Photos from 8D7N Hanoi Halong Bay & Sapa Valley Photography Trek


Stevepow! Where got noisy?
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Thanks for all the narratives.

Good nice compo and lightings
 

Your IR is certainly interesting. Managed to learn a few things here and there from you about "Integrated Resort".
 


Those narratives in green seems like you have recorded what they have said !!

These 2 pics have really nice bokeh and i like esp the blurry marching soldier. Good eye for details.
 

Wow .. sad to hear about the snatch thief .. when I was there with my buddy just last April.. the 2 of us was walking up and around till late. To me Hanoi is a pretty safe place ..

Looks like another fun trip

I see some nice shot already .. anyone catch the throwing of the flag in action ?

Can wait to see more

limwhow .. the color from the 1 series look good.. maybe there is still hope after all .. but must go 1 series :p
 

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While walking along the street on the first night out one of our mates got his wallet and hp snatched literally away from his hand by a local on a bike.

Hi night86mare, if you're going, please take care of your belongings. When you're walking in the streets of Hanoi, especially in the Old Quarter where motorcycles whizz past you every second, keep your cameras in front of you (to prevent snatch theft). Personal valuables should also be kept in the inner compartments of your backpack as thieves with knives are not uncommon.

You will also need to bargain a fair bit in Vietnam as there is a distinct two tier pricing for locals and foreigners (we pay about 50% more). Learning the language also helps abit... i'll most some useful phrases in days to come...

thanks.

i've been in vietnam before, but was HCM not hanoi.

thank you for your advice, i will keep that in mind when i visit hanoi for sure.

sad to hear that someone kena theft.. is not a good experience when travelling.
 

your day shots were dead but your night shots sprung alive.... :cool:

that's very unusual....
cos my night shots all can throw into the basket one...
my night vision isn't good and it impairs my composition and awareness of surrounding.
you seem to be different... must have been doing a lot of night and low light shots...
 

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Hi Limwhow, love your #15, great composition with the ceremonial guards in the background marching by, you are too modest, quick show us more photos!!! :)

Hehe... Adrian, thank you once again for your encouragement.
Your farmer+buffalo shot is a classic.
Unforgettable!

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5) Lady vegetable seller peddling her produces on a bicycle
I really like your shot of the lady in blue. Some how the blue shirt of the Vietnamese coupled with the conical straw hat is classic.
And in my opinion, it is a beautiful shot to capture.

Like your panning shot of me

Thank you for liking my panning... hehehe!

Are these trips common in CS?
Looks interesting ....
Trek i like
Taking photo i like
.... combined is .. wonderful.

Not to mention ...nice pics of the country that i always wanted to F&E there.
Well, ireallydontlikepink, there are a few companies organising photo trips.
Of course if you saw right from the beginning of this thread, our this trip was organised by SgTrekker.
 


Nah... this is the one - cute and natural smile!
The way she bent her head down and looked at you.... It's amazing!

Thanks for all the narratives.

Good nice compo and lightings

Those narratives in green seems like you have recorded what they have said !!

These 2 pics have really nice bokeh and i like esp the blurry marching soldier. Good eye for details.

Thank you so much for your encouragement, divinemoment!
Eh... hehehe... I am the record shot man mah... so not only do I record the shots, I also try to record the words verbatim... hahaha...!

I don't have nice bokeh like Doc lah.

Hey, divinemoment. You are too modest.
I am merely a machine-gunner. I like your frontal shots of the marching Guards!
 

Wow .. sad to hear about the snatch thief .. when I was there with my buddy just last April.. the 2 of us was walking up and around till late. To me Hanoi is a pretty safe place ..

Looks like another fun trip

I see some nice shot already .. anyone catch the throwing of the flag in action ?

Can wait to see more

limwhow .. the color from the 1 series look good.. maybe there is still hope after all .. but must go 1 series :p

Haha... LowLights yah LowLights... this trip both SereneXMM and I were the laughing stock of the whole team... carried too many bodies already.
SereneXMM carried until cannot walk properly.
Me, I 'shack' until kept slipping and falling until I have got a big patch of bruise on my buttock....


your day shots were dead but your night shots sprung alive.... :cool:

that's very unusual....
cos my night shots all can throw into the basket one...
my night vision isn't good and it impairs my composition and awareness of surrounding.
you seem to be different... must have been doing a lot of night and low light shots...

Hello, zoossh!
Good to have you on our thread!
And thanks for commenting.
I think this time round we were lucky to have plenty of opportunities for night photography.
Hanoi is interestingly pretty colourful at night, I must say.
And as you saw Stevepow and SereneXMMs' shots, (and as you will see soon, the other members' night shots) all of us we were simply gung-ho and went ahead and whacked up our highest ISO's and fired away.
 

Haha... LowLights yah LowLights... this trip both SereneXMM and I were the laughing stock of the whole team... carried too many bodies already.
SereneXMM carried until cannot walk properly.
Me, I 'shack' until kept slipping and falling until I have got a big patch of bruise on my buttock....

Brother Lim, LOL... you 2 must be enjoying yourselves.
Nice shots that both of you took.:thumbsup:
Looks like its time for me to start clearing my leave.;p
 

Brother Lim, LOL... you 2 must be enjoying yourselves.
Nice shots that both of you took.:thumbsup:
Looks like its time for me to start clearing my leave.;p

Haha, scanner... yes, enjoyed like crazy.
We enjoyed every minute, every moment...
...except for those few moments when, like all couples, we have our disagreement on how to mount the camera on the tripod...;)...
and SereneXMM's 50D dropped plonk.. plonk.. plonk... smack right onto the pavement of Sapa... Hahaha...

