Lak Lake in the Central Highlands of Vietnam is a magical place.

In this article the photographs will tell their own story about this wonderful region.  Join me as I show you beautiful, tranquil images from this region   I spent almost a week recharging my batteries with my friend, the extremely talented photographer Gosia, living in communal longhouses, cycling around dusty lanes and paddy fields and getting to know the local people.

It was here at Lak Lake that I finally, eventually came to love Vietnam.  Most people live in traditional villages with the majority of the homes being the wooden communal longhouses.  The residents are farmers, working hard in the paddy fields, walking their buffalo and cattle to the fields each day and rearing the friendly little black Vietnamese pigs and chickens.

 

If you want the opportunity to travel with me and experience sights like this for yourself I can now offer you the chance.  Read more about it on my Travel with Me page here

 

 

The lady above had childlike qualities.  She would wander around the village muttering quietly to herself and moving with perfect grace and poise.  Gosia gave her some biscuits.  The lady sat down and seemed confused by this action which is when Gosia took this image of her.

 

 

 

I love the grumpy face on this market trader. She agreed to her photograph being taken but refused to smile for it.

 

We stopped at a roadside cart selling sugar cane juice.  These three little girls were playing outside their home and pretending to be shy.  Their father (the juice seller) was encouraging them to come over and chat to us.  This photograph was totally unposed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drinking rice whiskey, rice wine and rice vodka at the wedding.

We stayed in three different communal longhouses.  This was the first one

 

 

 

 

Every village had its own customs, house designs and traditions.  In some of them, the number of windows would signify the number of females in the home.  Each time a girl was born a new window would be cut out of the side of the house.

 

 

I helped this lady load her motorbike as she couldn’t balance the boxes and tie them all down by herself.  I watched her ride away with my heart in my mouth – hoping that I had strapped things down properly with her

 

This lady would bring all the other stall holders over to watch us eating at her place.  She was so proud.  And hardworking. In the evenings she ran a food stall out on the street with her children helping her.

 

 

Another proud father on his motorbike who asked Gosia to take a picture of his daughter

 

People hate the sun and wrap up tightly against it despite the heat.  To be brown signifies to be a poor farmer.  Pale is more beautiful

Would you eat your breakfast here?  This would be a perfect food challenge if you are doing the Smash the Pumpkin Project.  Read about that project here and find out how challenging yourself with little things like where you eat your lunch can boost your self-confidence and self- esteem

 

We gatecrashed a Russian tour group’s cultural evening.

 

 

The coffee shrubs were in full blossom when we were there.  The scent was amazing – similar to jasmine.

 

 

 

We had stopped for a beer at a tiny hut by the road.  I gave some old teeshirts to the mum.  They were worn and slightly damaged but she dragged me over to see her sewing machine and then dragged the kids over to pose with me.  She would alter them for the children

 

One evening there was a tap at our door and these two little boys came in.  They poked around our bags and belongings and then spotted the computer.  They only left when the battery ran flat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can read more about Lak Lake on my blog post at this link: Dalat Lake or Lak Lake.  What’s the difference?

Thank you to Gosia Czerwinska for some amazing photographs and some wonderful memories.