Happily The Only Tourist And Photographer In Soc Trang, Vietnam

I was excited to arrive to Soc Trang which is not mentioned in Vietnam guide books or on the internet to great extent therefore I could not research anything about it.
But at this time all I really was looking for was an authentic Vietnamese town without being hassled by motorbike drivers (too much) and seeing as few tourists as possible.

My wishes were granted, after just a few minutes of walking around there was no sign of outside visitors and the town had so much to offer photography wise.
Less tourists mean lower prices or getting a whole lot more for the same price so my hotel room for less then 10 dollars was the best so far on this trip.

Less tourists (or in the case of Soc Trang - no tourists) also means increased, an almost unbelievable amount and intensity of being stared at.
This deserves an explanation here while writing about Soc Trang.
Being in Vietnam for a few weeks is more than enough to get used to constantly being stared at and greeted on the street. But in Soc Trang I finally experienced it being taken to an extreme - if there is such a thing.

A great trip should be an eye opener, making the traveler see and understand new things, possibly be a breaking out of a shell experience.
How true: by nature I do not like to be stared at, I prefer to blend in and attract as little attention as possible; OK I like zero attention.

In Soc Trang everybody I walked by stared at me. Walking down the street means the whole street looks at you and after hours of street photography I can say half the town stared (greeted and smiled) at me.
Extreme culture shock with possibly some personality changing positive side effects.

It is not always a horrifying experience because those faces can be pretty funny; the usual categories applied in Soc Trang:
- loud “hello!” from kids
- silent confused stare from kids (like I must be lost or just got dropped off by the mother ship or going to eat them for lunch)
- the very popular 3 question combo from kids: “what’s your name?”, “where are you from?” and “how old are you?”
(I finally found out the answer about why age is asked so often: the older is considered the wiser and I am happy to report that my advanced age is highly respected in Vietnam)
- friendly smile from adults; finally a nice break
- the silent treatment; when there is nothing said, no emotion in the eyes or the person looks away immediately after making eye contact sometimes for a change I say an enthusiastic “hello!” - I usually receive no reaction, very funny
- the funniest ones are the wide-eyed, bewildered, surprised, shocked, confused, stopping-what-doing, non-stop stares that feel like they will burn a hole into the back of my shirt as I am leaving the scene

The first photo at the beginning of this post is one of my favorites from Soc Trang. It is a nice gift when all elements come together effortlessly.
The location was a random alley I walked by and saw a man fixing or making chains.
I pointed to my camera to ask him for permission, he either nodded or did not respond but nevertheless did not object. As usual I was immediately spotted by the children, one came closer.

First I took some pictures of a girl, she had a quiet personality, did not go berserk about the camera did not mind me taking multiple shots, just stayed still - a perfect little model.
After I turned my camera towards the man and took a half a dozen shots or so in the perfectly soft, diffused light of the alley.

No one seemed to mind me so I stayed a bit longer, due to the narrowness of the alley I switched to my widest angle lens to capture more of the scene.
There were tools and items on the wall and on the ground which seemed would make a nice “still life” shot - but then the girl sat on a chair against the wall.
I am not sure if she knew she was in the photo when I took it, when using a wide lens angle people often do not realize they are included.

Walking around a town which is taken out of the pages of National Geographic presents a photo opportunity every moment:

Sneak peek at Vietnamese kids fashion - drying:

Trying to squeeze in as many typical Vietnamese themes into one picture as possible. The mopeds are everywhere, the dirty walls always make great backdrops and the ever-present small plastic dining chairs which support one half of a typical caucasian rear end:

Same old quick street photography agreement: pointing at my camera, man nods, I take pictures:

They waved towards me signaling to take their pictures, so I did, the women nearby were laughing at the men; Soc Trang is another very friendly town:

An alley … seemed interesting with character (colorful buildings, messy ground, full of people). I ask a few kids to take their pictures, this little girl was able to stay still for a moment which is a true miracle:

Cropped from a large communist propaganda billboard of the main square of Soc Trang. I was surrounded by communist symbols, flags, signs, buildings and statues. Being away from Hungary for so long I am always a bit uneasy to experience a communist flashback:

I walk by this street side pagoda not thinking much of it when a man comes up to me practically dragging me back into the pagoda where a woman was about to start prayer:

I hear very loud music, some kids on the street point towards it telling me to check it out; it is a funeral reception; I am not sure I should photograph it when a woman walks up to me and gives permission (in English) with a smile:

Just a few minutes later I walk by a head stone store:

A man signals towards me asking or more like ordering me to take his photo. He has a proud posture, a ton of confidence and a wealth of life experience; for some reason his demeanor reminded me of John Wayne:

Few minutes later I bump into the man again, he signals to me, this time ordering the neighborhood kids around him for a group photo:

The boy in the center leaning forward had a very strong presence in front of the camera; I was able to take solo shots of him (too good to post here).
There are few tourists in Soc Trang and even less who will come to these neighborhoods so kids are always very happy to take these photos:

Pretty funny: the parents of this boy tucked his shirt in, placed him next to the family business of seafood store and made it pretty clear they wanted this composition shot by me:

A high school student greeted me with a beautiful smile when I walked by a gate. Also another reason for a communist flashback is the red handkerchief she is wearing:

Boy with his dog; I like the colors here:

Safety standards of Vietnam’s transportation system might seem a bit loose by western laws.
Infants or toddlers often just sit and bounce around on the lap of the bicycle or motorbike driver so this is actually quite rare and an extremely sophisticated and safety conscious setup:

What a contrast! The modern glass containing building seems futuristic and way out of place behind the houses on stilts or vice versa:

As it is continuing to amuse me: someone is always drying something somewhere in Vietnam. Using the evil wide angle lens trick the little girl had no idea she was in the picture (it was clearly pointed at the sidewalk not even near towards her):

And the best for last: Vietnamese gasoline station (for motorbikes) - I love these:

These are a few of hundreds of photos I took in Soc Trang, a true paradise for people, street and cultural photography; more pictures will be posted in future flash albums.