experience hiking through the mountains, staying in the people homes in the villages. I didn't see another traveler for 3 or 4 days.

I like your images Michael. especially those that show some depth by having a foreground, middle ground and background. One of THE keys to composition!

When I went I had a decent film SLR but only a cheap Tamron zoom, I got some nice images but only ever scanned one of around Sapa because the image one me a competition. Not technically a great photo but a somewhat atmospheric reminder of the children of the villages.



--
Brett
http://www.pbase.com/shreder



The Journey is the Thing
 
Thanks for looking Brett,

I believe you are a Brisbane boy now after deserting LanceB in NSW. I am at Capalaba, Brisbane.

I agree, about the children and the impressions they leave and one of my themes is going to reflect their beauty, happiness and innocence amongst a lifestyle we, as westerners, would regard as impoverished and yet they flourish amongst.

Regards,
Malcolm (coochiemal)
--
Evil Triumphs when Good Men do nothing.
 
Thanks for your encouragement, I do have many more and I am in the process of categorising and sorting - it takes time. i just wanted to get a feel for everyone's reaction to the quality of these ten images as they are fairly representative of the remainder.

I will include Exif info as the site matures but you can get most of the data below each Photo.

Regards,
Malcolm (coochiemal)
--
Evil Triumphs when Good Men do nothing.
 
Wonderful captures, thanks for sharing.. where exactly were they taken, I am planning my second visit to Vietnam, would love to go to that area. I agree, they are wonderful people, I loved my time there.

Phil
--
Matix - These Photographers are Crazy!!
 
coochiemal said:
Thanks for looking Brett,

I believe you are a Brisbane boy now after deserting LanceB in NSW. I
am at Capalaba, Brisbane.
Click to expand...
haha, yesy Lance reckons I am a desterter! We used to have a lot of great days out taking photos and chewing the fat, so to speak. Photography in my home state of Qld hasn't captured my attention to the same degree I had down south, sadly...
coochiemal said:
I agree, about the children and the impressions they leave and one of
my themes is going to reflect their beauty, happiness and innocence
amongst a lifestyle we, as westerners, would regard as impoverished
and yet they flourish amongst.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I had a number of moving moments with the people.

--
Brett
http://www.pbase.com/shreder



The Journey is the Thing
 
We stayed at the Royal View Hotel, which gave us an entire floor just for the 2 of us - very decadent but also unexpected. To be fair our trip was part of an Australian/Vietnamese Govt cultural exchange so we, obviously, had a benefit from that influence. Their are a number of Mountain View Hotels in Sapa - I can give you the specifics if you wish.

I can also give you the name and Phone No. of a local Sapa Girl who will look after you and act as your guide to local villages and markets. She is fluent in eight (8) languages!!! but also understands Aussie Humour.

Email me using my profile email address.

Malcolm (coochiemal)
--
Evil Triumphs when Good Men do nothing.
 
Brett,

You are right about Brisbane not having the scenic beauty of Sydney ( I am an ex Manly boy). Mind you there are only a handful of places in the world that match Sydney.

We do have the Lamington National Park (Binna Burra, O'Rielly's), Mt. Warning - Lismore, Glasshouse Mountains and environs, Rainbow/Greenmount beach and not the least Mt. Tambourine as fairly close and pristine areas. There is always Moreton Bay and the Islands - we have a holiday compound on Coochiemudlo Island which is the only inhabitable all "sandy" beach island in the bay.

If you wish we could compare notes and maybe even "shoot" together - email me from my profile if you are interested.

I also note that you and I seem to regularly haunt Teds and Rainer's Camera House in Brisbane.

Malcolm (coochiemal)
--
Evil Triumphs when Good Men do nothing.
 
i have also many pictures from Sapa, which was first time ever for me to visit that area. The roads and the scenes are unbelievable. The rice fields was the reason i want to see and i got them on pictures.



man, the kids speak english in Sapa ! :) and there are alot tourists around that village, which i never thought about that before.

for those who had been in Vietnam, http://vietzon.com/galleria/view.php?album=4
good to look back and refesh your memories.

here are "some" other photos from my trip Sweden - SE asia with bus/trains http://vietzon.com/galleria/view.php?album=1

cheers
 
cam oai,

Your are right about the kids and English, but they also speak German, French, Spanish and a few - Russian. I like your photos, it is a vastly underrated part of the world and so close to China.

Are you aware that the native H'mong tribal villagers - basically all the local ethnics -are not allowed to leave Viet Nam and are NEVER granted overseas travel visas or passports.

Sad, because their ability and intelligence would serve Viet Nam greatly in foreign relationships.

Malcolm (coochiemal)
--
Evil Triumphs when Good Men do nothing.
 
local ethnic "h'mong" are special :). and i think if you travel to north of thailand , there are also many other ethnic ppl.

did you know that "sapa people" use a different "dialect" or language, which i had a hard time to understand what they say ( i speak VN )

nice to hear from a guy who likes the people. i like the vietnamese people too, but try to void deal with government :). only problems with those.
 
cam oai,

Yes, you are right about the H'mongs using their own language and it even differs between Black, Red and Green H'mongs. It appears as though they are spread throughout southern asia and have some evolutionary connection to the Cham people.

Governtment throughout the world is, most probably, best avoided but I believe that over the next 10-20 years (much too long but am being realistic) current restrictions and attitudes will change. I hope so!!

--
Evil Triumphs when Good Men do nothing.
 
about 10&20years, at that time, i hope it will change. but from what i see, it's not easy. i am from Vn but live now in Sweden. every time i come back, things haven't change much. corruptions are wide spread, no matters who u are, moneys can make u have the rights even if they are wrong.

been last year in VN, got some prob with local cop, forced me to fill the form which i knew it was wrong, and i didn't do it. now that is common prob, ppl with power do what they want, and the poor ppl have to listen.

enough with politics :) never like it anyway....enjoy the food instead hehe.
 
well, each place has a special food, but watch out, your stomach maybe not able to eat/taste all food

i got few prob on the road but hey, i was hungry :o .

cheers
 
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