When the lights go out...

The evening view form one of the restaurants - even though I've already covered the sunset experience, it is something you can go back over and over again. The sky is different every day and you can experiment with angles and lenses.

Now that I'm back to Montreal, I not only remember this beautiful sight, but also lying on a mat, sipping a fresh watermelon smoothie and enjoying the cooling breeze from the water.

Sony RX100M3, 24mm, 8s @ f/11, iso 80

Low-hanging fruit

Another very typical view from Vang Vieng: mountain ridges in the background, hint of a river in the foreground, afternoon golden time and some kind of activity the visitors love to try there. This time it is a hot-air balloon allowing to admire all the beauty from above.

I did not try it personally - was too busy kayaking and hiking, but I've heard the view was indeed breathtaking. 

Nikon 7100, 75mm, 1/80s @ f/16, iso 400

Morning rush

Back to Laos...

I exhausted the pictures from the Kong Lor Cave area already, but there is so many more from the other places. Vang Vieng was already mentioned once, so I will not repeat myself telling why this place was so awesome.

But it only takes one look at the picture below to see why it was an ideal spot for a photographer: water, mountains and amazing colours. It is hard to take a "peaceful river" kind of shot in this area though - the people are getting busy quite early. Most of them rushing to do "sunrise cruises", but also setting up their nets or just going up river with some supplies.

Sony RX100M3, 24mm, 1.3s @ f/11, iso 80

Crops

And the last (at least for now) picture from the Kong Lor area. Less related to the cave, more how do people live there. It seems like not everybody is into lodging and transport business.

I saw photos of those fields when the crops are fully grown. I wish I could be there at that time...

Sony RX100M3, 24mm, 1/8s @ f/11, iso 80

Morning on Mekong

This is the same longboat as in this picture. The morning was chilly, it was hard to wake up, especially after a long ride from the Thai border in a cold bus. But when I look at the shots taken, I could probably post one daily for another month. Beautiful river.

Sony RX100M3, 24mm, 0.8s @ f/11, iso 80

Going places

Maybe not the best quality pictures of them all, but I like the framing and the story behind them.

Unable to get a bus in Kong Lor, which is a very small village in the mouth of the famous cave, and having a lot of distance to cover to get to Si Phan Don as quickly as possible, I got a songthaew (truck taxi) to ride me to Thakek. Later on, on the junction with north-south Route 13, I had to switch to a more crowder taxi, but this one I had only to myself!

Instead of sitting on a bench, I took the floor, my back against the cab. I had lots of fun listening to the music and watching the landscape pass by...

Sony RX100M3, 57mm, 1/60s @ f/11, iso 125

Sony RX100M3, 60mm, 1/80s @ f/11, iso 160

Mouth of the cave

Sony RX100M3, 24mm, 30s @ f/11, iso 80

And back to Laos, to a marvellous place called the Kong Lor Cave with a wide long-exposed shot of the entrance.

Path to enlightenment

Sony RX100M3, 54mm, 1.3s @ f/11, iso 80

Back to Laos. The Kong Lor Cave was nice, but so were the surroundings. The forest path leading to the cave was especially welcoming in the early morning.

Shameless autopromotion

Nikon 7100, 75mm, 1/160s @ f/5.6, iso 100

Nikon 7100, 75mm, 1/50s @ f/16, iso 720

I'm not really into selfies, but sometimes I get asked for a (good!) photo of myself and you can use pics from 10 years ago only for so long...

These portraits were actually taken by a friend and then post-processed by me. She did a good job - now I have photos to use for the next 10 years or so! :)

The reason I was asked for these: I was interviewed by Elyse Lévesque for her article on digital nomads. As we weren't able to meet, the pictures had to be taken by myself. The bottom one ended in the article. For the full version you need a tablet (iPad or Android) and the LaPresse+ app. You can read the full text (in French) here (warmly recommend, it is very well written), but there is no photo of me there, just my words.

Buddha Park

Sony RX100M3, 24mm, 1/30s @ f/11, iso 200

If you ask me, Vientiane is not the most interesting place to visit. Night market, Patuxai, Pha That Luang. In the evening few drinks near the fountain and that would be all.

