To Infinity and Beyond.

Photos: Handicraft Night Market

dondealban — Wed, 6 Jan 2010 13:20:00 GMT

The night market at Th Sisavangvong in Luang Prabang.

The Mission 10.

dondealban — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:02:00 GMT

Rina was sweet enough to give me a list of things to do while on this two-week solo trip starting from Vietnam through Laos and ending in Thailand. Dubbed the Mission 10, she came up with the list to keep me out of my comfort zones and routines while traveling, and have fun while doing it. I was convincing her to reward me with a nice prize (like an all-expense-paid trip to China) if I was able to put a check on all 10 items, but it seems the proposition got muffled during the goodbyes.

Anyway, here's the list and how far I've gone through it:

1. Photo of an old model Volkswagen. We just love the “beetle” car, and we enjoy seeing it everywhere and anywhere we go. I saw one at Hanoi and a few at Phonsavan in Laos, but I couldn't take a shot either because my camera was in my bag or I was inside a vehicle. I finally spotted one near Th Khem Khong at central Luang Prabang.
2. Photo of of myself at a border crossing. From our southeast Asia trip last year, Rina knew I kept my DSLR in my bag during border crossings because I just got anxious at the immigration. I still felt the same while crossing the Nam Can border between Vietnam and Laos, only this time I was motivated by a faint possibility of a prize so I took my camera out.
3. Description of the best meal I have had. Not yet completed as I'm still on the second half of my trip, but I have two candidates so far.
4. Buy a nice scarf and/or a pair of earrings for Rina. Well, I don't normally shop for these kinds of items. The bottom line really is to get her a pasalubong she wanted, but this idea I'm sure also came with the thought of me haggling as well. So I got her scarves (and some for Mama and Rina's mum as well) from Van Phuc silk village near Hanoi and at the night market in Luang Prabang.
5. Story of a stranger I've befriended and something about that person's life. I met Q in Hanoi in a very unusual circumstance; I leave the story of our acquaintance in another blog.
6. Photo of myself driving a local form of transport. Still working on it.
7. Write and send Rina a postcard. Done. But it seems I will get back home much sooner than my postcards. This is the first time I've sent personal mail again by post since the last decade.
8. Draw a map of my journey by hand with annotations of trip highlights. Also working on it.
9. Photo of myself wearing a local costume. Gulp.
10. Photo of a Christmas tree in Laos. I thought this was going to be tough since Laos was a buddhist nation. But lo and behold, I was surprised to see those familiar decorated pine trees at Luang Prabang. The locals may not celebrate Christmas, but the tourists do.

My scorecard so far reads 6/10. I see two more in the bag soon, but I'm still scratching my head on the last two. Stay tuned.

Photos: Luang Prabang

dondealban — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:48:00 GMT

Photos while walking around Luang Prabang, Laos.

Photos: Old Quarter

dondealban — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 05:30:00 GMT

Some photos while taking in the sights, smells, and sounds at the Old Quarter in Hanoi, Vietnam.

In transit to Hanoi.

dondealban — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 17:16:00 GMT

According to the Lonely Planet guide on Vietnam, one could take a bus from Noi Bai airport in Hanoi to the Old Quarter; it's even the cheapest airport run probably in the world, it said. So when I was planning my trip I decided to give it a try when I set foot at Hanoi. Poring over maps of Hanoi and a copy of Xe Buyt Hanoi that I found online, from the airport I had to go down at Long Bien bus station which was situated north of the Old Quarter and was also the nearest station to my hotel. From there I could take a city bus plying the road a few blocks to my hotel.

When I landed, I went looking for a bus stop outside the airport where buses picked up passengers. I encountered several touts for various transport services, but I just replied 'No, thanks,' or 'Hanoi Old Quarter' if they asked where I was going. At the plane, the flight attendant announced that JetStar also provided bus transport from the airport to town for 25000d, I think. I considered taking it but decided against it eventually so I could try out commuting as planned.

After waiting for about what seemed like half an hour and encountering a few more taxi touts, a Hanoi bus finally showed up, a sign in front indicated Long Bien. I asked the bus attendant too just to be sure that the bus was indeed going to Long Bien station, and upon getting confirmation I got in. The trip, which cost just 5000d, took almost an hour from the airport. The bus wasn't full when I got in so it picked up passengers along the way. I wondered if people easily recognized if I was a foreigner even if my features were Asian; the backpacks gave me away most probably. People wore coats, scarves, and warm garments since the weather in Hanoi at this time of year was pretty cold (~10 deg C, maybe).

Outside, the landscape reminded me of the rural provinces back home: dusty roads, rice fields. Apartments had narrow width, but were made of three stories on average.

