A few days ago, I posted a few pics over on the
User Critique board, but thought some readers might be interested in some of the my experiences in SE Asia over the last 5 weeks. This is similar to a reply I wrote to Russ on that board, but have added to it to better describe the trip and my experiences...
SE Asia has not really been on our "bucket list", primarily because my wife and I are definitely not hot, humid weather people – Iceland is more our style! But our daughter spent almost 4 months in Hue last year on an internship for her degree in International Development. She fell in love with Viet Nam, the people, the culture and food. With her having just graduated from uni, we were looking for a destination we could all travel to as a family and she offered to put together an independent and inexpensive tour of Viet Nam and Cambodia finishing in Bangkok. We tacked on a hop to Singapore to visit friends who had just moved there.
We started with 3-1/2 weeks in Viet Nam: Ha Noi, followed by Ha Long Bay, Sa Pa (in the north for trekking and homestays), Trang An, Hue, Da Nang, Da Lat and the the island of Phu Quoc in the south:
- Ha Noi was great for street photography: busy, crowded with people literally living their lives on the street without being "street people";
- Ha Long Bay is know for its hundreds of distinct limestone islands jutting straight out of the turquoise bay - great landscapes plus cultural photos of the floating fishing villages; it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for good reason;
- Sa Pa has amazingly green, hilly landscapes; it's the place to photograph contour rice paddy designs;
- Trang An is Ha Long Bay on land with great landscapes and cultural scapes and temples; it is also a UNESCO WHS for good reason;
- Hue is more cultural/historical with its Imperial City (also a UNESCO WHS) and imperial mausoleums;
- Da Nang is a thriving, prosperous and progressive city; the beach was busier at 5:30am than the rest of the day, except the evening;
- Da Lat is a more laid back city in the hills and, at 1500m elevation, it has a pleasant climate with many coffee and fruit estates/plantations
In Cambodia we were in Kampot for a few days (great countryside tour by tuk-tuk) followed by Phnom Penh and the requisite Siem Reap for the Angkor temples (UNESCO WHS) - phenomenal and well worth the 3 days, despite the multitudes and selfie-takers (see below). Bangkok itself was okay, although the National Museum, Grand Palace and various temples are truly spectacular, but it was just a stopover on our way to Singapore. If you like big cities, Singapore is amazing, beautiful, clean but expensive.
I was pleasantly surprised by Viet Nam and Cambodia; Thailand less so as it is more westernized. Many rich-poor contrasts in all countries. The heat, humidity and rain were, at times, oppressive, but we (mostly) became used to it. The people go out of their way to be helpful. It is incredibly safe walking the streets of Ha Noi, Hue, Da Nang, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap at night; all have great night markets. People are polite and respectful. When they sit or sleep on a park bench, they take their shoes/sandals off first; and they leave their shoes outside their hotel rooms with no worry of theft. Hotels, homestays, hostels and meals are very inexpensive. The history, architecture, temples and scenery are all spectacular and very photogenic, though very busy with tourists, mostly from E and SE Asian countries. Viet Nam and Cambodia seem not to specifically cater to western tourists so an understanding of even basic English is often lacking - not a criticism, just an observation, as I don't expect to be catered to.
One major disappointment for me is how travel photography for the masses has turned into private photo shoots of themselves, using temples and scenery as only a backdrop or mere window dressing. This was as true with the millennial-aged westerners (less so with the families) as it was with the Asian tourists. I began seeing this in Iceland a few years ago and a bit in Europe, but it seems to have grown exponentially. In the middle of the steps of a sacred temple, for example, they would start a 10-minute photo shoot, often model-like posed, narcissistic selfies with each person in the group, or a single photographer photographing each person in the group plus a group photo, all posed as if for the cover of a fashion magazine. Sadly, the historical, cultural or natural significance of the site and its details are irrelevant to them except to say "I was there and here are the photos to prove it!" Travel photography has literally turned 180° from being about the place to being all about "me". How shallow.
By the way, I made the majority of my photos using my iPhone 8 Plus, the rest with my Sony RX10iii. I've come to the realization that hauling around many kilos of full-fame equipment does not make better photos - higher technical quality, yes, but not better photographs. When I felt I did not have enough reach with the iPhone, I turned to the RX10iii. I'm impressed with the image quality of the iPhone photos (especially when using the LR camera for raw and HDR raw) – they are plenty good enough to make a large format photo book of our trip and a few prints. For me, it was a personal and family trip, not a magazine assignment; nor was I shooting for stock. I have found the iPhone/RX10iii combination to be quite liberating.
In Vietnam, business is thriving, judging by the number of shops, restaurants and hotels busy with local people, Vietnamese tourists and westerners. The best part was they were all family-run, Mom-and-Pop operations, not homogenous chains and franchises like here. I was very surprised to see so many young western families independently touring the country - Mom, Dad, 2 or 3 kids - French, German, Brits, Aussies, but distinctly few Americans. On the tour buses, it was Vietnamese and Chinese tourists, not westerners.
Although the traffic seems dangerous by North American standards, there is a rhythm to it and we fared well while walking, on motorbikes, tuk-tuks and taxis. Even the night trains were a thrill. Airports for both internal and international flights were effortless. There is far more security at US-Canada borders than anywhere there. In fact, coming home to Canadian Border Services with their militaristic flack vests, gloves and batons was startling to see when compared to any of the border services over there where the passport and customs officers wore business attire or regular police-style uniforms without flack vests, guns, batons, etc. Except for getting Visas on arrival in Vietnam and passports being recorded at hotels and for SIM card purchases, we never felt like we were in single-party, military states. Even the Thai military, overt during the Queen Mother's birthday parade, were authoritative, but not intimidating like so many US and Canadian police have come to be.
If it weren't for the heat and humidity, I would readily travel back there again as Southeast Asia is such an amazing region of the world to explore and experience.
