Vietnam 2014 | escapeintomyjourney

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Tom Bach

VIETNAM

Exploring the wonders of my native roots and this third world country

Little duck! Roaming the country side of where my relatives live, you can randomly see a group of baby ducks laying on the side of the road chillin'! It was crazy to me because as I approached them, they didn't even hesitate to move and actually let me touch them!	Country side cruisin' In Vietnam, motorcycle transportation is by far the best way to go about anything. Here you can see my aunt and I cruising through the country side riding to a nearby open market! You can notice that she's wearing a mouth cover because the air in Vietnam is filled with so much pollution due to the deforestation of new city centers.	My favorite image by far. When I look at this image, I think of World Magazine. This is probably one of the greatest photos I've taken to depict the struggles of making money and sometimes, you need to carry your whole business on your back... literally.
Little nieces and nephew! I wanted to take a photo of the children here in Vietnam like many of those famous photographers who travel the world. I then thought to myself; why not take it of my own family members? :)	The heat... Vietnam is directly touching the equator and what does that mean? It's humid! I believe when I went on this trip, it was 112 degrees fahrenheit and I was dying... literally.	Cemetery views Have you ever celebrated people who have past away in your family like this? I THINK NOT! Craziest experience I have witnessed.
What does your uncle do for work? My uncle raises cattle and sells them for an incredible amount of profit! Lol. I woke up at 4:30 AM and saw him taking his cattle out on a stroll through the farm. Said to myself "who the heck wakes up at 4:30 AM!!!" Then went back to bed.	Ngân and her first burrito!!! We were in the most touristy city called Nha Trang in south central Vietnam and stopped by this Hispanic restaurant (since I was craving Mexican food) and Ngan had no idea what this was! Forced her to take this photo so I could always remember her first burrito at age 16.	Riding outside of the village! "Hey, look over here!" "Snap!!!" This was the road to leaving the small village my dad grew up in. If I were to snap the photo a little more to the right, you would see the cemetery from the Hue Massacre.
Beverages of the day With every excursion, don't forget to take time to relax and just the view.. and hey, why not include alcoholic beverages to make it that much better!	Chu Huynh! I love my dads brothers! They're all so different than he is and way way way more relaxed. This one reminded me of the hulk. He was big, dark, always had his shirt off, and honestly looked nothing like the rest of the brothers. Haha	Yummy yummy in my tummy Oh god! Lord have mercy on your sole. If you can feed me anything, it'd probably be tasty clams! Ate all of them and had no care in sight!
Spa time in Vietnam! I was forced to go to this stupid spa since my relatives wanted an "ALL GIRLS DAY" and I didn't want to stay home with the dog alone... Surprisingly though this was a relaxing treatment!	Flower! Tropical flowers in Vietnam makes it that much better! Seriously.	Family My little nephew was such a pain in the ass! He wanted to touch all the equipment I brought and literally wouldn't shut up half of the time but although he got on my nerves, I still miss the little rascal
GRAMPS Why do I love this photo? Because every time I would wake up at 4:30 - 5 AM, I would check my grandpas spot on the second floor of the balcony and there he was! Sitting on a small stool, looking at the temple from across the street, and sucking on his toothpick.	Cu Chi Tunnels of Saigon My travel partners and I embarked on a small trip deep into the forest of southeast Vietnam where we headed to the famous site of the Cu Chi Tunnels. Here we were able to explore the routes the South Vietnam Army dug underground during the Vietnam War. This was such an incredible experience to physically put myself through this. In the photo, I was so big that it was hard to navigate through since Vietnamese people are typically no taller than 5'6.	Family feasting! With every traditional time of the year to celebrate and honor those who have passed away in our family, this was a very meaningful time to feast and honor the dead. My aunts and relatives helped prepare all of these tasty traditional Vietnamese dishes while the men helped set up the tables and decorations!
