Mot Hai Ba Yo - Cheers Vietnam

Mot Hai Ba Yo...or 1, 2, 3 cheers (i think) is the phrase the Vietnamese use when drinking. And we certainly recited this many times during our stay in Vietnam. Saigon, 333 and tiger were the standard drinks...rice wine, snake marinated rice wine and snake marinated rice wine with fresh snake blood were the slightly more exotic choice.

Vietnam is a beautiful country with so much culture and tradition. As part of our Contiki tour we visited the old smaller towns and the new cities of Vietnam. Highlights were the mekong delta region and Hoi An, but really everything in this country was worth the visit. Here are a few photos to give you a sense of what we experienced. It's by no means a comprehensive photo journal of the trip, that would take days to read haha.

First up, a san pan boat ride on the mekong delta river. You can't quite see it in the photo, but a person is actually standing up behind us paddling us along the river. What a beautiful way to experience this part of the country. Following this we had a crazy night on the drink with Nam our local tour guide. A night to remember...or forget depending how drunk you were.

San Pan Boat ride on the mekong delta river

Hoi An...What a beautiful town. Captured in a time gone by, with rustic and cross-cultural influences from the Japanese, French and probably many other cultures as it was a trade port. This is an example of the style of buildings that line the streets. In some parts of the town it would seem that every second shop was a tailor shop.

The architecture of Hoi An

This next photo is a cool lil back alley shot that i took. Not much of a story behind it...i just think it looks wicked.

Back Alley, Hoi An

In Hoi An, cars are not allowed in the inner parts of the town. So the way to get around is bicycle or scooter (as seen in the pic above). This is what i believe to be a petrol station. Notice also the cigarette boxes just to the right. No safety regulations here haha. 

Petrol Station, Hoi An

Hue, the imperial capital of the Nguyen dynasty. This photo was from the imperial palace grounds. Really cool place, just wish it wasn't raining so much as this kind of limited my opportunities to get the camera out.

Imperial Palace, Hue

One of the last stops on our tour was Halong Bay. The weather was unfortunately quite bad...rainy, windy and cold. Besides this, it was a stunning place. the photo below was taken in a sea cave which we were able to walk through. There were some really interesting rock formations, including one which was the shape of a blokes shwing shwong.

Sea Cave, Halong Bay

So there's my little photo teaser for Vietnam. I must say, its a place you have to visit and experience. And when you do, remember to Mot Hai Ba Yo!

Cheers
Roy

PS Photos were edited using iPhoto. 

Sawadee Kap (Hello) - A few pics from my Thailand Trip Jan 2011

With all the rain recently, i haven't been able to get out for any photography sessions. So instead i decided i would go back to my collections and pick a few to edit and post. The following set of photos were taken on my trip to thailand in jan 2011. these are a small selection of a large volume of photos i took, i was more than snap happy :)
 
these photos were edited in iPhoto.

Patong Beach, Phuket. Such a crowded place, but still maintains its beauty if you can get away from the hawkers trying to sell you things, offering massages, jet skiing etc. one of the highlights of the holiday was jet skiing on patong beach. So much fun. 

Patong Beach, Phuket

During our stay in Chiang Mai, we visited a few Buddhist Temples. This temple was noted in Lonely planet for its sunset views and it didn't let down on the day we were there.

 

 

Sunset at Buddhist Temple in Chiang Mai

This photo was taken at another Buddhist temple (can't remember the names of the places)

Chiang Mai Temple - Bells

The Chiang Mai night markets were certainly something to remember. the streets were packed with stalls as far as the eye could see and then further. The markets were selling locally made products as well as some touristy items. well worth the visit.

Chiang Mai night markets - lanterns

 

Chiang Mai night markets - fabric stall

 The photo above was straight out of camera (no editing). the colours were so vibrant already.


During our stay in Chiang Mai, we visited Tiger Kingdom. We were able to hold 3 month old tigers and pat/cuddle the bigger ones too.

Tiger Kingdom, Chiang Mai

  
We were also lucky enough to see some of the Hmong Hill Tribe people in their traditional clothing. this little fella was too cute to pass up.

So there is my little snapshot of Thailand. I'm sure there is much more to see. Definitely a place worth visiting again.

Stay tuned for the next edition of my blog which will be snapshots of Vietnam.

Cheers
Roy

While I Was Waiting

Today i decided to get my car cleaned at a car wash. It was the kind of place where you drive in, hand over the keys and some poor bugger cleans your car out in the cold winter wind while you sit back and relax. Sure, i had to pay a premium for this service, but while my car was being vacuumed, hand washed and polished, i was sitting on a lounge in the cafe, sipping on a cappuccino and cooking up some photo edits using iPhoto. Time well spent as far as i am concerned.

Nobby's Beach Sunrise

Redhead Beach Sunrise

I was quite impressed by the look i was able to achieve in iPhoto using only a few tools (contrast, saturation, white balance). It might not have all the bells of whistles of Adobe Photoshop, but it can give a simple photo a bit of pop. I think these photos are proof that you don't always need Photoshop to work a little magic into a photo, although i won't be uninstalling Photoshop CS5 anytime soon haha.

Cheers
Roy

The Photographer

On Sunday 10th July 2010, I headed out for a winter sunrise with a few mates, braving the wind and cold. Thermals with multiple layers over the top, beanie and gloves were a necessity and made the morning cold just bearable.

We started at Nobby's Beach, where we captured the sunrise. Not too bad considering the lack of interest in the sky (edited in iPhoto).

And this one too (edited in Adobe Lightroom)

While shooting the sunrise, we met a pro photographer who asked if he could take photo's of us while we were taking photos of the sunrise. Interesting concept and the photos on his camera looked quite interesting. It always amazes me how photographers come up with different views of the same scene.

We then headed to Newcastle Baths and by chance we happened to meet up with the pro photographer again. The seas were quite big and the water in the baths was spilling out over the footpath. While we wandered around capturing the big seas smashing over and into the baths, the pro photographer kept photographing us. He showed us a few of his shots later. Again i was intrigued by the different perspectives he was capturing and it inspired me to capture this shot (edited in Adobe Lightroom 3).

So despite the cold, we had a great morning, learning a few tips in composition from the pros and capturing some interesting scenes.

Cheers
Roy