Missed your company, my good friend!
 

Haha, scanner... yes, enjoyed like crazy.
We enjoyed every minute, every moment...
...except for those few moments when, like all couples, we have our disagreement on how to mount the camera on the tripod...;)...
and SereneXMM's 50D dropped plonk.. plonk.. plonk... smack right onto the pavement of Sapa... Hahaha...

Missed your company, my good friend!

Oops, that must be painful.. hahaha. :bsmilie:
Yeah, missed both your company too!

OK, let me see any upcoming trip from Singapore trekker... :think:
Hmmm...the Bali one looks interesting... ;)
 


Hi Fellow Trekkers! How are you? I'm suffering from post-holiday syndrome :( I find myself waking up at odd hours. Like at 0500 expecting to see a flag.. or at 0430 half-expecting to drag my lifeless body out of a train.. There were times I wondered what I got myself into!!

Jokes aside, it has been a blast! And a very memorable trip for me. Thanks to all my fellow Trekkies who made the trip a success, namely George and Jim, Serene and Wee How, David, Acrux, Steve, my roomie Hai Won and of course, our fearless leader (and drill sargeant!!) Adrian.

Just me, Kei :cheergal:
 

Haha... LowLights yah LowLights... this trip both SereneXMM and I were the laughing stock of the whole team... carried too many bodies already.
SereneXMM carried until cannot walk properly.
Me, I 'shack' until kept slipping and falling until I have got a big patch of bruise on my buttock....

If only I was there that there 3 of us over loaded with equipments :bsmilie:
 

T R A V E L O G U E - Day 2 Hanoi... continued

As it was still very early after the 6am Flag Raising Ceremony at Ba Dinh Square, we went back to the hotel for breakfast.
Energised after a hearty meal, we set off again. This time to Hoan Kiem Lake where we walked to the Ngoc Son Temple on Jade Island in the northern end of the lake.
It was 9:30am and we were to await the arrival of a surprise...

Some history of Hoan Kiem Lake:

After the Emperor Le Loi defeated the invaders from China's Mind Dynasty, he was reported to have given the Sword of Divinity here at Hoan Kiem Lake back to the Golden Turtle God.
Thus the name Ho Hoan Kiem (还剑湖) - Lake of the Return of the Sword.
The Turtle Island in the middle of the lake was to commemorate this.

At the northern end of the lake is an island called the Jade island where upon it is erected a temple called the Ngoc Son Temple.
A red bridge, the Huc bridge (Huc - Morning Sunlight) connects the island to the mainland.

As I slowly continue on the Travelogue, all of you good members of our team, please do post your pictures all in and share.
There is no need to match the Travelogue. It just goes on on its own.


limwhow #21
Arriving at Hoan Kiem Lake, I am sure we would all remember this scene that all of us would have first set our sights upon.
This interesting small chapel of the hill spirit outside of which a few Vietnamese men and women were praying.

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limwhow #22 & limwhow #23
The old ladies were particularly devout and would slowly make their way up to place their offerings and joss sticks at the front of the chapel.
Interestingly, men and women of all ages were also there, standing beside us, in deep prayers.

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limwhow #24
& limwhow #25

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SereneXMM #7

Here are my shots of the Temple main gate.
This one is very funny because limwhow and the other Vietnam man on the right side are facing each other taking photos.

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SereneXMM #8

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Haha, scanner... yes, enjoyed like crazy.
We enjoyed every minute, every moment...
...except for those few moments when, like all couples, we have our disagreement on how to mount the camera on the tripod...;)...
and SereneXMM's 50D dropped plonk.. plonk.. plonk... smack right onto the pavement of Sapa... Hahaha...

Missed your company, my good friend!

OMG, hope the 50D is not ahem...'dead' :(
 

Wow .. sad to hear about the snatch thief .. when I was there with my buddy just last April.. the 2 of us was walking up and around till late. To me Hanoi is a pretty safe place ..

Looks like another fun trip

I see some nice shot already .. anyone catch the throwing of the flag in action ?

Yoz Lowlights, yup managed to catch the throwing of the flag, but the distance was rather far as we had to stand all the way back to the white line and with a crappy 270mm on a 1.6 crop, coupled with bleak weather, i'm sure it was blur. Will try to post it after a bit of touch up...


Haha... LowLights yah LowLights... this trip both SereneXMM and I were the laughing stock of the whole team... carried too many bodies already.
SereneXMM carried until cannot walk properly.
Me, I 'shack' until kept slipping and falling until I have got a big patch of bruise on my buttock....

Hey WHow, hope your bruises are healing, tks for letting use the 5DMKII. ISO capability is amazing, esp for those low light situations.... guess that tipped the scale over! ;)



Hi Fellow Trekkers! How are you? I'm suffering from post-holiday syndrome :( I find myself waking up at odd hours. Like at 0500 expecting to see a flag.. or at 0430 half-expecting to drag my lifeless body out of a train.. There were times I wondered what I got myself into!!

Jokes aside, it has been a blast! And a very memorable trip for me. Thanks to all my fellow Trekkies who made the trip a success, namely George and Jim, Serene and Wee How, David, Acrux, Steve, my roomie Hai Won and of course, our fearless leader (and drill sargeant!!) Adrian.

Just me, Kei :cheergal:

Hey Kei, what drill sergeant? Wah lau! anyway, glad to hear you guys had fun, i'm also waking up at 4.30am everyday, natural alarm clock already. :confused: Remember to post your photos, i know you have alot of good shots!!! don't be modest!
 

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