Sam Chapmans – The Rocket Factory Photo Chronicle » The Rocket Factory – news from Thailand

We’ll a ton has happened since my last post, some of which I’m not happy about, some of which is thrilling. So much has happened in fact that I have far too many photos for one post so I’ll be breaking this into parts.

To get started I might as well air out the bad news before I get to the good stuff. I’m not one for pessimism but I’ve got my fair share of speed bumps this leg of the journey. I’ll start out saying that Windows Vista is absolute crap. I knew it was crap when I left the states but I didn’t have enough time to install a new operating system – I even asked them NOT to put Vista on the machine. Well long story short Vista died on me, perfect timing considering Windows 7 just came out and I had a free upgrade – I’ll pass and take XP 64, thanks though. I’m not going to go into the details other then to say I got a crash course in the Asia pirate scene and was less than impressed.

After 3 reformats numerous trips back and forth from the “market” and 4 days of wasted time rebuilding this thing I have enough of a computer to start working again.

The good news is that having OCD backing stuff up has paid off. I know there are some minor things that I lost but for the most part all my photo files are intact.

Ok then, I’ll catch everyone up on the progression.

This is the current travel log from Laos to Vietnam. I’ve slapped in the next tentative leg to Ha Long Bay although the exact location is still debatable. I’m looking to avoid the massive tourist vortex that gathers in the area.

A funny thing happened the morning of leaving Phonsavan when I had to catch a tuk tuk to the bus station. I knew ahead of time the ride cost 10,000 kip. This is something I would recommend to everyone to check with other people what the fee is first because the drivers are usually deceptive. Anyways I got in his ride and he said 70,000 – I assumed he meant 7,000 and he just had his English mixed up. Well, his English was spot on and I just about fell over laughing when he demanded 70,000 kip at the station. I was half tempted to give him nothing but at about this time I was beginning to get an audience and thought it would be best to give him something. So instead of giving him his “special deal” price of 10k I gave him a big smile, a thumbs up, and 7k (I’ll note that as a minor win on my part – in reality it isn’t much by US standards, but that’s not the point – the guy was an ass).

After that I left Phonsavan enroute to the sleepy town of Sam Nuea. It was another 8 hour death ride that put me in town during the night hours. I’m not sure what it is about bus stations in Laos, but they never seem to be located in town – at least the ones I end up in. This one was particularly interesting because it was on the top of a hill at the end of a road with no transportation to get you where you needed to be. This meant I got a nice 2 or 3 mile blind (as in no idea where I am going) hike with my 95 pounds worth of crap. I will say that the view from the bus station was enjoyable – although none of my pictures turned out. This is thanks to some intense fog and smoke. I’m putting this one in just because. Don’t be fooled by the brightness in the sky – that is me failing a landscape shot. I should have shot this off my tripod with a slower ISO but I was tired and being hounded by some guy that thought I was going to walk off the edge to get to the city.

Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D3X
Shutter Speed: 1/15 second
Aperture: F/2.8
Focal Length: 21 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Date Taken: Oct 8, 2009, 5:53:13 PM

Sam Nuea was a town I could have passed on. It was Laos’s way of polishing off a bumpy tour with a pot hole. I only went there as a staging grounds for my Vietnam border crossing but have since decided there has to be better ways. The night of arriving I was lucky enough to run into a guy that spoke decent English and had a guest house. I wanted to hop a bus to Vietnam so he made a phone call for me and I was able to find out there were two prospective bus trips to Hanoi. One was the next morning; the other was two days later. Looking back I should have taken the morning bus, but instead I decided I needed a rest after the 8 hour cramped bus ride I just finished. Well I definitely got a rest. Sam Nuea had little if nothing to offer for photography. Everytime I went out I could swear they were yelling at each other that I was coming down the road. They would see me and stare like they didn’t particularly care that I was there. So the next day photography wasn’t an option. To make things worse the power decided to go out all day long. To finish out the KO I found out the guy that spoke English was temporarily visiting his father and he had left town.  He was apparently the only guy in town that spoke English because there was none to be found the rest of my stay. With no TV, no power, nothing to see, no communication, and no internet it was very boring to say the least.

The next morning I boarded what turned out to be another painful bus ride to Hanoi. All I can say about the buses in Laos is that if you are over 5′ 3″ bring knee pads because you are guaranteed to have bruises on said knees from lodging them into the seat in front of you. This ride didn’t deviate from the prior trips. It was roughly 12 hours with no AC, lots of dirt and soot – and zero comfort. I might bitch a lot here but in reality the Laos bus system isn’t far behind Greyhound – coming from a third world country that doesn’t say much for Greyhound.

All in all when it comes to travel the lesson for Laos is that having your own means to get around is the best bet. I’m not sure what option would be the more fitting but I’d recommend a comfortable touring bike or some low profile 2 seater sedan. The only reason I say low profile is because something that can handle lots of curves comfortably would be a major plus. Being able to choose your cities for reasons other then “the bus goes there” and the ability to go directly to your guest house are both HUGE luxuries.

