When the exotic isn't exotic enough

[cyrus]

OK I have 2 weeks off in late November and I'm thinking of some LF travel. I wanted to go somewhere warm - southern hemisphere or equitorial. Somewhere I have never been, and not a big tourist trap. I settled for SE asia. Have discount tix to Bangkok. Considering using that as step to...where?

Hanoi and Vietnam. I speak a little Northern Dialect. Love pho. But do I really want yet another shot of yet another fishing boat in ha long bay? Do I travel 22 hours -- for the same old same old scenics?

Help!

[Jim C.]

Angkor Wat, in Cambodia, right next door to Thailand.

I saw an episode of Globetrekker that had a segment about that temple complex and i thought it would make a great place for some LF photography.
Not sure what the political climate is like, so a check is in order before traveling.

[jwaddison]

Laos. You can drive there from Bangkok and the temples aren't as photographed. Plus nice rural scenery, and not touristy.

[eddie]

Burma! go t o Bagan! it is simply the greatest spot to photograph! wonderful temples and awesome street photography available all in one country.

angkor is over rated IMO. it is the same shots you always see. cool to see but bagan is way better! trust me!

you can buy air asia tickets on line in and out of burma for about $100. check it out.

Ayuthaya in thailand is another nice spot that is very accessable from BKK. about an hour by bus, train or car. i have shot some temples near the cambodia border in thailand...nice stuff but a bit more out of teh way. not too many tourists (well, you will have thai tourist but hey are better than the "Farang" (foreigner) tourist all day!

Sukothai is another nice temple area to shoot.

do not want temples.....Krabi is great. plenty of islands, beaches and rubber plantations (one of may favorites). Koh Muk, is a good island a bit farther south.

chaing mai and chaing rai are interesting......may not be "the best" for LF but you can do it. plenty of hilltribe markets and the like.

please see my photo.net photos for a few teasers.

i make it a point never to talk about laos online. PM me if you want more info.

vietnam.....not sure. i spent some time there. my brother lived in HCMC for 5-7 years. he would be the one to ask.

call me if you want to talk on the phone. i got plenty of info of the area. i spent tears living there......

i never spent less than 6 months at a time per visit !
eddie

[Nathan Potter]

Cyrus, you might consider staying in the western hemisphere. I go to St. John in the Virgin Islands. The bulk of that island is National Park. There are tourists but they don't seem to go far from the beaches. The attraction for me is the old abandoned sugar mills made of stone. You can take a side trip by boat to the British Island of Tortola where you'll find strange beach side boulders on the west end of the island. This is great LF stuff.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Ron Marshall]

Another vote for Bagan and Angkor Wat, two of the most interesting and photgenic places I have yet seen.

[cyrus]

Angkor Wat has been shot to hell already, hasn't it?
Anyway I guess I should explain my style of LF photography (esp since I don't have an online gallery) -- I don't do scenics or landscape photography. Not my thing. I use primarily a handheld 4x5 for documentary/people/street photos.

[C. D. Keth]

Angkor Wat has been shot to hell already, hasn't it?
Anyway I guess I should explain my style of LF photography (esp since I don't have an online gallery) -- I don't do scenics or landscape photography. Not my thing. I use primarily a handheld 4x5 for documentary/people/street photos.

There are a lot of other places in Cambodia. You don't have to shoot tourist attractions.

[QT Luong]

Myanmar is superb for documentary photography too. Because of the political situation, it is one of the least westernized countries in the world with many unique traditions, and the people are wonderful. When I visited, it was easy to get a visa and arrange travel in Bangkok. Easily my favorite in SE Asia.

[Struan Gray]

You can make good photographs anywhere, so why not go somewhere different. Choose an island that doesn't make the news very often and spend some time there. Sulawesi has always fascinated me (probably Lord Jim's fault), as have more out of the way places like Kerguelen (you could row there I suppose :-). Somewhere like Christmas Island offers a wealth of unique nature, plus English as a working language and an oddball mix of cultures. Hainan is also a place that exists photographically only as a series of tourist brochures.

I would love to visit Angkor too, but it won't be a voyage of discovery.