27/Dec 2012
By Jesus Roncero
3 min. read
Depending on how much time you want to spend in Cambodia, there are a few things that are a must. Probably one of their nice beaches, Phnom Penh, the capital, and Siem Reap, where you can see the truly amazing temples of Angkor Wat. This is Angkor Wat, if you are interested ;-). A post about it soon. If you have a month or so you can spend time visiting all of the south and some remote parts in the north, which is not very much explored and, apparently, has many nice places to go.
5/Jul 2012
By Jesús Roncero
4 min. read
Anywhere you read about Phnom Penh, it is described as a dangerous city. Scams, aggressive tuk-tuk drivers, bag snatching and bag razor attacks. The list is long. Not including the spoilt kids from wealthy families who have body guards carrying weapons with them. Yeah, scary stuff. However, I didn’t actually find anything like this. It looks like a nice city. A bit too hot and humid, but people are generally friendly and tuk-tuk drivers are not too much pushy, just your usual South East Asian tuk-tuk driver.
29/Jun 2012
By Jesús Roncero
4 min. read
To finish up my stay in Vietnam I decided to take a Mekong Delta tour during three days ending in Cambodia. These tours are very common in Saigon where you go for three days (two nights) and then you come back to Saigon. Anywhere you walk in Saigon you’ll find a travel agency where they advertise them. I don’t know if there are different types of tours, but I would generally avoid them if you are thinking of going yourself.
16/May 2012
By Jesús Roncero
1 min. read
Not technically Saigon The art of siesta Eyes… More siesta In a way like Hanoi, noisy, effervescent, hot and humid, bubbling during the Tet Holiday in January, this is my view on Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City…
11/May 2012
By Jesús Roncero
4 min. read
I arrived to Mui Ne from Dalat using the Easy Riders early in the afternoon and chose a room close to the old village. Mui Ne got famous among tourists recently, apparently. It is a long beach strip in southern Vietnam, famous for its winds, which attracts kite-surfers, and the different dunes around the area. The old village is quite picturesque, as it is a fishing village and has lots of boats in its harbour, which makes for nice pictures.
31/Mar 2012
By Jesús Roncero
5 min. read
From Nha Trang we decided to visit Dalat, which is up in the Vietnamese Highlands. It’s a bit of a change compared to all the other places I’ve been in Vietnam as it is further inland and 1500 m above the sea level. The central highlands is a plateau that borders with Laos, Cambodia and other southern provinces in Vietnam. It also changes as it has a year-round cool weather due to its altitude.
28/Mar 2012
By Jesús Roncero
1 min. read
Yesterday I had this surprise on flickr. I got an email from Flickr HQ saying that 5 of my photographs had been chosen by a Getty Images Editor because they think they could sell, so they’ve invited me to open an account on Getty Images with, initially, these images so that they can be sold. If they sell them you get paid a royalty. Not much, but I find this very exciting.
26/Mar 2012
By Jesús Roncero
6 min. read
We arrived to Nha Trang after a bit of a horrible train trip. I was travelling with Marielle, a swedish girl I met in Hanoi who I met again in Hoi An. We were going in the same direction and so we decided to have the same itinerary to make our trip more fun. We decided to take the train because it’s way more confortable than using the bus and we both had had pleasant rides on trains in Vietnam before.
20/Mar 2012
By Jesús Roncero
3 min. read
Hoi An is this little precious town which was initially a fishers village and now has become a full tourist attraction. It survived the war fairly well, and now it’s regarded as a lovely destination for tourists. Part of it is the small size and traditional atmosphere you see here (French style). And mainly, too, because it has around 450 tailors who will make suits and other clothing items for you in a matter of days.
11/Mar 2012
By Jesús Roncero
2 min. read
Only spent a day and a half in Hué. I somehow didn’t particularly like it. I have this theory about liking a city, where , when you don’t like a particular city, it has to do with your mood during those days. And I don’t know about you, but my mood changes a lot during this trip! :) Or maybe, it was the welcome I got when I arrived to Hué and went for a stroll… I was on my own on this city and I joined an organised tour to see the city.
10/Mar 2012
By Jesús Roncero
7 min. read
I really don’t know any more which day it is now. I mean, I know the number, as I base my bookings on that. I also know when my visa is expiring. But I don’t know if it’s a Thursday or a Sunday. Not anymore. I guess this is what happens when you are doing pretty much every day the same thing and there are no ‘weekends‘ That’s what happened to me when booking a train from Ninh Binh to Hué.
25/Feb 2012
By Jesús Roncero
5 min. read
I was hoping to go south seeking warmer climates and different scenery, but Amy and Mike recommended me to stop in Ninh Binh for a couple of days to explore the area as it supposed to be pretty. They were right. The city itself is like 3 hours south of Hanoi by minivan, with not much in it and not many foreigners. They come usually on a day-long trip so they don’t usually stay overnight.
24/Feb 2012
By Jesús Roncero
6 min. read
Who hasn’t heard of Halong Bay? Or who hasn’t seen a picture of Halong Bay? Well, I had, and I had felt fascinated by it, its ghostly waterscapes, so much that I wanted to visit it badly. Having seen amazing pictures on the internet had made my desire grow stronger. I just wanted to take my camera with me and shoot away at the amazing scenery, hoping to have great weather and perfect images, combined with a nice stay in the area.
16/Feb 2012
By Jesús Roncero
1 min. read
street eating The famous Water puppets! Crazy Traffic _ More Crazy Traffic_ Street eating II Noisy, alive, chaotic, commercial, Hanoi won’t leave you indifferent. Rich with street food, dangerous for the driving, crossing its roads is an interesting experience. Will come back.
1/Nov 2010
By Jesús Roncero
1 min. read
This is a simple blog post to introduce my friend Helena Amor, who’s trying to get into photography professionally. She started a few years ago with photography as a hobby and now she’s exploring it in a more commercial way, where she wants to dedicate her efforts and time to build a career around it. She’s mainly being taking portraits as she’s been doing for the last few months for actors and actresses, etc.