Ho Chi Minh City | Fotoeins Fotografie

Mekong River, Mekong delta, Mekong River Delta, song Tien, Tien Giang, river delta, My Tho, Vietnam, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: RTW10, twenty-six

10 years ago, I began an around-the-world (RTW) journey lasting 389 consecutive days, from 24 December 2011 to 15 January 2013 inclusive.

26 June 2012.

I’m spending a few days in southern Vietnam with a base out of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). On a day trip from HCMC to the area around Mỹ Tho, I’m on one of the islands in the Mekong river delta. I’m on a horse-drawn cart where a boat on the other side of the island will take me to the next destination in the delta. Unfortunately, I don’t speak any Vietnamese: I simply shrug, I nod and smile, and I follow. But one thing is clear: there’s a perfect alliance of measured movement among human, horse, bicycle, and motorcycle on this narrow paved road.

I made the image on 26 Jun 2012 with a Canon EOS450D (Rebel XSi) and these settings: 1/250-sec, f/8, ISO100, and 18mm focal length (29mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-m8r.

Ben Thanh Market, Lê Lợi, Bến Thành, Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, myRTW, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: Night noms at Ben Thanh (Saigon)

27 June 2012.

Bến Thành Market, Lê Lợi, Bến Thành, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

After strolling the streets of Central Saigon at night, one of your experiences should include eating out. That doesn’t mean eating in the cool confines of an air-conditioned restaurant. “Eating out” means you’re on the streets, sitting on plastic stools, and surrounded by residents happily scarfing down their meal. Check out the grilled meats and seafood of all kinds, shapes, and sizes: point and choose, sit and wait, sip on a cold beer or a refreshing fruit smoothie, and enjoy the food as it’s prepared and when it’s served.

The weather might be too hot, too humid, and you might be this close to wilting and melting into a puddle. But trust me; you should be patient and persevere.

Get low and comfortable at the plastic table: watch, listen, wait, smell, taste, and learn.

During my year-long RTW, I made the photo on 27 June 2012 with the Canon 450D, 18-55 kit-lens, and the following settings: 1/4-sec, f/8, ISO400, 25mm focal length (40mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-9UT.

Pho Thai Son, Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, fotoeins.com

3 Places to Eat in Central Saigon

Saigon is a metropolis in southern Vietnam with over 7 million people; some say there are upwards of 9 million in the area. Although often referred by its present-day name of Ho Chi Minh City, many still call the place by its old name of Saigon.

A big attraction in a short trip is always about the food. The out-of-this-world traffic points to everybody in a big hurry on the go, and it seems the entire population is on their motorbikes. This also suggests everybody is hungry, all the time.

Naturally, there are many places, stalls, and street-side carts, but if you’d like to sit down under cover and see what others are eating, you might give these three places in central Saigon a try.

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