Postcard from Vietnam
GOOOOOOD Morning Vietnam
Hello from the land of egg coffee, and coconut coffee, and mango coffee, and avocado coffee, you get the gist.
We are on the last day of a seven day guided tour around the northern edges of Vietnam which included a stop at the stunning Ban Gioc Waterfall. We will do a full write up in a future blog. For the time being, let's just say that this part of the trip has not quite lived up to expectations.
We have, however, overall had a fantastic time in Vietnam. From the craziness of Hanoi to the surreal beauty of Bái Tû Long Bay. It's such a beautiful country with incredible landscapes and the warmest and most welcoming people.
We landed in Danang and immediately rented a scooter for the day. Who's stupid idea was that? I'm sure it's a case of getting to a junction, tooting your horn, closing your eyes and hoping for the best. Thankfully the chaos of the city roads quickly fell away as we ventured around the edge of a quiet peninsula.
We took a guided tour of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that once separated North and South Vietnam. Including tunnels where one particular village holed up for several days at a time from the constant bombing from American planes. On our return to our hostel, we had a late-night viewing of Good Morning Vietnam, Robin Williams in his prime.
The TET (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) celebrations in beautiful Hoi An were a blast, literally. It felt like the firework display lasted all night. We bumped into old friends, Jon & Lovisa from Lanta Animal Welfare. They are now running Jack's Cat Cafe a cat rescue centre in Hoi An.
The railway runs through it…
In Hanoi, once we got over the shock to our senses, we jumped on the back of some old Russian motorbikes and hurtled through the streets and back alleys. Stopping for an egg coffee at the side of the railway track, the train to Saigon rumbled passed our noses.
Chùc Mùng Nam Môi (Happy New Year), We can't wait to return and see more of this beautiful country.
Photography Tip - Panoramas
We love taking panoramic photos, and Vietnam and its incredible scenery cried out for panoramas. Now there's a bit of art to getting the perfect pano whether you are using a full-on camera and/or smartphone. Keeping the camera steady and on the horizontal line is key.
Always start with your hips pointing the way that you want to finish your photo. If you are panning from left to right, (or vice versa) you want your hips pointing to the right. It's easier and smoother to unwind your movement than trying to twist yourself round to finish. Always check your footing, especially if you are perched on a rock or ledge. No photo is worth breaking your neck over. Don't have your arms fully extended, try to have a slight bend in the elbow, less camera shake.
With your smartphone, you don't always need to sweep to the end of the horizontal line. You can stop a pano at any stage. And don't forget you can do a pano vertically as well, but watch out for warped buildings and people. Most smartphones with two lenses will also let you zoom in and create a pano. And finally, if you are panning from a dark area to a light area, always start in the light area. Your camera or phone will expose for the light and you can brighten the darker area (shadows) later.
Send us your favourite pano, we would love to see what you can create.
Earning A Crust
One of the most frequently asked questions we get when we talk to people about our travels is, "are you working while you travel?" The short answer is no. The slightly longer answer is sometimes.
Each time we have been back to NZ for my daughters' graduations, Julie has been offered a contract role at Vodafone. We have written a paid piece for a UK magazine about our tour around NZ in our VW Kombi. I've also made some money by selling photos on stock photography sites such as Shutterstock. I will write a more detailed blog post about how to go about setting up and selling stock photos in the future.
More recently, I have been designing a couple of websites for wedding photographers that I met in the UK. You can take a look at the first site here. The second site should be live before Valentine's Day (timely reminder).
If you know anybody that's looking for a professional-looking business or personal website, don't hesitate to put them in touch with me.
It's not enough to retire on, but every little bit helps when there is so much left on this planet to explore.
Next Stop. New Zealand
