A local bus crawling up the hill in the mountains of far Northern Vietnam, close to China.
After my amazing trip through Myanmar, my next destination was Vietnam. My plan was to travel from the far North all the way down to the South into the Mekong Delta. Big parts of this journey would be done by motorbike, supposedly the best way to explore this beautiful country. This picture was taken during one of these bike trips. It was a three day tour along the Chinese border through Vietnam’s far North. Still very rugged and untouristy, the region around Ha Giang and Dong Van offers a scenery which is hard to match in South East Asia. The loop took me along narrow and windy roads, carved into the gigantic mountains, past vast rice paddies and through villages which are seldomly visited by tourists. We were running late on the first leg of the tour but couldn’t help but stop to enjoy the sunset dipping the surrounding mountains in warm pastel colors. One of the few local buses plowing the route Ha Giang – Dong Van was just crawling up the windy road which, for a moment, almost looked like a snake making its way up from the valley below.
Great atmospheric shot, super colour!
Hi Victor, thanks for your feedback. It was great up there. Stay tuned for the upcoming reports on that trip … Cheers, Philipp
Great pic. Really need to get back and see central and southern Nam.
Hi Lee, thanks for stopping by again. My favorite was definetely the far North. In Central Vietnam I really like Danang. Very low key and pretty untouristy since most tourist just pass through. I had a really good time there …
Great picture! I absolutely loved Vietnam, so I can’t wait to read about this part of your trip. Cheers – Susan
Hi Susan, when did u go to Vietnam and what did you like best. My favorite was probably the far North where also this picture was taken. Still untouristy and quiet adventerous. Unfortunately I will be only able to write reports until Hue. My camera got stolen in Saigon and with it I lost all the pictures from nice places like Danang, Dalat and Saigon itself. What a shame ….
Oh no! That’s horrible! I had a few small things stolen during my trip, but never anything as vital a my camera. You must have been so upset! I was actually in Vietnam for a month late May to late June-ish, but I didn’t get up as far north as you. I really loved Saigon and spent a great week on the beach in Nha Trang as well. My favorite places, though, were Hoi An and Sa Pa in the north.
Hi Susan, it was a huge bummer. The loss of the pictures was way more frustrating than the material loss. During those almost three weeks I really took a bunch great photos. For some I even went back to the location. That really sucked but apparently theft is a very common crime in Saigon. I now so many people who had bad things like that happen in that city. Something is majorly screwed up there. Last thing I heard was that a French friend of mine got his camera ripped out of his hands by a passing motorbike driver. Just happened a couple of weeks ago. So annoying. Anyhow, I am thinking about what to buy now but it is all so expensive. I will see…..
Hey Phil. I remember hearing a lot about theft in Saigon before I got there, and was even lectured by my hostel owner to keep a close eye on my possessions at all times. They even made me lock the building up every time I left or came back. Luckily nothing of mine got stolen, but I definitely agree there’s a huge issue with theft in Saigon. Hopefully you’ll be able to replace your camera soon.
Yeah, I am working on it. If all of it wouldn’t be so expensive …. Oh well. Where are you right now anyhow and what are your plans? I might head up to Canada for a couple of weeks before seriously approaching job hunting and a possible career change …
Cameras are really expensive, which is probably why I’ve never taken a photography class. Sadly, I’m still in Illinois hoping to save enough money to go teach English abroad somewhere. I finally found a job outside of my field of study, so I’m just making the best of it for now. Canada is probably very pretty this time of year with all the snow they surely have.
Did you get a certain certificate to teach English as a foreign language. I think it is a great opportunity for you native English speakers .. you should do it. I heard in Korea, China and Japan you can earn quiet a bit of money. What kind of work outside of your field have you found?
I haven’t gotten a certificate yet, but I’m working on it. I found a job as a customer service representative at a local company, which isn’t as appealing as Korea, China or Japan, but is good nonetheless. What kind of career change are you thinking of making after your trip to Canada?
Hey Susan, I am not sure yet. A lot of things on my mind but no precise plans. I booked a two day career coaching which will happen next week. I hope to gain some new insights and maybe work out new perspectives as well. I am hoping to be a bit smarter afterwards. I will see…. but I have also thought about teaching abroad. For you guys it is way easier though. You can actually get certified via an online program which shouldn’t even be too expensive. Maybe worth checking out?!?