GET READY FOR ADVENTURE
To make the most of your workshop, we suggest you arrive a day before workshop start. Most participants meet at this day to go photographing and having dinner togeher.

Good morning Hanoi
We’ll start our day off in the early morning by the beautiful Tran Quoc Pagoda in West Lake. Here, we’ll experience and photograph the monks and the locals meeting each other for the morning rituals.

After breakfast, we’re off to the Temple of Literature, surrounded by a beautifully lush garden in which the Hanoi locals meet. Here, we’ll see the local students going through homework together.

Lunch: Every day tf the workshop, we’ll enjoy lunch at local restaurants. Today, we’ll do so in the French Quarter.
Vietnamese cuisine rank amongst the finest of thew world, a wonderfully eclectic mix of local produce and French inspiration.

In the soft evening light we’ll journey through the city by rickshaw, photographing the city coming to life.

The lecture of the day will be on Christian Nørgaard’s iconic travel photography as well as on what makes for good street photography.

Back to the past
We leave Hanoi during the chaotic, but charming morning traffic. Bikes, cars and motorcycles weave seamlessly between one another in an anarchistic chaos that manages to work without a hitch.

We’ll spend the day in the historical and immensely photogenic ancient village of Duong Lam in the Son Tray Province, a small farming village by the Northern Red River Delta.

We’ll saunter around photographing the locals running their oxcarts through the narrow streets, and in the small clay houses we’ll meet their families.

Highlights of the day include: Mong Phu Temple dedicated to national heroes, the King Ngo Queen and King Phung Hung Temples and Mia Pagoda, built in the 15th- century containing and impressive 287 statues.

After dinner: Expert review and constructive criticism of the images taken during the day by Christian Nørgaard.

Night Train to Sa Pa
In the morning hours we’ll visit the local florists’ market followed by the Dong Xuan market, the biggest in Hanoi.
Here, a wonderful assortment of practically anything can be purchased – from kitchen appliances to livestock.

Come evening, we depart from Hanoi Railway Station, soon passing the legendary Long Biên Steel Bridge.
You’ll dine and sleep in your own private, authentic and charming cabin, not unlike traveling first class back in the day.

Moving North

There’s an immediate change in scenery as we move north. The breathtaking countryside surrounding us will be our backdrop for the next couple of days as we move closer to the Chinese Border.

We’ll take a cable car to the top of the tallest peak in Vietnam, Fansipan, also called the Roof of Indochina. From here, there’s an incredible view of the valley below, as Sa Pa comes to view between the clouds.

After lunch we’ll stroll through Sa Pa before heading for a local village in the afternoon. Here, we’ll meet people from the Kinh tribe that live ion wooden huts heated by hearths in the center.

In the evening, a lecture on landscape photography based on Christian Nørgaard’s travels around the world, as well as constructive criticism.

Meeting the locals
We leave Sa Pa for the mountains, visiting the small villages of the intruding Khmer and Hoa peoples.

We’ll stop by the multi-storied rice fields and photograph normal life in the mountains, such as the locals bringing home the harvest by oxcart.

After dinner: review and constructive criticism of the images taken during the day.

Journey by 4×4
About an hour’s worth of driving by private 4×4 brings us to a vibrant local market.
Here, the local tribes sell off their crops and livestock – chickens, pigs and goats go to the highest bidder.
There’s also all sorts of beautiful examples of local craftsmanship.
This day will be spent photographing the market and its guests.

In the evening, we work on our photography.

Legendary rice fields
One of the most beautiful rice fields can be found by Y Ty Village. By private 4×4, we move through the beautiful scenery, stopping when we feel like it by small villages or scenarios we pass by – such as for instance a wedding.
However, the highlight is Y Ty Village, from which we have a view of the magnificent rice fields.

Back to Hanoi
We journey back to Hanoi by private bus. This day trip takes us through lush rice fields and small villages. We’ll have lunch locally.

Back in Hanoi, we spend the night by Hanoi Train Street, eating local food right by the traintracks running through the districts, hence the name.

Beautiful Hanoi Bay
From Hanoi, it’s a drive of a couple of hours towards the coast where we’ll arrive at our ship. For the next two days, we’ll sail around the magnificent Halong Bay, and you’ll have excellent photography opportunities from your own private cabin of the more than 1600 limestone islands dotting the horizon.

Halong Bay, situated in the Gulf of Tonkin, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site easily recognizable for its emerald blue waters and over 1600 islands littering the coastline. Small junkers dart around the myriad of islands and create a stunning scenery found nowhere else in the world.
The source of inspiration to many a movie, this location is like something lifted from a fairytale, and the pictures practically shoot them selves against this truly marvelous backdrop.

After dinner: Constructive criticism of images taken during the day.

Kayaks and closeups
Today, we journey by kayaks and smaller boats through the mazes of limestone islands in the bay. Once the lighting is right, we return to the deck for the best view of the majestic scenery.

Returning home
It’s a tradition to practice Tai Chi at sunrise on our ship. Therefore, we invite you to an hour of Tai Chi whilst watching the sun rise over the scenic limestone islands in the bay.

From here, we’ll share our thoughts and experiences about the workshop until lunchtime. You’ll be back in Hanoi in time for your late-evening flight departure towards your home destination.