I kept looking out for landmarks that I noted mentally from orienting myself with maps. Then I remembered the bus crossing a bridge over a river split by a small flat islet. That meant I was almost at the station. Shortly, the attendant called out to me and signaled that it was my stop. At Long Bien station, I waited for city bus #01 but I couldn't recognize the numbers that marked the buses. I went to the end of the station where there weren't much people so I could get my bearings straight. Fortunately a street map was posted on a stand which I consulted.

Then a motorbike driver approached me, asked where I was going and if I wanted to rent a bike. I told him I was waiting for the bus to get to my hotel. Seeing that I was looking at the street map he assisted me in looking for my street. After some exchanges on where my street was, a Vietnamese student came to us to translate since he spoke some conversational English. The student told me that the nearest bus stop to my hotel was several blocks away and recommended I take a bike going there instead. Conceding, and wanting to get some sleep time, I thanked him for his assistance and hopped on the motorbike behind the driver with my two backpacks on.

If I thought crossing the streets of Saigon with all the speeding motorbikes was challenging and crazy, riding a motorbike was even crazier. My driver unbelievably maneuvered well, crisscrossing with other vehicles. I can be sure I flinched at seeing our several near collisions, and held on to the handle at the rear end of the bike like I'd never let it go. It was like I was in a video game, dodging other motorists to get to my destination. I got to my hotel in one piece; and grateful, I paid the driver 30000d for an unforgettable ride. The experience was truly hair-raising.

I slept until late afternoon since lunchtime, exhausted from an entire day in transit from Manila to Hanoi.

Handicrafts by handicaps.

dondealban — Tue, 1 Dec 2009 22:21:00 GMT

On the way to the Cu Chi Tunnels, our bus stopped by a lacquer painting shop. The paintings and other handicrafts were assembled by handicapped people, mostly war victims who were no longer eligible to work in offices or farms but who still wanted to earn a living.

It was comforting to know that there were enterprises that help and employ disabled Vietnamese people rather than just leave them to beg out on the streets for lack of options. By maximizing the tourism and arts industries, handicaps were given the opportunity to learn the fine art of lacquer painting and make use of their creative skills even if they've lost some parts of their bodies. It must be difficult for them not being able find a normal job in their society like work on farms or an office job maybe; I could not even imagine how that would feel. But at least initiatives such as these say that it's not the yet end of the road for them.

Lacquer painting, as I found out, is a famous and ancient art of Vietnam wherein they use a resinous substance from trees as a varnish or glossy coating on the painting. Materials used to construct the paintings vary, but the artists in the shop that we visited used egg shells.

Each piece undergoes a long process of creation: from wood preparation, drawing, varnishing, polishing, inlaying of mother of pearls, to further polishing, coating, etc. Finished paintings then have that brilliant luster and effect of showing rainbow colors. Here, the finished product is superbly done out of team effort.

At the gallery where all the finished products were displayed, one can't help but be amazed at the quality of the pieces. I was itching to get myself a souvenir, particularly a rectangular plate-like painting with colorful abstract designs, but the price was beyond my budget (and it was too early on in the leg of my trip to carry it around).

I returned home partly regretting not buying it, but was also relieved somehow that I let go of the opportunity since I learned from my cousin who's been to Saigon as well that the items sold there were a bit more expensive than the ones sold at the markets in the city.

I've not given up entirely on hanging one of those shiny pieces on the wall of my study. I think after my return trip to Vietnam this month I won't return home again empty-handed.

Shooting Bohol island in near-IR.

dondealban — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Here are some test landscape photos I took during a trip to Bohol, which captures the near infrared (~720 nm) portion of the EM spectrum. I tried several shots for each scene, mostly by trial and error to find the proper exposure. Since the near-IR wavelength cannot be readily seen by the naked eye, an infrared filter and post-processing were necessary. There were several websites that gave very valuable tips and instructions on from setting up the hardware to post-processing, which helped me arrive at these surreal, otherworldly-looking images. I guess my knowledge of remote sensing principles and experience in processing satellite images also gave me more than a head start too. There’s still so much to learn but I’d say this first attempt yielded satisfying results; it wasn’t bad at all.

Gallery: Near-IR Test Photos

dondealban — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 03:46:00 GMT

Some test infrared shots taken from Bohol, Philippines.

Stop. Look. Listen.

dondealban — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:37:00 GMT

...and especially before crossing the streets of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). These motorbikes are ubiquitous in Saigon, their traffic--oftentimes en masse--make it quite challenging to get across the street. This particular photo was taken at Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, after 3 attempts to get across to Quan An Ngon restaurant (and before the final successful attempt).

Thoughts of last year's brief trip to Vietnam keep flooding my head. Obviously, I'm excited to go back there before this year ends. From the looks of it, I think I'll be populating this blog with more memories from that visit in the days to come.

Gallery: The Russian Market

dondealban — Sun, 7 Dec 2008 23:59:00 GMT

At the Tuol Tumpoung Market (or more popularly known as the Russian Market) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.