Tribes of Vietnam Within The Frame Photographic Adventures
September 2019
Have you ever been to a market where you could buy everything from clothing, to produce, to fish and meat, to knives, to water buffalo? This was the standard array (and more) at the Sunday markets in northern Viet Nam. This lady was in her traditional tribe clothing, which they make themselves. Using umbrellas to shade themselves is also common practice. I will need to ask our guide, Trinh Dinh Thao, which tribe she was from.
Three of our days in Viet Nam were spent on long treks (hikes) up, down, and across the hillsides and valleys, among the rice fields, farm lands, and homes of the minority groups in the northern-most areas of the country. This was the only way to really meet the people, encounter them at work in the fields, and see share some rice wine in their homes.
Since I’m not much of a landscape photographer, and only passably in shape as a hiker, when we would get to the top of a picturesque valley, I rarely succeeded in taking an adequate representation of the specific terrain we had just crossed. I can only tell you, that each time, it felt like we were on the top of the world. In full transparency, these two images, were taken when we hopped out of our van on the road between Bac Ha (our first night’s stop in the north) to Topas (our second nights stop in the north). You will just have to believe me when I say that we hiked several valleys just like this one.
A simple study of one area of Hanoi as seen from the train tracks before they cross the Red River going north. Looking down I show you four views of Hanoi life that I discovered in my short stay there.
Tribes of Vietnam Within The Frame Photographic Adventures
September 2019
There are still many of these older men riding their Cyclo’s looking for tourists to shuttle around the city. I guess they are still an effective means of making a little money, but I saw many more that were empty than full. Hanoi is really small enough to explore each neighborhood by foot. Perhaps it is convenient to take a short taxi ride to a different area and then by foot again. It is the photographer’s way, even in the heat.
One night, our group wanted to go to a local Bun Cha restaurant. It was just a few blocks from the hotel, really only a 15 minute walk. Our tour guide company wanted to pick us up in a taxi, escort us to the restaurant, and escort us back home. Perhaps it was just to make some extra money. We happily walked both ways (and the Bun Cha was delicious).
About this image
This image was taken near the Hanoi’s Old Quarter bordering Hoàn Kiếm Lake, which is where I saw most of these cyclos. I was taken to photograph this because of the large gesture of the blue, red, and white shrouding over the front of these buildings. My guess is that it is covering some construction in progress. There were two figures in the door way, having a conversation. I have a series of shots, with different things going on in the scene, but my commitment to tell a story and connect the dots with layers of juxtapositions, I chose this moment with the expressionless cyclo driver passing by the modern mannequins in the background.
Busy Hanoi Tribes of Vietnam Within The Frame Photographic Adventures September 2019
These small “restaurants” are typical in Hanoi, actually most of Viet Nam I would suspect. On my first day out, it was these colorful restaurant stalls, flowered shirts, and the constant movement of motorbikes, that caught my attention.
School’s Out – Hanoi, Vietnam Tribes of Vietnam Within The Frame Photographic Adventures September 2019
There is no mincing words, Hanoi is one noisy-hectic city. Crowded with people and motorbikes. More accurately, people on motorbikes, incessantly honking their horns. Not, as my guide informed me, in anger, but as a warning: “Here I am, I’m going this way, you should watch out for me.” It is their version of a turn signal, if there were any traffic rules about turn signals. The traffic in Vietnam, as experienced in both the big city of Hanoi and on the local roads in the isolated hills in the north, seems to be ruled only by the drivers confidence that they can successfully steer their way through the maze of other motorbikes, trucks, busses, and pedestrians without neither being hit nor do the hitting. The rule for pedestrians is to look the drivers in the eye and walk at a constant pace. They will judge your motions and steer away from hitting you. Both parties must be confident and must adhere to these rules or there may be dire consequences. The loudest drivers are the middle-aged women in their fashionable shoes on their vespa-like scooters. Their constant “beep, beep, beep, beep” say: “Out of my way, I am the matriarch here!”.
iNancy iMages 