27 May 13
Halong Bay cont’d from part 01 – on our second day we got onto a day boat and sailed further into the bay. We sailed for almost an hour before reaching the next destination for kayaking. I make it sound like an hour felt like forever. But that hour was the most peaceful and serene hour I’ve experienced in a long long time. No sound but the wind.
Told you there would be rocks on rocks on rocks, heh
This is the top deck where most of us sat around. As I’m typing this at my desk, there are about five different types of sounds around me. I never noticed how much noise I endure every day, it’s like I finally understand what peace means. In the sense of an environment. I thought I knew peace… but boy was I way off.
The captain anchored our boat here. Signalling it was time to get into kayaks and explore on the water.
We chilled a lot on the kayak, as best we can without capsizing, to soak up every peak and valley in the sky. In part 03 next, we explore lagoons and caves!
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, halong bay, indochina sails, kayaking, kodak 400, nikon FM10, vietnam
21 May 13
Now onto Halong Bay, the main reason why we travelled to Hanoi. There are day trips or two-days trips to visit Halong Bay though we felt a 3 days 2 nights itinerary suited our preference better. We sailed on the Indochina Sails boat which we booked through Halongsapa Tours.
The drive from Hanoi to Halong took about 4 hours
Couldn’t wait to explore the deck and take in the sights!
Grumpy face but I wasn’t grumpy :>
Activities began after lunch and our first stop was Titop Island. Here’s the view from 200 steps up on a cliff.
Down on the beach and a bummer that it was too chilly to swim
Expect a lot more rocks in part two! Here in real life, I’ll be sharing news about Pomheads tomorrow. It will be ready for sale and I’m so excited!!
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, halong bay, kodak 400, nikon FM10, vietnam
13 May 13
This morning, Ben helped me shoot some photos for my upcoming hair pieces. I’ll share them here real soon! Don’t laugh tho when you see me in them, it’s been forever since I’ve been in front of the camera. Those days of ‘wardrobe remix’, you remember those?!
I got all my rolls of film developed almost immediately this time. Our trip to Hanoi, especially Halong Bay, was just terrific. It’s one of those places where no photo can quite capture what is before you. Not even a panoramic photo, yo. But before I post those ‘not-quite-photos’, I’ll start with some of Hanoi, particularly the area known as the Old Quarters.
This is St Joseph’s Cathedral
A slice of Paris in the form of the Paris Cafe (13 Nha Tho Street)
Walking around Hoan Kiem Lake, it was close to evening time so people were out and walking, talking, sitting around
A moment of stillness, while traffic is buzzing around the lake like crazy
This is Ngoc Son Temple, connected to the lake by this red bridge
We didn’t go inside the temple but found this guy outside
Walked on some more to get an idea of what’s around us and what to eat for dinner!
The ubiquitous Vietnamese straw hat
I wrote a list of what to eats too but that made this post way too lengthy. Save that for later, pictures of Halong Bay next!
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, agfa vista 400, hanoi, nikon FM10, vietnam
2 May 13
Took a walk around Gillman Barracks and these were some of the quiet spaces I saw.
The Naked Finn, looks like a great place to hang.
A standalone loo.
A little update on what I’ve been up to, I’ve been working on new products – hair accessories! – which I hope will be ready for sale end of May. I’m really excited and also a bag of nerves. It’s been a while since I last sold handmade work, and I miss it so much. I know people say it all the time but now that it’s happening to me, I can truly say I love making things with my hands.
Now, Ben & I are off to Hanoi for a week. Halong Bay, here we come!
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, gillman barracks, kodak 400, nikon FM10
10 Apr 13
Before our guide took us to Maya Bay, our boat stopped here for a bit. According to him, this was where Leonardo Dicaprio’s character in the movie The Beach jumped from the cliff. So click click click went all the cameras.
So our boat pulls into Maya Bay and here’s the view from the beach…
And now here’s the view of the beach while in the water! Immediately this hilarious post by krisatomic came to mind and I had to do my Maya Bay version of it. Humans to beach ratio is way off, sadly.
Still beautiful tho, will have to suss out the less popular islands the next time. Till then, Krabi!
| Tags: 50mm/F1.8, kodak 400, krabi, maya bay, nikon FM10, thailand
