When you think of India, the image of the Taj Mahal emerges near the top. A UNESCO World Heritage Center and one of the new seven wonders of the world, the tourists line up starting around 5 AM. It’s considered the greatest love monument ever constructed. Taj Mahal, Crown of the Palace, is an ivory […]
Cambodia #2 – Tonlé Sap & Market
The Tonlé Sap floodplain in the northwest of Cambodia is home to more than 3 million people and supports one of the most productive freshwater fisheries in Asia. During the monsoon season, the lake quadruples in size flooding the area with life and is the largest fresh water lake in SE Asia. The floating village […]
50th Anniversary in Lima!
We reached our golden 50th wedding anniversary–a milestone we never thought we would achieve! Rather than celebrate it with friends in a local restaurant, we decided that this landmark deserved something a bit bigger. We decided to celebrate in Lima, Peru — a city known as the Culinary Capital of South America and one of […]
Thailand 2 – Templed Out
There are more than 41,000 Buddhist temples in Thailand, of which more than 33,000 are actively in use. The term “wat” is a Thai word for enclosure, and now refers to any Buddhist or Brahminical temple. 95% of the 70 million people in Thailand are Buddhists. In 2019, we were “templed out” on our last […]
Malaysia 1 – Kuala Lumpur
When we first thought of going to Kuala Lumpur, we expected to get some nice skyline photographs. After searching for suitable sites though, we concluded that there is no good location to shoot the skyline from. When studying alternatives, we kept coming up with the Twin Towers as being the true iconic view in the […]
Indonesia 24 – Toraja 3 – Bamboo Orchestra
We spent several early mornings getting into position to photograph the sunrises over various volcanos. When doing that, you are at the mercy of the weather, and sometimes you get a beautiful photograph, and other times a bust. Here is a sunrise overlooking terraced rice fields at Batumonga, Toraja in South Sulawesi. After the sun […]
Indonesia 21 – Makassar
Enroute from Bali to Toraja, visitors stop overnight in Makassar, a colorful port city. Also known as Jung Padang, this is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi on the island of Sulawesi, an island in Indonesia. Sulawesi is the 11th largest island in the world, and the 4th largest island in indonesia. […]
Indonesia 20 – Bali 11 – Tanah Lot Sunset
Before leaving Bali, we decided to visit Tanah Lot Temple, which is one of the most popular tourist destinations with more than 9,000 visitors daily. Tanah Lot is still an active pilgrimage site, and there were thousands of people bringing offerings and praying at the temple. It is also one of the best locations for […]
Indonesia 19 – Bali 10 – Ubud Art Villages
Ubud is known as the cultural capital of Bali. There are many traditional villages surrounding Ubud which specialize in creating Balinese art from jewelry making, batik, wood and stone sculpting, to painting. In the interiors of where we stayed, there were many wood sculptures and furniture with intricately carved details. We hired a driver to […]
Indonesia 18 – Bali 9 – Birds and Monkeys
We went in search of the Indonesian Horn Bill (bottom-right) after they flew past us in Central Kalimantan, flying so high we could barely see them. We were told that the Bali Bird Park would be a good place to see horn bills close up, as they are illusive in the wild. The park is […]