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Vietnam
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Aug 29, 2017 16:46:28   #
Skip Loc: SF Bay Area CA.
 
I will be going to Vietnam in maybe March. I would love to hear any advise on what or where to shoot.
Thanks
Skip

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Aug 29, 2017 16:57:02   #
Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida
 
Skip wrote:
I will be going to Vietnam in maybe March. I would love to hear any advise on what or where to shoot.
Thanks
Skip


This post could have been written in 1967. Deja Vu.
Have a good happy trip.

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Aug 29, 2017 16:59:59   #
AZ Bill
 
Good one!

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Aug 29, 2017 17:28:48   #
TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC
 
Kmgw9v wrote:
This post could have been written in 1967. Deja Vu.
Have a good happy trip.


Yes it could. It's probably changed a lot since I was there, but I would get a script for Cipro or another equivalent wide-spectrum antibiotic effective for GI problems. I wouldn't drink anything that didn't come out of a bottle or use ice in my drinks, and I would be careful about not getting bitten by mosquitos (sleep under a net or a strong fan). Not to sound negative, but forewarned is forearmed.

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Aug 29, 2017 18:59:21   #
Diverhank
 
Skip wrote:
I will be going to Vietnam in maybe March. I would love to hear any advise on what or where to shoot.
Thanks
Skip


Vietnam is not that big of a country but it's still pretty big (the size of California). Where do you plan to be? Hanoi, Saigon, Hue? There are tours that will take you to all of these places but they are generally not photography-friendly (not able to do dawn and dusk). There are also photography tours but I haven't been on one...I guess you can look it up on the internet.

In Hanoi, Hoan Kiem lake and Hanoi Hilton are "must photograph" places. A few hours from Hanoi, there's the famous Ha Long bay that one should not miss. In central Vietnam, you have the citadel city of Hue, made famous by the movie "Full Metal Jacket"...visiting the citadel, you can still see pockmarks made by the bullets made in the 1968 fighting depicted in that movie. Hoi An and Danang are fairly touristy but offers many photography opportunities. At the beach resort town of Mui Ne, giant sand dunes offer quite a bit of photographic possibilities. When you are in Saigon, you must get a taxi across the river and take a night shot of the Saigon skyline...it's pretty cool. Here are a few that I took a few years back...

Hoi An At Night
Hoi An At Night...

Da Nang Dragon Bridge
Da Nang Dragon Bridge...

Saigon Skyline
Saigon Skyline...

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Aug 29, 2017 20:48:44   #
Quinn 4
 
Forget about it. Last year I had a friend and his wife who were in Vietnam. Did not like it at all. Food was not that great, had to be on the lookout all the time for people who were trying to rip them off. People not that friendly.

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Aug 29, 2017 20:55:40   #
Bill_de Loc: US
 
I haven't been back, but people I have spoken to have all been happy they went. I wouldn't forget about it because one couple didn't like the food. Let's face it, if you don't like the food you get cranky, then everybody else seems unfriendly.

--

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Aug 29, 2017 22:01:12   #
DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX
 
I was offered a trip back. I won't go.

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Aug 30, 2017 05:48:50   #
Tommy II Loc: Northern Illinois
 
Not in a million years. Too many ghosts.

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Aug 30, 2017 05:57:56   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
Skip wrote:
I will be going to Vietnam in maybe March. I would love to hear any advise on what or where to shoot.
Thanks
Skip


Sarge69 went there a few years ago. Send him a PM if he doesn't respond.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user-profile?usernum=12071

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Aug 30, 2017 06:18:51   #
markjay
 
Forget all the negative comments. Vietnam is interesting and safe.

The only ripoffs are taxi drivers. The food is fantastic.

By far - the most photogenic place in the country is Hoi An. a 45 minute taxi ride from the Danang airport. Unfortunately - the trains in VN are still in the dark ages - it takes forever to get anywhere. Saigon to Danang by train is 17 hours. By air - a bit over 1 hour. You will have to fly everywhere.

You will love the place - and the prices are still like US prices from 40 years ago.

PS - take a cooking class in Hoi An. Famous for cooking schools - many offer half day classes. It was a fantastic experience - and you will cook yourself a great meal.

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Aug 30, 2017 06:57:42   #
mainshipper Loc: Hernando, Florida
 
markjay wrote:
Forget all the negative comments. Vietnam is interesting and safe.

The only ripoffs are taxi drivers. The food is fantastic.

By far - the most photogenic place in the country is Hoi An. a 45 minute taxi ride from the Danang airport. Unfortunately - the trains in VN are still in the dark ages - it takes forever to get anywhere. Saigon to Danang by train is 17 hours. By air - a bit over 1 hour. You will have to fly everywhere.

You will love the place - and the prices are still like US prices from 40 years ago.

PS - take a cooking class in Hoi An. Famous for cooking schools - many offer half day classes. It was a fantastic experience - and you will cook yourself a great meal.
Forget all the negative comments. Vietnam is int... (show quote)


Agree regarding the negative comments. I'm a vet who spent a year flying helicopters there in 1971-72 and pretty much saw the country from end to end during my tour. I have also traveled back there each of the last three years and will go back again this winter for a month or so. I've never felt unsafe and will eat locally when I know what I'm eating. It seems everybody is totally enamored with Hoi An but on my two visits it seems mostly like a tourist trap. Of all the countries in SE Asia, I don't think VN is the most photogenic (Myanmar and Cambodia take that prize) but does have the most vibrant population. Everybody is very friendly and holds no animosity towards Americans. As a veteran, I have tried to avoid the wartime museums as most are propaganda factories. As mentioned in another response, Ha Long Bay is a must see but the weather in February-March usually sucks as it was on both of my visits. If you want a true culture dip, stay in a hotel in District 1 in Saigon and the old part of downtown Hanoi where you can walk most everywhere in those areas.

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Aug 30, 2017 06:59:42   #
rowyan
 
Thanks for the photos - color is awesome!

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Aug 30, 2017 07:01:22   #
dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida
 
TriX wrote:
Yes it could. It's probably changed a lot since I was there, but I would get a script for Cipro or another equivalent wide-spectrum antibiotic effective for GI problems. I wouldn't drink anything that didn't come out of a bottle or use ice in my drinks, and I would be careful about not getting bitten by mosquitos (sleep under a net or a strong fan). Not to sound negative, but forewarned is forearmed.

" I wouldn't drink anything that didn't come out of a bottle or use ice in my drinks,"

Yes TriX, I learned that the hard way in Guatemala ,,,, can you spell PROTOZOA

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Aug 30, 2017 07:05:00   #
Capn_Dave
 
Kmgw9v wrote:
This post could have been written in 1967. Deja Vu.
Have a good happy trip.

BWAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaHHHHHHHHhhhhhhh

I did some shooting in the Pleiku area in 1967. At that time people were dieing of lead poisoning.

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