Portraits of a Footwear Developer - Vietnam

Mary - one of the most knowledgeable footwear developers I've ever met.

Portraits of a few of the great people I worked with in Vietnam.

James - super hard worker and quite ambitious.

Louie - great developer with an equally great personality.

Motorbike Life - Ho Chi Minh City

Motorbikes are the primary mode of transportation for the majority of Ho Chi Minh City's population. Even if someone had the financial means to purchase a car, it's more likely than not that they also own a motorbike. The city's infrastructure & roads just do not support cars... It is much too crowded and poorly maintained. I keep hearing about a highway and a subway system that are supposed to be built, but I haven't seen any sort of construction in the works.

Anyways, when I visited Vietnam, I was lucky enough to be stuck in a car for 2+ hours per day (sarcasm). Instead of sleeping or listening to music, I decided to challenge myself and take photos of the most ridiculous motorbike situations I saw. Since the motorbike is the main (or only) form of transportation for most people, they find ways to transport what they need to transport... whether it be families of 5, giant tires, steel beams, or propane tanks. The skills of these drivers was quite impressive. What amazed me even more was that I failed to see an accident my entire trip.

Next time I go, I should either rent a motorbike or helicopter...

Bright Lights and Motorbikes

My hotel room (at New World Hotel) had a beautiful view of the city lights (this hotel is where Bill Clinton stayed when he visited Vietnam). However, what you can't hear in this picture are all the motorbikes buzzing and honking on the street below. I guess it would have annoyed me more had I stayed there for an extended period of time... however, having to listen to it for only 2 days added to the ambiance of Ho Chi Minh City (actually kind of enjoyed it).

In these 4 images, I messed around with different shutter speeds and ISO settings... I think the fourth image in this series is my favorite (on the bottom)

Winter Nights in Vietnam

Street market in Ho Chi Minh City

When I first got to Vietnam, I was exhausted... it took me two hours to get through customs, I was still jet lagged, and I didn't have a moment to rest since I had been in Asia. Nonetheless, Ho Chi Minh is an awesome city... and when I got there, I wanted to walk around and explore (plus, it's a bit difficult to sleep with the constant motorbike traffic all night). These are a few pictures I took while wandering around the streets by myself that first night. The majority of the photos came out poorly because I was too jet lagged to pay attention to the camera settings. What made the evening even more interesting was that I got completely lost and had to figure out how to ask for directions without knowing Vietnamese. The area I was at was relatively safe though... so didn't feel too bad walking around. Plus, I was coming from a much colder climate... and the warm weather felt amazing!

Street food in Ho Chi Minh City... delicious, but not the most sanitary

Street market in Ho Chi Minh City 

Neon Lights in Ho Chi Minh City

Breaking Dawn in Ho Chi Minh City

Breaking Dawn in Ho Chi Minh City. The view from the rooftop of New World Hotel... looking toward Bitexco Financial Tower (largest building in Vietnam)

Ho Chi Minh City... more motorbikes than people

View from the New World Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City... great view, but just a bit noisy. 

May 8, 2011

Motorbike life in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Vietnam is a very interesting place... great food, interesting culture, warm climate, an massive amounts of motorbikes. It's difficult to describe the motorbike scene there... something you need to see in person to fully comprehend. Not many Vietnamese people own cars or trucks. Therefore, if you need to transport something, you throw it onto your bike. I saw people transporting everything from mirrors to propane tanks to families of 4 to groceries to chickens to giant tires (as shown above). The drivers of the motorbikes definitely have mad skills.

Bonus video below:

April 30, 2011

The Virgin Mary statue outside the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica. This is located in the center of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was constructed by French colonialists over 100 years ago. During October 2005, the statue was reported to have shed tears... attracting thousands of people and forcing authorities to stop traffic around the Cathedral. However, the top clergy of the Catholic Church in Vietnam confirmed that the Virgin Mary statue in front of a cathedral did not shed tears, which nevertheless failed to disperse the crowd flocking to the statue days after the incident. The reported 'tear' flowed down the right cheek of the face of the statue.

I didn't see any tears when I was there.

April 15, 2011

Chilling out at one of the Highlands Coffee shops in Saigon.

Vietnam has some of the best coffee in the world (although, my favorite is still Costa Rica)... and some of the most dedicated coffee drinkers. The people there appreciate good coffee. All the cafes were constantly filled. I actually had to wait in line to get a table at this place. It's interesting to me that a country with such a hot climate would also be so into coffee.

Vietnamese are also famous for putting condensed milk into the coffee drink. I enjoyed the condensed milk in iced coffee, but thought it was too sweet to put into hot coffee. The coffee in Vietnam is very strong, but it's also very smooth... so the condensed milk is not necessary. The silver canister you see to the right is a little brewing mechanism for single servings. You put freshly ground coffee beans and hot water into the canister... and then place it on top of your cup. The coffee drips out through a filter and in no time, you'll have a wonderfully fresh cup of coffee! Brilliant!

April 13, 2011

The inside of the central post office in Saigon is unlike any other post office in the world. Not only is it a fully functioning post office, but it also is  one of the biggest tourist attractions in the city. The building was constructed when Vietnam was still part of French Indochina in the early twentieth century... and the building has a Gothic architecture style. There are also a bunch of little shops inside that like to overcharge tourists... although, it is a great place to get a "motorbike coffee table book". If you look in the back, you will see an image of Ho Chi Minh.

The outside of the post office is also one of the most popular places in Vietnam to get wedding photos taken. Bonus image below!! (there were actually a line of couples waiting to get their photo taken at this spot)

April 10, 2011

Chillin' with a side of illin'... fruit vendor on the streets of Vietnam. It's difficult to be highly energetic all day when it's 90+ degrees out. Every now and again you need to take some breaks. I kind of wanted to buy some of the fruit in that basket, but didn't want to interrupt this woman during her afternoon siesta.

February 15, 2011

Lonely balloon salesman.

Image I took on the streets of Saigon (had some fun with photoshop). I felt a little sorry for this kid... he managed to find the one empty street corner in Saigon. I almost went over to buy a balloon, but my driver insisted that I stay in the car.

December 21, 2010

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam... where every man, woman, and child are required to have motorbikes. This photo was taken very early in the day on Sunday. Had I taken a photo in the same location a few hours later, you would have seen 1000s of motorbikes.

December 15, 2010

Picture shot from inside the bunker of Reunification Palace (in Saigon). All of the walls are reinforced with steel... must have been kind of creepy to be situated down here when all the bombs are going off around you. Lots of escape tunnels everywhere.

December 13, 2010

Notre-Dame Basilica... in the heart of Saigon. Somehow, I was able to capture a semi-tranquil moment in the midst of all the chaos around me. The church is over 100 years old and was built by French colonists in the late 1800s. All of the original building materials were actually imported from France.