Vietnam – Day 4 – The crazy market of Binh Tay and the taylorman of Hoi An
Long day of traveling this, departing from Vinh Long to begin the ascent toward the center of Vietnam, going from Ho Chi Minh and final destination, Hoi An. The trip is in stages, with several changes of means of transport: scooters, minivans, taxis, bus, plane!
Back to Ho Chi Minh City, in the Chinese district of Cholon.
A few hours waiting in Ho Chi Minh, before taking the domestic flight to Danang, gave us the opportunity to visit the Chinese district of Cholon and the Binh Tay market, one of the largest and most chaotic in the city. Arrived by taxi, we immediately dive in this circle of hell, with the usual and noisy swarm of scooters. Of course, here, I enjoyed it a lot to photograph and interact with merchants, always smiling and helpful.
Flyimg with Vietnam Airlines
After the tour in the chinese district, with the convenient local bus, number 152, we reached the airport to get the flight to Danang, lasting an hour. Vietnam Airlines has proved to be a really good company, excellent service and high-end aircraft. Top!
Hoi An, the Kimmy tailoring and a fabulous homestay
Arrived in Hoi An with a pickup from the airport and a trip of about 30 minutes, we were immediately greeted by the beautiful smile of Miss. Anh, manager of the beautiful Tea Garden Homestay structure. A colonial mansion in the historic center, within a huge room for us, with large windows, king size bed, clean and nice furnishings. Write down this name, if you come to Hoi An, this is a classy accommodation at very low prices.
But before dinner, i had an important appointment: Hoi An is famous for its tailors who make custom clothes in less than 24 hours, at very affordable prices and with excellent quality. So we went to the near shop, Kimmy, where thoughtful women immediately took care of me and, after an hour of choosing styles, fabrics, colors and sizes I chose clothes, shirts and coat!
Back to the hotel, starving, even though the restaurant was already closed, the beautiful Ahn, manager of the Tea Garden Homestay, has re-opened the kitchen just for us, and prepared to us a fabulous soup noodles, served directly in our room! An impressive kindness and hospitality, what you would expect from a sweet careful mother.
It was a long and tiring day, but this time too rich. I love Vietnam!
How was my photography?
Today I photographed “only” during the walk into the Chinese district and the crowded Binh Thay, I think I’ve made some excellent photographs. Now i finally begin to master my Leica M and to make good use of the “zone focusing” techinc. Basically, I try to predict the picture, establishing a priori, the focus distance and letting the scene fall in that area, where everything will be in focus. With this technique, I can capture scenes with impressive speed, with the certainty of the focus and even without seeing in the viewfinder. Now finally, I fully appreciate the beauty of the Leica rangefinder system!
Useful information
- Transfer to Phu Dong (Vinh Long) in Ho Chi Minh Kim Ahn bus: 100.000VND per person (4 hours)
- Motorbike ride from bus stop to the center (District 1): VDN 25,000 per person (20 min.)
- Taxi Vinasun from Ho Chi Minh City center (district 1) to Bin Tay Market (district 6) 130,000 VDN (25 min.)
- Local bus # 152 from Ho Chi Minh City center (district 1) to Airport: VDN 10,000 per person (40 min.)
- Flight Vietnam Airlines Ho Chi Minh City – Danang, economy: 679,000 VND per person (1 hour)
- Minivan from Danang airport to Hoi An Center: 350,000 VDN (30 min.)
- Hoi An Accommodation: Tea Garden Homestay
The day in pictures (iphone 6s)
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Attila
xin ciao Sabino,
was great meeting you in vinh long and I will follow your trip through Vietnam on this blog (it kind of is an extension of my vietnam trip 🙂 )
We have a very similar way of traveling, diving into a foreign culture and getting in contact with all kinds of locals to learn the most- that alone makes me curious, about whats going to happen next! Not to speak about your style and the quality and power of your photos- something I’m hoping to reach with my own pictures one day.
Looking forward to the rest of the trip and of course your photos.
It would be great to read more about how you photograph, approach the scene or “plan“ your shots (you have already ideas in mind what to shoot when you come to a place?)
Attila
Sabino Parente
Hello mate! I’m happy to read you and i appreciate your comment. It’s a pity that we met for such short time, we could have enjoyed some more time as we share the same interests.
Sure i will talk more about my way of doing photography, but i will do it after the trip. Now, i focus more on writing the daily journal. But one of the purpose of my blog will be too share my way of seeing things and how i take pictures. So, keep following me and…have a trip to Luxembourg next year! 🙂
Sab
Attila
And a quick tip for hoi an:
Mot Hoi An –
150 Tran Phu Street, Minh An, Hội An Vietnam
One of the best drink i had in Vietnam. Its kind of a cool refreshing herbal tea, after a recipe of Mots family. never had something similar. You can drink it to go, but better go inside this little gem and try his food as well. The place is like a vietnamese family house of the past, Mot is cool, his family is super friendly and for 25k dong you will find no better food quality (except in the market maybe).