Home » Southeast Asia Travel Photography | Vietnam Cambodia Thailand Laos » Street And Kids Photography On Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam

Street And Kids Photography On Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam

December 26, 2007

Some people plan more than others when traveling or in life in general and some plan only a few days ahead (yours truly).

Not ahving plans has its obvious advantages and drawbacks. Most drawbacks work themselves out so this short term planning shall remain the way of this trip for now.

I have met someone who had all her 6 weeks of Vietnamese vacation planned out every step of the way to the minute. That would be too much work, too much stress and not enough freedom for me.

Another not so typical aspect of my trip is to stay one place a few days longer, it lessens the chances of traveling becoming a chore and gives a “feeling at home” aspect at the places visited. Having 2 months total in Vietnam allows to slow down the pace.

Getting to the Phu Quoc, the largest island of Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh City should have been planned better but it all worked out at the end.
Trying to buy a plane ticket one day before the trip during Christmas (Kwanzaa, Hanukkah etc.) holiday season was met by the expected look from the Vietnam Airlines ticket agents in Saigon.

Actually these women will take the Most Unpleasant Customer Service Award during my travels so far and interestingly someone else had the same experience with Vietnam Airlines.
I must add by Los Angeles standards it was fantastic customer service, it is just easy to get spoiled by the constant smiles in Vietnam.

Vietnam Airlines ticket office had no seats available until early 2008, I found that hard to believe so I went to one of the many travel agents in District 1 of Saigon.
They had one ticket left (something I hear often) which was sold by the time the travel agent spelled my name into the phone. So there was a ticket and 20 seconds later it was sold?
Hmmm … sure so I went to another travel agent which had “one ticket left” (I tried not to laugh) for the next day on December 20th.

Moral of th story: never give up, there is always “one more ticket”. And when there is no more tickets left … back to that scenario later.

Most accommodation was booked on Phu Quoc Island but some bungalows at a place called “My Lan” were available off the beaten track East side of the island on beautiful Sao Beach.

A quick rundown on My Lan’s pros:
private, not many tourists but some locals and day trips do stop by
good food from the restaurant which belongs to My Lan
beautiful pure white sand beach
no tv, yes it is a pro

and My Lan’s cons:
when the owner of My Lan promises a taxi it is a 40 minute ride on the back of his motorbike while balancing backpacks – never a taxi (which is normal in Vietnam, he just should not promise a taxi to everyone)
slightly overpriced stay at 17 dollars a night but it is a private beach front bungalow
power outages 50% of the time randomly every day (which is usually OK but not for 17 dollars)
bit more trash washing up on beach than what I would hope for
little to do after sunset (6pm in December) if traveling alone, mostly couples or groups stay at My Lan

After 3 nights I went to the main town on the busier West side called Duong Dong and stayed at the Kim Hoa Hotel for $22 which hurt but there was no other availability so no reason for complaints.
Because the South East Asia culture shock was still in full swing it was not a bad idea to ease into the traveling grind starting out in style.
Twenty two dollars is still cheaper for a nice air conditioned hotel room than what a smelly hostel bed would cost in the USA so I just pretended it was a good deal.

After the initial settling in finally I could do what I came for: photography.
I would walk for hours aimlessly exploring the town’s markets, harbors, side streets and alleys taking hundreds of photos.

Phu Quoc Island is still being introduced to tourists and tourism, it is definitely not overrun yet.
One local man told me he welcomes as many tourists as possible for the sake of improving the local economy and ensured me Phu Quoc Island will be the next Singapore (slight exaggeration but dreaming big is the way to dream right?).

He also hates Americans which did not seem to interfere with welcoming more tourists; he said he makes 15 dollars a month but had his 200 dollar cell phone stolen on that day .. perhaps some of the specifics of our conversation were lost in translation.

Photography is very rewarding in Vietnam because of the scenery and culture of course and also because walking down the street kids greet tourists with a loud and enthusiastic “Hello!” They must be taught this from very early on because 2-3 year olds were often were shouting towards me.
Teenagers mostly just stare, an awkward time of life in any country I guess, adult males split from friendly to not interested but hardly ever a nasty look (1 out of 500? maybe).

Adult women I assume due to cultural reasons are bit more withdrawn even regarding eye contact but once again there is a breakdown between smiling faces and just being too busy with everyday life to welcome every tourist.

Kids love to be photographed and eager to view the images on the camera’s digital display. These walks about town offered countless photographic possibilities.
By taking 1000’s of photos certain cliches will keep repeating themselves so I have been trying to approach all situations with a fresh mind paying much attention to composition to utilize the surroundings / background.

What I am also trying to decide is how much to interfere with what is in front of me. If it is a candid shot and I can remain unnoticed and the spontaneity is automatic but after I am noticed the subjects will perform their own way which may or my not make a good photo.
At this time I am still experimenting just by gut feeling with how much direction to give to kids and adults if any.

After shooting enough I decided to leave Phu Quoc Island on December 28th but the ferry to mainland Vietnam (to Rach Gia) was sold out.
I was told by the hotel front desk to show up anyways and try to get on as a stand by. It worked!

I had to sit on the top deck with soldiers and other local men next to the loud engines but it was a lot more fun ride anyways (with 360 degree view) than sitting in one of the comfortable cabin seats and peeking through a tiny window.

Now a few photos: the picture of the 3 kids at the beginning of this post was taken on the main bridge of Duong Dong. As usual when these kids saw my camera they were ready to be photographed but what was unusual is how they stood in front of me.
Just like on the photo without hesitation they arranged themselves in that way and waited for me. The whole thing looked so rehearsed and well choreographed but I doubt it was.

Photo below; a man in a basket boat paddling through the harbor of Duong Dong:

Fishermen washing and storing their fishing nets at end of the day:

Fishing boat approaching the Duong Dong bridge:

Kids playing with a basket full of dishes and cups:

Hammock on a very typical Vietnamese porch:

Phu Quoc Island was a great travel and photographic experience.
More pictures will be posted from Phu Quoc in upcoming photo albums later.