Ha Long Bay (also “Halong Bay”) is in northern Vietnam, 170 km east of Hanoi. The bay is famous for its scenic rock formations.

From Hanoi to Sapa, we reached back Hanoi at 4:30am on a “noisy” overnight train ride (thank God I had my noise cancellation headset and my Ipod on). At 8am, the coach picked us up and we were on our way to Halong Bay. It took us 3.5hrs to reach the jetty. As we were leaving the port/jetty, we were greeted by blue sky and beautiful cloud.

“Ha Long” is literally translated as “Bay of Descending Dragons.” Prior to the 19th century, this name was not recorded in any document or archive. When mentioning the present-day Quang Ninh Sea or Ha Long Bay, old historical books often referred to them by the names of An Bang, Luc Thuy or Van Don. Not until the late 19th century did the name of Ha Long Bay appear on a French Marine Map. The Hai Phong News, a French newspaper of the time, had an article, Dragon appears on Ha Long Bay, reporting the following story: In 1898 a sub-lieutenant named Lagredin, captaining the Avalanse reported seeing a huge sea snake on Ha Long Bay. This was also witnessed by many of the crews. Thus emerged the European image of the Asian dragon. Whether this appearance of a strange animal looking like a dragon resulted the name of Ha Long Bay is not known.

We also visited the Sung Sot Cave (Surprise Grotto is on Bo Hòn Island) which is situated in the centre of the UNESCO-declared World Heritage area. It is one of the finest and widest grottoes of Ha Long Bay.

Ha Long Bay is a beautiful area with 1969 limestone islands jutting imposingly upon the skyline. Unfortunately the place is a tourist trap and the unique panorama is spoilt by a tremendous amount of “junks” which are in fact slimly disguised tourist boats that bear no resemblance to the authentic Chinese sailing vessels of the same name. These diesel-powered floating money-makers careen about the bay with casual indifference to safety as they bump and crunch against each other in a frenzy to drop their fares onto the obligatory island or floating shop before depositing the harried passengers back at Halong Bay dock feeling like they’ve been cheated out of their Dong, even if that isn’t particularly true. The romantic setting is forever spoilt by the cattle-market mentality. Still… nice scenery.

Please visit my earlier blog on my recent Vietnam trip:

• Vietnam (Part 1): Hanoi
• Vietnam (Part 2): Sapa

Sapa is a beautiful, mountainous town in northern Vietnam along the border with China.

We took a train from Hanoi (which ended in Lao Cai) to get to Sapa. it is a 9-hour overnight train journey.

Located in Vietnam’s remote northwest mountains, Sapa is famous for both its fine, rugged scenery and also its rich cultural diversity. Sapa is an incredibly picturesque village that lies in the Hoang Lien Son mountain range near the Chinese border in northwestern Vietnam, known as “the Tonkinese Alps”. Sapa and its surrounding region is host to many hill tribes, as well as rice terraces, lush vegetation, and Fansipan, the highest peak in Vietnam. However, as a result of a recent surge in popularity Sapa has rapidly become a tourist hotspot where money is the new drug of choice. Don’t be put off by the rush, your explorations of the surrounding countryside will be worth the trouble.

In winter, the weather in Sapa often gets cold, wet and foggy (temperatures can drop to nearly freezing). Travellers have rolled into town on a glorious clear day and proceed to spend a week trapped in impenetrable fog. In winter, bring along warm clothes or prepare to be cold and miserable, as many hotels do not have efficient heating in their rooms. It rains very often during the month of August, especially in the mornings.

When we were there, it was raining. On the second day, it rained non-stop and we had limited opportunity to take photos.

Many ethnic minorities, such as the Hmong and the Dao, live in and around Sapa. Many older women in particular make items such as ethnic-style clothes and blankets, to sell to tourists. Striking up a conversation with them can be very rewarding. Sadly, however, doing this in Sapa town itself will sometimes lead to a scrum as a multitude of vendors taste a potential sale.

