“Pay me or I’ll call the cops”

The towering Cathedral in San Cristobal de las Casa dominates the central square
The towering Cathedral in San Cristobal de las Casas dominates the central square

CHIAPAS, MEXICO – For an amateur photographer, the mountain town of San Cristobal de las Casas offers plenty of opportunities to capture interesting images. From its colonial architecture, narrow cobbled streets and sweeping views to its lively crafts market, towering cathedrals and indigenous farmers offering their harvest at the farmers market. At nearly every turn, I found myself focusing my lens on yet another colorful scene.
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Look, up in the sky… It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… the sun?

Blue sky and a sunny, sandy beach in Danang Vietnam
Blue sky and a sunny, sandy beach in Danang Vietnam

DANANG, VIETNAM – During the entire seven months Melanie and I lived in Hanoi I don’t think we were ever seriously at risk for getting a sunburn.

Most days in Hanoi the sky was sort of a dull gray. Sometimes we were pretty sure the sun must be lurking up there somewhere, and occasionally the sky might have a slightly bluish tint or a few fluffy clouds, but mainly it was just a dingy gray.

But things are a little different now that we’ve moved to Danang. Let me explain…
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Sidewalks are for walking, right? Not in Hanoi…

Typical busy sidewalk scene in Hanoi
Typical busy sidewalk scene in Hanoi
Car parked on a Hanoi sidewalk
Car parked on a Hanoi sidewalk

HANOI, VIETNAM – Sidewalks in Hanoi serve many different purposes… merchandise display space for shop stalls, seating for sidewalk restaurants, parking lot for motorcycles and bicycles (and sometimes cars), work room, kitchen, grazing space for urban livestock, and occasionally as a place for pedestrians to walk.
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The Life Aquatic – Vietnam Style (Watch the video)

Life on the water in Halong Bay
Life on the water in Halong Bay

HANOI, VIETNAM – Vietnam’s Halong Bay is world renowned for its picturesque limestone karsts jutting skyward from the clear blue sea. Thousands of these impossible islands dot the waters off Vietnam’s northern coast.

Adjoining Halong Bay is Lan Ha Bay, less traveled by tour boats and every bit as beautiful. But the bays are not just home to lovely scenery. Thousands of people make their homes and livelihoods on the waters there. Continue reading “The Life Aquatic – Vietnam Style (Watch the video)”