Photographing Vietnam - Sapa
After visiting Mu Cang Chai we went further north towards Sapa. Of all the areas in northern Vietnam, this one is maybe the most popular. That's why Sapa town is very crowded and full of hotels and restaurants.
We didn't spent much time there after arriving via Heaven's Gate. After lunch our guide took us 20 kilometers south of Sapa to the Topas Ecolodge. Ever since I had first seen photos of that place a few years ago I had wanted to stay there. Thus I had booked our room nearly one year in advance to ensure our stay during harvest season.
The hotel is located in a very unique place, far from the bustle of Sapa town. It's another world. Surrounded by countless rice paddies, it's the perfect place to stay as a landscape photographer. To give you an idea: the photo below, for example, was taken the first morning just a few meters from the entrance to the hotel compounds.
The views from our hotel room were also excellent, but most of the time I took a bicycle and drove along the adjacent valley to explore the countless views. I also hiked along little trails through the rice fields and found many beautiful photo spots in the three days we had there.
What I also noticed was, how fast the rice harvest proceeded. I had always read that mid September was the best time to visit Sapa. While this might be true for some areas, the fields near the hotel were already harvested when we left on September 8th. Had we visited around mid September it would have been a huge dissapointment for sure.
In the video below I talk more about this and I also take you along some of the hikes I did and show you the views I photographed.
Sapa was definitely the highlight of our travels through Vietnam - to a huge extent so, because of the location of our hotel. And not to forget the weather - so much sunshine during rainy season was quite unexpected and a welcome surprise after our time in Mu Cang Chai.
The view there is amazing, the people of Sapa must be so blessed to be surrounded by such beauty. Well, it's all thanks to their hard work but that land must be really fertile. Look at how lush and green these are...
Your photos are really amazing, I could view these all day!
Thank you.
Well, while as a traveller I was able to enjoy the beautiful views, the people there don't have so much time to do so I think. The work they do to harvest those fields is really tough. The roads, if there are any at all, are often not very good. They have to carry those 50Kg rice sacks on their backs first before they are loaded onto motor bikes and trasported along the rough tracks. But it was interesting to see how fast the harvest proceeded in the few days we were there.
How tough life must be for them, I can't imagine that they go all through this. How I wish things will get better for them so the will be able to work more efficiently and with ease. To them, it is just a necessary means of survival. I bet there are times they get annoyed with all of that... And to think that they finished the harvest within a few days is just Wow!
I really will love to visit someday...
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Wonderful pictures of beautiful nature, like endless green fields along the hills, the lights stripes on green background. I think thank you equipment you can filter some of the sunlight to intensify the colors. I can imagine that such good quality hotel will be more expensive than ordinary but all that beauty and service of those people who work there worth these money. I believe many tourists still will come to visit such hotels. In south east Asia cycle is one of the cheapest and flexible transport, and of course ecologically clean and you can enjoy fresh and being close to nature.
I also prefer an Ecolodge like this to a normal hotel. It was more expensive, but it was totally worth it, especially because of its unique location :-)
This video has everything and it shows your great editing skills. I like that you give a little tips as well and it's not only taking us through the country. It's very useful. I'm sorry to hear that you missed the sunrise but your photos are really amazing. I can imagine you were aiming for something different, but you took the best out of the situation. And I also like the music. It fits the environment perfectly. Great video, great photos, great adventure! Thank you for sharing :)
Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked the video and photos
Hi mibreit-photo,
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Hi @mibreit-photo,
Simply stunning video and photographs. It is great for so many who will never get a chance to go there and see it for themselves to be able to get a glimpse of such a beautiful area.
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Gene (@curie curator)
Hello Gene, thanks for the feature. If you want to include a few lines from me about this content it could be something like this:
When I visited Vietnam for the first time nearly two years ago I instantly fell in love with the country - even though it was winter and the landscape didn't look nearly as vibrant as I had seen in photos. So I knew I had to come back, which I did this September. And the conditions around harvest time were just perfect as you can read in this article and see in the accompanying photos and video.
you did such a great job.
Will grab my cam now and do some pictures!