The actual place to go lies 30km from Vientiane and is called Buddha Park. Wonderful spot to chill in the afternoon, provided you paid your song thaew driver to wait.

And of course the widest lens I had was 24mm. Too bad...

Postcard from Mekong

Sony RX100M3, 24mm, 1/50s @ f/11, iso 125

The Mekong River around Luang Prabang is so photogenic that it can be photographed almost at any time of the day. Morning shots yield a veil of mystery, while in the afternoon you can find your ideal postcard shot.

Just lie down and watch... "Friends"

Nikon 7100, 75mm, 1/80s @ f/16, iso 640

iPhone 5s, auto, VSCOCam

Vang Vieng was the place where we stopped to "refuel" after the cold of Luang Prabang. Not so long ago this spot was a serious drug scene, now cleaned up (within reason), is for partying in the night and doing cool stuff during the day. The activities include: hiking, mountain biking, swimming in ponds, kayaking, tubing, rock climbing.

The activity, which seems quite popular there is watching Friends (as in TV series). You go to a restaurant, order food and drinks, lie down on a mat and enjoy the show.

For obvious reasons I was more interested in the view "outside". So I chose to go to restaurants on the river, hunting the sunset. And - oh my gosh - it was a beautiful sight!

We spent total four days in Vang Vieng and - when every restaurant felt the same and the next day wasn't particularly different from the previous one - we left for Vientiane.

Going home

iPhone 5s, auto, VSCOCam

Four things.

First, I am back to cold Montreal, after three months in beautiful and warm - in many aspects - South-East Asia. Last year it was this picture I chose to say my good byes. This year I could not have a better shot than this one.

Second, even though I mostly stayed in one place (Chiang Mai, where else?), it was two weeks of holidays in Laos that were the highlight of this winter. I met many wonderful people, both falangs and locals. And I was blessed with the company of a special friend who travelled with me right from the Thai border up until the last moment before I embarked on this boat. It was a wonderful trip.

Third, another friend recommended VSCOCam app for my iPhone camera. Indeed, it offers a great deal of control when taking quick snapshots - for anything else I have other "real" cameras. Snapseed is the best on-the-device editing app (if you exclude Lightroom Mobile). Camera+ has many advanced shooting and editing options. But when it comes to taking the phone off the pocket and just taking picture, VSCOCam is the best.

Fourth, I still have many photos and I will certainly post them here. Just think of this one as my way of saying:

"Good bye, Asia. See you next winter."

Enjoy your morning coffee

Nikon 7100, 75mm, 1/60s @ f/2.8, iso 3200

Cute little coffee shop in Luang Prabang. Got there before the famous "Giving Alms" ceremony started, to watch it while enjoying the coffee. Probably the only place in Laos serving Japanese coffee too! And a very nice waiting girl - when I asked to have a croissant, she just jumped onto her bike and after 5 minutes I could enjoy a fresh one from a near bakery.

Rivendell?

Sony RX100M3, 60mm, 4s @ f/11, iso 80

Imagine how much more water would there be, if it were the wet season! However, the colour would not be the same. In any way, the Kouangxi Waterfall is THE gem of Luang Prabang area.

And there is this mental connection to the Rivendell as pictured in the first LotR movie. Just without any special effects...

Exit

Nikon 7100, 75mm, 1/50s @ f/1.4, iso 640

It took two days detour from the main Laos north-south route, unpleasant 10 hours on a bus from Vientiane, then, going back, almost 24 hours ride to Pakse, including night hours in a non-sleeper. Was it worth it? For this picture, I'd say yes.

Gremlins 3: Unexpected Delivery

Nikon 7100, 75mm, 1/160s @ f/1.4, iso 100

Not exactly sure where this connections come from, but the first title that jumped into my mind during the post was Unexpected Delivery. And when I tried to imagine, what could be in that box, all I could see was a cute mogwai...
Anyways, it was a really productive morning on the river. And - aside from the cold - it is the best part of the day in Luang Prabang.