My first trip to Hanoi was a family holiday in 2011, a breeze through the the Old Quarter, a cruise on Ha Long Bay and the pilgrimage to the Perfume Pagoda. Like most family trips, it was planned around everyone’s needs, and Hanoi itself was mostly a stopover between excursions. There were sights I walked past, and some I never got to at all.

This time, Hanoi was the gateway to a photography trip through northern Vietnam in September 2026. That gave me the chance to linger, to wait for the light on Long Bien Bridge, finally step inside the Imperial Citadel, and head out into the countryside to photograph the craft villages that have supplied the capital for generations.

This is the first post of my series from this trip to the northern mountains of Vietnam comprising Sapa, Mu Cang Chai and Long Coc.

Continue reading “Return to Hanoi”