Longest cable car? Yes, you're right! The longest cable car is here in Nha Trang, Vietnam. You actually take this cable car to reach an amusement park called Vinpearl which is located on a deserted island!	Ho Chi Minh City This photo doesn't depict the heavy flow of traffic but trust me; once you enter the borders of this city, it's complete chaos. On our drive to my uncles house from the airport, we were in a vehicle and hit a biker. She fell, got her motorcycle, and said sorry. One of the most craziest things I have ever witnessed in my life. I literally thought she was dead by the sound of the motorcycle falling.	My moms old market grounds. I explored the old stomping grounds of Thuan An where my mom and her family were originally from. The photo of this outside market was exactly where my mom worked 23 years ago before she boarded a plane to United States. It was such an eye opener to see how tough she had it and made me appreciate her immensely.
My nieces and nephew again! When I look at this photo, it makes me think of how simple like was when I was a child. Here you can see my little nephew playing with a CD and how he found such amusement throughout the whole day with it.	Mangosteeeeeeeeen! By far one of my favorite tropical fruits here in Vietnam. I told my uncle that he had to bring me some every single morning otherwise I wouldn't wake up... and so he did.	Tropical flower. With such humid weather, exploring the scenery in Vietnam is so incredible because beautiful nature is everywhere!
Festival food! Another photo of food from the ceremony! It really irritates me how in America people only think that "pho" is the only food from Vietnam when there are so many more fine dishes my country has to offer. Pho is only from south Vietnam... try central Vietnamese dishes and you will see!	Worshipping my grandma and brother. Every time of the year, we honor the dead and since my sister, brother, mother, and I visited, my relatives made sure there was a ceremony to honor my grandma and brother who had passed away. With every special ceremony in Vietnam comes Buddhist monks to make prayers stronger and wish the entire family good luck for the future year. It is stated in Vietnamese mythology that when a ceremony happens like this and it begins to rain, your whole family will receive good luck... and it did...	Chu Cap My dads youngest brother and I strolling through his old stomping grounds. He was showing me what him and my dad would do 55 years ago. Along this ride, I learned that my dad was the only sibling out of his four brothers and two sisters to ride his bike every morning at 5 am to school to learn.. while no one else in the family really cared..
Com Heun One of the famous dishes in Hue! It consists of cilantro, friend squid skin, rice, peanuts (or any sort of nuts) and a famous traditional Vietnamese sauce!	"Bun Bo Hue" at a restaurant! When traveling through Vietnam, you'll see small cafe or restaurants in nearly every corner. A self made business for these people which is pretty cool. But with food comes price and this fine authentic dish specifically derived from Hue was only 1.25 dollars! This is probably one of the biggest perks of traveling to Vietnam because you'll barely spend money on food!	The whole crew It's funny because one I thought I saw a small group of little duckings, these guys randomly popped out from inside the branches!
Bac Vy My dads second older brother and I riding along in the morning to get some fresh Vietnamese coffee and enjoy the day!	I love this photo. I've been to Vietnam twice now and every time I visit, I make sure to bring American snacks. So my fathers youngest brother is by far the biggest of them all and I had to snap a photo of him eating a mint chocolate chip Oreo just because I have a weird obsession of taking photos of chunky people eating.	"Go over there with your dog" Scrolling through photos at my uncles house in the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, I didn't see many portraits of my cousin. So I told her, "Let me take a photo of you with your dog." I thought this one came out well! And although she didn't want to smile and show her teeth (since Asian's don't typically smile) I forced her. :)
My home in Hue, Vietnam! When my dad heard the news that his mother was about to pass away back in 1998, he boarded a plane immediately to Vietnam to attend her funeral. This was also the time we spent over there to build a worship home for her to honor her. I was too young to understand or know anything but hearing this and physically being present at this home was a humble feeling.	My uncles shop! My uncle works as a tailor with his wife as a living. This is a photo of his shop and all of the different fabrics he has. Before I left on my trip, my dad said, "make sure you take advantage of your uncle and tell him to make you all the clothes you want!"

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