Location

Vietnam 2
  [ ] Bai Tu Long
  [ ] Cat Ba
  [ ] Hoi An

Travel Dates

2024.12.08 - 2025.01.02

Camera

Contax T3

Film Stocks

FUJI SUPERIA XTRA400, KODAK GOLD 200, CINESTILL 800T

Travel Notes

we joined a tour to organize a cruise around Halong/Bai Tu Long Bay. our tour guides name was Smiley and everything he said sounded off-the-cuff but you know he’s been rehearsing and saying the same lines for the last 10 years. secretly i wished we were assigned to his coworker, kenny g’s group, but thems the breaks.

the cruise was beautiful. i remember the first time i visited Vietnam in 2012 every conversation with another traveler would eventually lead to the same question: did you go to Ha Long Bay? for this reason i avoided Ha Long Bay that trip. fast forward 10 years later and i can’t wait to break from my 9-5 office job and go on an overnight cruise on a junk boat through Ha Long Bay. who wouldn’t? we were grouped with a young honeymooning couple of DC and 3 divorcee senioritas from Mexico City.

cat ba island felt like one big construction zone. a summer destination which we found out the hard way by visiting in the winter: closed shops and quiet town area. however there is a lady deep frying banana’s and sweet potato’s for school children on one of the streets near the waterfront that was best of trip. our “eco” village was high in the mountains, away from the quiet town. we rented scooters and scootered around freely and freezingly. no our last day we were so excited to leave. cat bye bye.

i was nervous to visit Hoi An again after so long, mostly because i had such a beautiful memory of it’s walkable streets and delicious foods. of all the repeat places i visited, hoi an developed as much if not more than Phu Quoc. Longing for the past i walked the streets, ate the food, and am returning home smiling but now glowing. we did however stay at one of the most beautiful airbnb’s i’d ever stayed at nearby Hoi An. there were even a group of kittens frolicking around during meal times. precious.

travel can be beautiful, complicated, and educational.

can’t wait for the next one.