One of my favorite destinations is Hang Ma Street in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam. Lucky for me, that’s just a few minutes away! Of all of the places I’ve been in the world, Hang Ma Street has got to be the most colorful. Hang Ma is where Vietnamese people go to pick up holiday decorations and related goods for events like Tết Nguyên Đán (Lunar New Year) and Tết Trung thu (Mid Autumn Festival). It’s common to see both Vietnamese and foreign photographers along the street, as it’s simply that beautiful and interesting. Visiting Hang Ma right before one of the holidays is the most fun. It’s at such times that the street is the most packed, and moving requires wading through a river of motorcycles and pedestrians. I know many photographers prefer to stick with studios and less cluttered environments, but for me standing in the middle of a crowded street that constantly changes with the current of people is a premium photographic experience. Yeah, it can be a pain to make sure I don’t get run over, but you’ve gotta die somehow, and it’s only the privileged that get to dye doing something they love!

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 at 12:05 am and is filed under desirable destinations and tagged with Hanoi, Old Quarter, Vietnam. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.