Tag: ho chi minh city
-
Yule tidings from the streets of Saigon
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! The Christmas spirit is here, even in the tropics. Soon I will be back in Norway, celebrating a white Christmas with friends and family and I thought it would be fitting to show how Christmas is celebrated without the access to snow. There is still a long way…
-
Blue elephants at Saigon Zoo
Yes, the images are from the morning after, but no alcohol induced elephant visions, only cardboard prints of the mascot for The Big Show. The Big Show has been around for some time. I remember the first show I went to hosted at Pierre’s former restaurant at Thai Van Lung street. Back in the old…
-
Saigon Scooter Centre’s annual Charity Run 2010
This year was the fifth anniversary of the Charity Run event organized by Saigon Scooter Centre. My first time to attend. The event raises money for charity and the full information can be accessed here. This will be the longest blog post in terms of images. Take a look and get a feel of the…
-
The bokeh experiment
Experimentation is vital. It is good. Sometimes it works the way we want. Sometimes not. Nevertheless, we did it. To do is success in itself. The image seen above was taken from Thu Thiem bridge overlooking District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as most residents prefer. It is a long exposure, camera…
-
Six degrees of separation
Ole from Fronterra and one of my friends and clients, once told me something that made a lasting impression. He would often get suggestions from his workers that other suppliers were cheaper to which he always retorted “But are they better?” To him, quality came first. Another friend of mine, David, just posted a new…
-
Moto Moto!
In Vietnam a moto is a motorbike. In Zambia, they have the Moto Moto Museum. To them, Moto Moto is Fire Fire. Moto is also a nickname for Motorola. You have Moto Boy from Sweden. The Urban Moto magazine, the Moto programming language, another Moto Museum and Mr. Moto, the secret agent. China are famous for…
-
Scandinavian design from the shores of Vietnam.
Asia, the heart of manufacturing these days. Ideas can be created anywhere, however, when the ideas are about to be realized and manufactured, then Asia is the place to be. One of my clients, Fronterra, have their designers in Scandinavia, or more precisely, Denmark. The Norwegians and the Danes have a good relationship. Denmark is…
-
Why nine lives are not enough for a copycat…
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, however as a visitor to Dalat’s old train station, my enticement to buy a souvenir for my son, who happens to love Thomas the tank engine, vanished as hot steam in the air as I walked into the shop. I could have been in Saigon, Hanoi,…
-
The “100 Faces” photography project and the Vietnamese contribution
“The project is a book in which sale proceeds will be donated to The Global Hunger Project. We are collecting an array of portraits from different photographers around the world. The Goal of this Project: Gain exposure for photographers and the art of photography, raise money for global affairs addressing children poverty, expose the world to…
-
“Puppets that dance on water” – Múa rối nước
Showtime. Or so we hope. At the ticket counter they wouldn’t sell us tickets, instead they told us to take a seat and wait in hope. Hope that more than ten souls were willing to spend half an hour to watch an art form that dates all the way back to the 11th century. Welcome…
-
The colorful ones – Saigon brightens up
Talking about Vietnamese fashion, the Ao Dai comes to mind, however, the real deal is something practical and often quite outstanding, in terms of colour that is. How come? Are bright colours the equivalent to the reflective safety vests? Walking the streets of Saigon you will not easily become the next Sartorialist as the most…
-
The masked riders of Saigon’s streets.
Motorbikes are plentiful in Saigon. Over 4 millions according to travelers websites, and in 2000 alone, 1.4 million units were produced locally and sold. According to a survey from 2008, 26 million vehicles are registered in Vietnam, 95% of them are motorbikes. Over 9000 new motorbike registrations daily. The numbers are just numbers until you…
-
Packed like sardines as accidents do happen
The image above was captured on the road from Phu My Hung heading towards district 4. A motorbike carrying building bricks had slammed into a SUV and consequently fell on the road, breaking most of the bricks. Police at the scene filling in forms while the traffic jam is building up as the SUV was…
-
Arriving in Vietnam and facing the traffic
Most people, when asked, would answer that the traffic mayhem that you experience on a daily basis leaves an impression, for better or worse. In the central business district, foreign pedestrians can be observed breaking out in panic and sprinting in hordes across the zebra crossings. Not for the faint hearted indeed. There are a…
-
The streets of Saigon. What to see and what to expect. The street vendors.
I spent two days watching people and capturing the some of Saigon flavours as I left my normal gear behind and went back to basic. One camera and one lens. First out of a small series of blog posts: The street vendors. Above, about to be extinct from the roads, unless in an organised group…
-
Chasing lightning as it rolls over Ho Chi Minh City.
The rain season is definitely here and this evening was spectacular with the lightning frequency. Almost as strobo flashes going off on the dance floor and the crowd lose itself in the music of (insert your favourite dj here). Playing Chemical Brothers while editing images was almost like being back in London’s clubs with the…
-
“What were the skies like when you were young?”
They went on forever And they — when I We lived in Arizona And the skies always had little fluffy clouds And they were long and clear And there were lots of stars, at night And when it rained it would all turn It — they were beautiful The most beautiful skies as a matter…
-
A weekend of spiritual wellness for the photographic soul
What better start on the weekend to pay visits to pagodas and take in their atmosphere. Parking the motorbike in the courtyard and see people walking slowly without any haste is a welcomed relief from the traffic mayhem that goes on outside. First stop is the Jade Emperor Pagoda on 73 Mai Thi Luu street.…