Foto's

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I photographed this in Dong Thap Muoi , some 20 km from the seat of Dong Thap Province which locates in the extreme south of VietNam bordered by Long An and Tien Giang on the northeast; Vinh Long on the southeast; Can Tho and An Giang on the southwest; and a border with Cambodia on the northwest.

This is a large area of seasonally flooded alluvial plains on the north bank of the Mekong (Tien) River near the Kampuchean border, with patches of Melaleuca forest, some permanent ponds and marshes, and areas of rice paddy. Once alkaline swamp, Dong Thap Muoi (the Plain of Reeds) now grows 10 to 12,000 tons of rice a year.

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has chosen Tram Chim and Lang Sen zones in Dong Thap Muoi (the Plain of Reeds) as the international wetland landscape showcase, a program to prevent degradation of wetland regions in sub-Mekong regional countries, namely Viet Nam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand.

The Tram Chim National Reserve — a 7,000ha wetland in this province — is home to almost 200 bird species, 130 species of plants and 60 types of fish. Eighty-eight percent of the birds are migratory and among 16 are endangered species, including the Sarus crane.

This biggest problem for photographers to this area is mosquitoes. Once they realize a human movement, thousands of them are going to attack you at the same time. If you plan to visit this location, your top priority of preparation is how to deal with mosquitoes.


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