Southeast Asia Travel Photography | Vietnam Cambodia Thailand Laos

Ending My Southeast Asia Travel Photography Trip In Hanoi, Vietnam

I have been hanging around in Southeast Asia for the past 9 months and it is time to stop and sort through the thousands of photos I took in a calmer environment. In other words I am out of money. The last stop is Hanoi where I will be flying home from. Although the colorful communist ...

Severed Goat Head For Lunch In Bac Ha, Vietnam

Do not look for scrumptious and mouthwatering food photography of perfectly rolled sushi or smooth Tiramisu from the rugged mountains of Northwest Vietnam, home of the Hmong hill tribe minorities. Goat head is what's for lunch! Nearing towards the end of my eventually 9 month long Southeast Asia photography trip I decided to spend my 41st ...

Spread The Word About Elephant Abuse In Southeast Asia!

The price of an elephant trekking tour is not only the sizable dollar amount it costs. Elephants are separated at a young age from their mothers to be tortured, starved and beaten into obedience. Before I knew this I did think about paying for being carried through the jungle by an elephant, sounds like a lot ...

Dangers And Annoyances In Don Khong Island, Luang Prabang, Luang Nam Tha, Muang Sing, Laos

Oh yes, my Laos experience! No, I am not complaining, just subjectively reporting. Even if I asked the kids in the above photo to pray for a successful travel photography trip I do not think that would have helped. But the wisdom gained from my time spent in Laos will enable me to better enjoy non-photography ...

Days Of Giving Back In Kompong Cham, Cambodia

While I was walking around in an impoverished section of Kompong Cham taking pictures once again accompanied by my 7 year old guest photographer from my last visit I took the above snapshot of a little girl who was crying and kept scratching due to being covered with some kind of irritating skin rash on ...

Photography In Easy Breezy Gender Confused Kampot, Cambodia

I took a gamble on Kampot, the pepper capital of Cambodia not knowing if this quiet town would have enough to inspire me. The results of just showing up in places which are without "much to see" have swung both ways in the past. The riverside was relaxing and the views were very nice, I have not ...

Squeezing My Way Back To Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The only reason I returned to Phnom Penh was to get a visa for Laos. For some reason the capital never appealed to me photographically but I decided to walk around while waiting for my passport and look around again without any pressure to take incredible photos. One possible reason is the very different feel larger ...

Travel Photography At A Snail’s Pace In Takeo, Cambodia

Takeo is not a must see town, life moves at a snail's pace and it is mildly recommended by the popular guidebook as a daytrip destination. So I was eager to stop by expecting close to zero tourists and to witness authentic, simple Cambodian rural life. The kids on the above picture are racing snails. I felt ...

Kids And Travel Photography At Its Best In Chau Doc, Vietnam

I can always depend on Chau Doc for kids and travel photography so this is the 3rd time I stopped by on my way to the Cambodian border. My days spent here have been memorable every time mostly because of the Cham people who live by the riverside across town; they provided me with the ...

Mekong River Deja Vu in Can Tho, Vietnam

I have already spent one day in Can Tho before, the highly touristy and biggest town of the Mekong Delta. I stopped by again mostly because it was on my way from Tra Vinh to Chau Doc and the Cambodian border. Last time I was in Can Tho I only did a Mekong River boat tour ...

Battling An Acute Rambutan Addiction In Tra Vinh, Vietnam

Tra Vinh, Vietnam is a tucked away town in the Mekong Delta casually mentioned but not even listed as an off the beaten track stop by the popular travel guide. I was looking forward to visiting this secluded area which is too far from Saigon for the hordes of daytripping package tourists to reach. The area ...

Stopovers in Cua Lo Beach, Dong Hoi, Danang, Hoi An, Kon Tum, Saigon, Vietnam

Six stopovers in six days covering approximately 1000 miles in bouncing honking buses simply means I was not captivated by Central Vietnam photographically speaking. Some might find this extreme but I cannot pretend inspiration. It was an unique journey nevertheless only no photos came of it. Well this being a photography blog I am somewhat obligated ...

Seeing What The Buddha Sees In Ninh Binh, Vietnam

This funny warning sign displayed in the garden of the Bich Dong pagoda outside Ninh Binh is the most appropriate photo I can use to illustrate a post about tourists not showing respect to a foreign country with different customs and religion namely Buddhism. Wearing a suit and tie in 100 degree heat hopefully is only ...

