Severed Goat Head For Lunch In Bac Ha, Vietnam

August 25, 2008

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 birthday away from the exhausting intensity of tourist traps and returned to the peaceful and picturesque Bac Ha.

Hmong shopkeeper at the famous Bac Ha Sunday market enjoying a bowl of noodle soup:

An incredibly cute Hmong girl daydreaming and taking occasional bites from a handful of raw ground meat:

Separating the main subject from the busy background of the Bac Ha market is no easy feat; more or less pointless to sweat it:

People-watching at the market never gets old, during the last 9 months I’ve visited 4 Sunday markets during 2 separate trips to Bac Ha:

Yes!!! I have found a peaceful background for this photo at the market! There should be some sort of award for this kind of genius:

I am spotted again even though I was using a telephoto lens; there is nothing wrong with eye contact with the camera during candid photography as long as it results in a good photo:

Hmong men bargaining and generally having a good time pulling each other’s chains at the water buffalo section of the Sunday market:

A tourist is trying the rescue this adorable puppy from its inevitable destination, the frying pan:

If I spoke Hmong I would have loved to ask this vendor what he was selling:

The vantage point was not the best for my taste but periodically returning to the river bank provided me with the priceless simple background and a nice contrasting blue against the vivid colors of Hmong hill tribe fashion:

Probably my favorite travel photography subject during hikes through the mountains just outside Bac Ha is kids doing their chores and taking water buffalos out to graze:

Very funny and cute how these super shy Hmong girls were evading my camera:

Educational poster in the classroom of a Hmong elementary school:

Photo taken from my hotel room overlooking the super laid back Bac Ha (there are no ATMs):

My spotless 5 dollar hotel room with the above killer view.
I left after one day due to bug bites. This was one of the nicest and cheapest hotels I stayed during the past 9 months so it was ironic that I got bitten only here out of all the places I stayed:

Luxury beyond my wildest dreams; five dollars goes a long way while traveling off the beaten track in Southeast Asia:

So I returned to the same modest hotel I stayed during my first visit, it was a cozy place with a super friendly owner; same $5 price, no bites and even mosquito nets (no, I did not ask for the Cinderella Suite):

This level of luxury is just fine with me, give me hot water and I am a happy camper:

I made an excellent decision to return to Bac Ha, once again I did the unthinkable and skipped the most popular travel destination of the region: the stunning scenery of Sapa coupled with the relentless harassment by locals to shop shop shop.

Tourist traps … I am too old for that buffalo $hit!