The progression of images:

Part 1: The last of the Laos images
Part 2: The start of Hanoi

Part 1: The last of the Laos images

Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D3X
Shutter Speed: 1/1600 second
Aperture: F/2.8
Focal Length: 82 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Date Taken: Oct 7, 2009, 10:18:57 AM

This was a barbershop in Phonsavan. I made a special trip just about everyday to visit this place hoping someone would be there getting a haircut – it never happened.

Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D3X
Shutter Speed: 1/400 second
Aperture: F/2.8
Focal Length: 200 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Date Taken: Oct 7, 2009, 10:38:39 AM

This is an ox. They are all over Laos and from what I can tell they are used just like a horse back before gasoline.

I’m guessing some of you might be curious what the living conditions are like. This place was where I stayed in Sam Nuea. The room booked for a little over $5 a night. The bed was actually comfortable and using a mosquito net for the first time I can say it alleviated the stress worrying about malaria. It’s unfortunate that there wasn’t a continental breakfast included in that $5.

A failed panorama from my window.

Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D3X
Shutter Speed: 1/500 second
Aperture: F/2.8
Focal Length: 135 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Date Taken: Oct 9, 2009, 9:54:18 AM

Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D3X
Shutter Speed: 1/1000 second
Aperture: F/2.8
Focal Length: 135 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Date Taken: Oct 9, 2009, 11:58:19 AM

Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D3X
Shutter Speed: 1/80 second
Aperture: F/2.8
Focal Length: 15 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Date Taken: Oct 9, 2009, 5:07:14 PM

It’s not a secret that there is “extreme poverty,” in Laos. I think poverty is a relative situation – one thing you’ll learn traveling through a place like this is that money does weird things to people’s demeanor. The realm of having and not having while still being happy is a very grey area most Americans can’t seem to navigate.

Part 2: The start of Hanoi

When I left Sam Neua for Vietnam I wasn’t exactly prepared. I’ve got this rhythm going when it comes to travel that involves preplans, arriving, shooting, researching, shooting, researching, and traveling – rinse and repeat. All my researching is dependent on Internet, and Sam Nuea completely failed to deliver. All I knew is that I needed to get to Vietnam – so that’s what I did. No maps, no guest houses in mind, no handle on the currency, zero knowledge of what Hanoi was about ect. the list goes on and on.

There just so happened to be two Americans that were doing the same leg as I was. At first I had this idea that I would do my usual “grab the bull by the horns smash and dash,” but when we started going through the outskirts of Hanoi I realized I was way over my head and if there was an easy button around I wasn’t seeing it.

I was in a pickle and fortunately some people other than myself apparently travel with books. When we got to Hanoi the three of us banded together and were promptly surrounded by a legion of transportation scams. As I have mentioned before it seems to always be the case that tourists get prayed on while vulnerable – in this case, it was late at night, we were somewhat stranded in a new city, and clueless. Shortly thereafter things began to flow smoothly and the real journey began.

Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D3X
Shutter Speed: 1/100 second
Aperture: F/2.8
Focal Length: 135 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Date Taken: Oct 14, 2009, 4:21:52 PM

Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D3X
Shutter Speed: 1/60 second
Aperture: F/10.0
Focal Length: 135 mm
ISO Speed: 800
Date Taken: Oct 14, 2009, 4:26:37 PM

Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D3X
Shutter Speed: 1/60 second
Aperture: F/10.0
Focal Length: 135 mm
ISO Speed: 800
Date Taken: Oct 14, 2009, 4:25:18 PM

Hanoi was a pleasant surprise. Every city has its ups and downs and having already visited Vientiane and Bangkok I had preconceived ideas in regards for what to expect. The place is almost otherworldly; it has a different rhythm and flow that is a drastic change from Laos and Thailand. I’d go into the details but it’s one of those things that require you be in the seat to make connections and separations – most of which are minutia that add up to a great sum.

Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D3X
Shutter Speed: 13/10 second
Aperture: F/2.8
Focal Length: 14 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Date Taken: Oct 12, 2009, 5:57:32 PM

This is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D3X
Shutter Speed: 1/15 second
Aperture: F/3.2
Focal Length: 14 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Date Taken: Oct 12, 2009, 12:17:35 PM

This is the first meal in Hanoi. When it comes to food, I’ll just say this – Hanoi is worth a visit for the food alone. While I haven’t experienced the full depth; I have eaten enough to know the possibilities. For those of you wondering… I did eat dog and don’t have anything to say other than it is just meat. I think the lady that prepared my dog was slacking because there wasn’t much flavor. I also ate pigeon and can say that it was more enjoyable, somewhat appealing. I have yet to eat durian but I have plans to tackle it before I leave.

Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D3X
Shutter Speed: 1/80 second
Aperture: F/2.8
Focal Length: 135 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Date Taken: Oct 12, 2009, 11:54:56 AM

I’ll end this post with an image of a wall that is the icebreaker for the rest of Hanoi. As someone with a passionate interest in Architecture I can say that Hanoi has plenty to offer. The buildings and walls are loaded with character and detail that tell so many stories – none of which I know (I should probably read those things with the words in them).