Joe Benning Photography

Travel & Photo Blog

  •   Reston, VA

Ha Long Bay

We piled onto a junk with some friends to sail on Ha Long Bay, a UNSECO world heritage site. The bay is dotted with fishing villages at the base of some of the rock / island formations and it has an almost indescribable natural beauty. It’s kind of like the Grand Canyon in that you […]

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Chan Mae Viet Nam

A visit to Chan Mae included stops at Hoi An, Dan Nang and China Beach. It is officially dubbed Marble Beach, but the official name is ignored in favor of China Beach. Here are some photos that include the bustling market in Hoi An’s Chinatown, the jungle in My Son (pronounced Mee Sun), and China […]

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The Mekong Delta

We took a long (7 hour) trip out to the Mekong Delta, which is about a 90-minute drive from Saigon. As usual, motorbikes were everywhere on the roads.   In Viet Nam, traffic lights (a rarity) and Stop signs are mere suggestions so the drive was took us through the usual chaotic traffic. When we arrived […]

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Good Morning Viet Nam…

Saigon is now officially Ho Chi Minh City but the locals call it Saigon anyway. It very much resembles Paris; not too surprising since much of the architecture is from the French colonial period. It is a study in contrasts: an old city, filled with young people, ancient traditions and unbelievably chaotic traffic mostly led […]

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Thailand and Cambodia…

Quite a few photos here including street scenes, outdoor markets, and of course, Temples and Pagodas. Cambodia and Thailand are studies in contrast. The beach resorts we visited are first rate. Not so much the villages and small cities outside the upmarket tourist areas. Joe

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More Singapore Photos

Mary Anne and I visited Singapore’s aviary–the largest in South East Asia. Here are some photos taken while we were at the aviary as well as a few taken in a man made rain forest. Joe Mary Anne watching the show Flamingos by a waterfall  

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Penang and Langkawi

Here are some photos taken at Penang and Langkawi, both part of Malaysia. They include a shot of Kek Lok Si Temple, cable cars that Mary Anne and I took for a ride up the side of a mountain, a farmer’s roadside market in Penang, a scarecrow in a rice paddy, a woman working in […]

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