Children from these ethnic minorities begin to earn a living as soon as they are five years old. They often peddle small metal or silver trinkets, embroidered pillow cases and friendship bands in the main town, and they walk for about 3 hours from their villages to reach. Some of the “richer” ethnic women sometimes take a one-hour motorbike ride back to their villages at the end of the day.

Girls as young as ten years old can get married and often have two children by the time they are 20 years old. This is especially the case for the more beautiful ones. Poverty has led to a majority of girls who leave their villages each day to go to Sapa town and to have only one meal per day.

We were told that some tribes still believe that taking photographs of themselves will allow the camera “snap away” their soul… and we met some of them during our trekking.

(Next, “Vietnam (Part 3): Halong Bay”)

Hanoi (Vietnamese: Hà Nội), the capital of Vietnam, is a fascinating blend of East and West, with Chinese influence from centuries of dominance, and French design from its colonial past. It is largely unspoiled by modern architecture of the 1970s and 80s, and is now going through a modernization that is making it a rising star in Southeast Asia.

I visited this beautiful town last week. It was a short stay (approx10hrs) before I boarded a train to Sapa. We were wandering around the Old Quarter area where all the old shops are located. We walked into those alleys and shared the same lane with the locals who were running their daily routine trying to earn an honest living.

Next to the Old Quarter, it is the Ngoc Son lake. There’s a temple  extends out into the lake, with small but attractive grounds, displays on Vietnamese history and, more memorably, displays on the giant turtles, including a mummified specimen.

After the lake visit, we went to the train station to catch a 9hrs night train to Sapa.

(Stay tuned for “Vietnam Part 2: Sapa’)

Took this in year 2007 in Cameron Highland. The setup was in one of the tea plantation.

I remember it was windy and the weather was just nice. Christabel was wearing a short dress with a drapey clothe attached to it.

She stood on top of the rock and God was kind to us. The breeze just came in gently and went thru the drapery gracefully.

I had a choice to use either the 24-70mm lens to have a tighter frame and focus on Christabel’s lovely face. Or I could use a 12-24mm wide angle lens to have it more dramatic sky and make Christabel as a “compliment” to the scenery. Either way worked fine with me.

But I decided to go for the 12-24mm wide angle coz I really didn’t want to waste the beautiful sky and the fluffy clouds. They made very attractive and appealing backdrop.

View Full Album

Singapore is a city-state in Southeast Asia. Founded as a British trading colony in 1819, since independence it has become one of the world’s most prosperous countries and sports the world’s busiest port. Combining the skyscrapers and subways of a modern, affluent city with a medley of Chinese, Indian and Malay influences and a tropical climate, with tasty food, good shopping and a vibrant nightlife scene, this Garden City makes a great stopover or springboard into the region.

I was there last week for a short trip. I wanted to take the usual Singapore scenery shots like Stamford Raffles Statues, Singapore night scenery, the Melion, Sentosa Island, The Esplanade etc.

But I changed my mind when I reached Singapore.

I observed and I saw the busy lifestyle that every Singaporean is going through everyday, getting in and out of the train, I decided to take some street photographs that reflect a bit of the daily life in Singapore.

Prambanan is a collection of massive Hindu temples (candi) built by the 10th century Mataram Kingdom, rulers of central Java and defeaters of the Sailendra Dynasty. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, in most any other country constructions on the scale of Prambanan would be quickly designated as a national symbol, but in Indonesia they are somewhat overshadowed by the even more awe-inspiring bulk of Borobudur just next door. The two sites are quite different in style though, with Prambanan being a collection of sharp, jaggedly sculpted towers in contrast to the vast horizontal bulk of Borobudur, and both are well worth a visit.

In the wake of the May 2006 Java earthquake, some parts of Prambanan sustained significant damage. The site is open again, but some temples are cordoned off and entry into the temples is not allowed.

View Full Album