TRAVELLIVE MAGAZINE Travellive 01-2016 | Seite 115

this time of the year that I see more happy people.
Everyone in Hoi An seems to be slowing down a lot
with less tourists in the city. People are looking less
grumpy and are smiling a lot more at each other.
TRAVELLIVE: Your photos of Vietnam are well-known,

they are mainly taken in the North Western upland and
central highlands of Vietnam. Are you going to take more photos
in the South for the next collection?
I have a lot of Vietnamese friends and fans that are from the
South. They have asked and some even complained to me
(smile) many times that they rarely see any photos of the South
of Vietnam. Like I have mentioned, Vietnam still has many
colors for me to explore and I am slowly moving southward.
I prefer taking my time in each region to extract as much as I
can, because I find that every place in Vietnam is rich in culture.
I can be in Ha Giang in the North and it is totally different from
An Giang in the South, even though both places are in the same
country. My project is to explore the entire country and I’ve
already started to explore An Giang province. I already took
new photos for my 3rd book... however, I prefer to talk more
about this project once it is completed.
TRAVELLIVE: As far as I know, at the end of 2015, you published

the second part of the photography book called “Vietnam
- Mosaic of Contrasts”. Could you kindly share more about this
project? And your plans in 2016?

This is a series of books that constitute the mosaic of
Vietnam. The country has an
ALL YEAR
incredible diversity in terms
of landscapes and people. I
ROUND WE HAVE
don’ t think that a single book
DIFFERENT KINDS
can show this diversity. I felt
OF SUNLIGHT BUT
that the first book was made
MY FAVORITE
by a photographer who just
MOMENT IS
discovered the country and
PROBABLY
this new volume is more
DURING TET
about remote
(WHEN IT’S NOT
areas. I’ve met
TOO CLOUDY!). IT
some ethnic
IS ALSO DURING
groups of less
than 1000
THIS TIME OF
people like
THE YEAR THAT I
the Bo Y or
SEE MORE HAPPY
Pu Peo... The
PEOPLE
Vietnamese
deserve a
series of books
consisting of different ethnicities. I am thinking
about making at least one other book to show
the South and life in the cities. The plan for 2016
is to collect all the ethnic costumes and exhibit

THE COUNTRY
HAS AN
INCREDIBLE
DIVERSITY
IN TERMS OF
LANDSCAPES
AND
PEOPLE. THE
VIETNAMESE
DESERVE
A SERIES
OF BOOKS
CONSISTING
OF DIFFERENT
ETHNICITIES.
(Photographer
Rehahn)

them all over the
world. The first date
will be September
2016 in France. It
is a festival visited
by 200 000 people
every year. I will
bring 20 to 25
costumes combined
with 40 photos of
the country. I want to show that Vietnam is not only 5 or 6
touristic cities but there is so much more to discover.
TRAVELLIVE: You travel frequently by motorbike to take photos.

You seem to be a real Vietnamese person now! Do you travel
alone or do you get support from locals?

I always travel by motorbike because I like to be free and not a
lot of people can be patient enough when I take photos. I like to
meet locals and my fans along the way and when I find a good
model, I can spend 2 hours with them. Of course, I feel like a
Vietnamese person, I speak the language a little bit, I sleep in
Nha Nghi, eat in local restaurants...
TRAVELLIVE: What do you usually do during Tet holiday? Based

on what you have observed and experienced, what are the
differences between Tet and New Year’s in the Western world?
Actually, I don’t really celebrate the Western New Year but I
like to celebrate Tet when I’m in Vietnam. I have many friends
so I’m never alone. But I don’t drink beer, so I avoid parties...

A lot of my Western friends living here, like my
family, will also try to blend in and get together to
celebrate. Naturally, we don’t follow the exact same
traditions or eat the same dishes as the Vietnamese
families. To us it is like a post-Christmas celebration.
I also spend Tet travelling outside of Vietnam just
like many Vietnamese people do since half of the
businesses in Hoi An are closed as are my 2 galleries
and ice-cream shop! It is like a long break for my
family and me.
Sincere thanks to photographer Rehahn for spending time
with Travellive and sharing these interesting stories. We
wish you a merry Tet Holiday!

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