Body, Mind And Photo Gear Maintenance in Ha Noi, Vietnam

After spending 12 days in the Northwestern mountains photographing the Hmong minorities and the fantastic scenery in Bac Ha I did another stopover in Hanoi before heading South. No photos again from Hanoi because due to my incredibly short attention span the novelty of the capital had ended after my first visit and my camera was ...

Flower Hmong Minority Travel Photography in Bac Ha, Northwest Vietnam

While visiting the stunning mountainous region of Northwest Vietnam I had a chance to take a break from searching for Vietnam's Next Top Model and photograph some naturally beautiful, talented both hesitant and some quite willing locals like the buffalo above. The pose is bold but not vulgar, notice how the curves of the model are ...

Vietnam’s Next Top Model Interview in Hanoi, Vietnam

The reason I backtracked and returned to Hanoi from the perfect destination of Ninh Binh instead of continuing to head South as planned was to meet a model from MySpace to discuss possibilities of doing photo shoots together in response to my recent post of looking for Vietnam's Next Top Model. But there aren't any photos ...

Daytrip Of Reflection To Kenh Ga, Vietnam

Kenh Ga is a popular day trip choice 20 some kilometers from the perfect travel destination of Ninh Binh. The waterways of the village which are surrounded by picturesque karst mountains can be explored by taking a boat tour. I had a motor bike driver take me from Ninh Binh to Kenh Ga through a maze ...

Perfect Travel Destination Of Ninh Binh, Vietnam

Just like the scene on the photo below, Ninh Binh offered quiet simplicity with old time charm and something interesting to photograph around every corner and down every alley during my extended three weeks stay. Beside the funny incident of getting yelled at by the bus station toilet attendant upon arrival because I did not comply ...

Vietnamese Amateur Model Search For Vietnam’s Next Top Model

UPDATE: My Southeast Asia travel photography trip ended on September 5, 2008 and now I am back in Hungary to regroup. That means at this time I cannot shoot in Vietnam with anybody but I am planning to return as soon as possible. And no, I am not looking for Hungary's Next Top Model :) I ...

12mm Wide Angle Lens Advantage And Elephant Dung

Enjoy my Tokina 12-24mm - Nikon 12-24mm and Nikon 18-200mm wide angle lens comparison post illustrated with stellar examples? Don't you just hate when a photographic equipment review site's example images are not up to par? I tried to remedy this unfortunate phenomenon by this post. I selflessly risked camera sensor dust by switching my Tokina 12-24mm ...

Spilled Carrots Photographer In Haiphong, Vietnam

Haiphong is said to be a less touristy version of Vietnam's capital, LonelyPlanet refers to it as Hanoi 10 years ago. Far away cultures offer interesting experiences around every corner. All that's needed are open eyes and an open mind. The sign below is quite bizarre: from 5AM to 9PM it is prohibited to transport a seal ...

Candid Communist Street Photographer in Hanoi, Vietnam

Notice something on the photo below I took of marching Communist Vietnamese soldiers across from Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum: those two faces on the left side of the picture were giving me icy glares! Because I have had a ... let's just say hectic Communist past in Hungary ... seeing the soldiers' looks sent chills down ...

All In Ruins At Ayutthaya Sukhothai Phrae Nan and Bangkok, Thailand

Usually every post in this blog covers one town and one stop but in the case of Thailand this one post covers 15 days and five places: Ayutthaya and Sukhothai, Phrae, Nan and Bangkok which account for my entire stay in Thailand. Everyone loves Thailand so why could I not wait to leave after 15 days ...

Black And White Photos Of Simple Life From Battambang, Cambodia

Battambang is described by Cambodia guidebooks as an attractive sleepy town with a few attractions nearby. After the tourist hell of Angkor Wat and not knowing how touristy and commercial Thailand (my next stop) will be I decided to stop over for a few days. They were not lying, not a whole lot going on ...

Postcards From Angkor Wat In Siem Reap, Cambodia

I was fortunate (and yes, quite skilled) to capture a split second of a Cambodian Buddhist monk performing an ancient self cleansing ritual at the Bayon of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap. It is not an accident why I choose the above photo to be the first of this post. Discarding all unnecessary from our lives ...