No time to post. Just two photos. Havana is a very interesting place – a mix of old American cars, friendly people and old Spanish architecture (that is falling apart).
I hope that as the new wave of investment hits the island that they preserve the architecture (I doubt it).
This is my favorite car shot of the trip, in the parking lot of Hemingway’s estate.
A marine iguana on Las Tintoreras, Galapagos, sunning. They let you get close.
The benefit of a 28-300mm is that I can stand a way back and get in really close. This skittish little fellow was quite a way. I watched him make his way through the scrub … until he paused for a shot. Shot on the Isla Plaza Sur.
Cooling on a window in Quito, Ecuador.
The capital of Ecuador and one of the gateways to the Galapagos.
I love the building colors in cities like this, vibrant.
Hanging out on the rocks near the beach.
Walking down the beaches of the Galapagos you go from beautiful white sand to black lava rock formations. In this case, I sat and watched a crab as the waves crashed over her/him.
A few more. Canon 5D Mark III with 28-300mm lens.
Hang in there.
We did not see these monkeys often. In the primary rainforest it is very hard to spot the wildlife as it is so fast with a HUGE canopy above you. It felt like the trees were 100m high is some places (I cannot find the data).
Thank goodness for my Canon 28-300mm.
Hiking in the Borneo rainforest is not for the faint of heart. Leeches, mud and slippery – slippery paths with lots of elevation change. The guide said he had never had someone have a heart attack while hiking but a few came “close”.
There are huge bugs in Borneo. Touch this insect and you get the following result.
It really isn’t the type of place that you go to if you are don’t like insects. There are a LOT of them.
I am sad to say that there is one place I FAILED as a photographer, and that is the leeches. We went during leech season and it was nasty. There is no other way to describe it than nasty. They are everywhere, they are heat seekers and they are aggressive. I did not get a single clean shot, even with a lens that could go to 300mm because I was too worried about stopping and having 10 other leeches drop down on me. Enjoy this fuzz shot.
Why is it stretching? Because it is seeking a host. It is crazy – you put your hand a few inches away and it will wriggle around in a frenzy. They are everywhere – under every branch, on the path, in the canopy above waiting to drop down on you. Everywhere.
This fellow eats insects. I almost put my hand where he/she was sitting on the log as I climbed up the trail.
Did I mentioned the leaches? EVERYWHERE.
An ancient burial site in the primary forests of Borneo.
Yes, those are skulls.
The path to the site.
Tricky and slippery.
From a few different vantage points.
We travelled to Borneo with one primary goal, orangutans. We saw them every day, in different spots. Every time we came upon them I was always left wondering – who is watching who?
This baby was tough to shoot. He was 10m up in the air and I seemed to always be shooting into the sun no matter where I moved. Very difficult. The only advantage was my Canon 28-300mm which allowed me to get close.
He dropped that lime on us.
I am not sure what an Orangutan laugh sounds like but ….
A perspective on how far away he was. The mother and son kept their distance/height.
Shooting into the sun again. A shot of mom.
At the sanctuary it was much easier to see and shoot the Orangutans.
Wonderful experience.
It is difficult to get a feel for just how magnificent a primary jungle is (Primary: meaning that it has never been logged). These are very old trees. These two provide perspective.
This first shot, I am shooting downward from high up in the tree on the walkway. There is still a very long way “down”.
The second provides a “human” reference point.
This probably should have been my first post on Borneo. On our trip there we stayed at the Borneo Rainforest Lodge – deep in the primary rainforest – which is a rainforest that has not been logged.
It was a remarkable and remote place, with trees that are only rivaled in size by the redwoods of California.
It had a very Jurassic feel to it, with the swirling mists, wild animal calls and abundance of wildlife. Definitely not the kind of place that you want to get lost in, vast and unyielding to the untrained Canadian.
A few shots.
Magnificent. One hopes that tourism can sustain and protect it.
The way to our bungalow in Borneo.
In color.
Our hut happened to be one that the Royals stayed in. I guess “Wills” does like to rough it. They are building brand new ones in a hurry after that visitor – quite opulent.
How time flies. I miss my favorite sushi place, a little hole in the wall run by a couple near Hiroo station. Good sushi is very hard to find in Canada – and rolls with sauce are not sushi.
Hong Kong, down a little side street stuck between beautiful brand new buildings. I wish I would have had time to go in.
From the middle of the street, late one night with my tripod.
Salarymen on the way home.
Black and white.
Color handheld HDR.
Not sure which I like better.
A little Japanese English outside a bar. No idea what it means ….
In Hiroo, the most expensive place in Tokyo. Hanging around the fishing hole in a park.
The marine iguana of the Galapagos Islands. This iguana was quite comfortable posing for me.
They are big.
Note the evolved nostrils. These creatures feed off of the algae on the rocks in the ocean, able to hold their breathe for up to 30 minutes. But while they eat the ingest sea water and salt. The nostrils are specially developed to expel salt.
It is a life and death type environment, as they are cold blooded as they swim – the ocean saps the heat from their bodies weakening them. To survive, they spend hours basking in the sun, building up the warmth to go swimming again.
Charles Darwin took a step down in my mind when our guide told us that he tied one of these magnificent creatures to a rock under water to see how long it could survive. He came back an hour later and it was still alive. A reflection of the callous approach and values with regard to the world in those days.
Beautiful creature. I highly recommend watching BBC Galapagos. Great insight into the islands.
from the Terracotta army site. Worth seeing.
Pit 2, located 20 meters north of Pit 1 is very different. Smaller (but still 6,000 meters square), and shaped in an “L” it contains mixed military forces of archers, charioteers, cavalry and infantry. At present, a large portion remains unexcavated.
I would think that when deciding if you wish to be an archaeologist, the first question you should ask yourself is “Do I like jigsaw puzzles?”
Well preserved charioteers.
A few more shots from Pit 1. The front of the pit is all assembled in neat rows.
The back is still under excavation with the soldiers being excavated and assembled.
Saran wrap, not just for keeping your produce fresh.
If you look closely, you can see remnants of the original paint.
An army partly assembled. Note how each horse is different.
A chariot partially recovered.
One last shot from Pit 1, to give you a sense of scale.
They still have lots to uncover.
The Terracotta Army went on my personal bucket list many years go while living in England, at the O2 for one reason – seeing 30 warriors at the British Museum did not cut it.
The army is estimated to have taken 36 years to complete and 700,000 workers. At the time I did not know where Xi’an was in China, I certainly did not think that we would be living in Tokyo (although Singapore was always heavily under family consideration), but I knew it had to happen.
It was worth the wait and the effort. Broken into a series of “pits”, with several still being excavated, the scale of the place is staggering.
Thousands of warriors, each different standing in rows, their weapon disintegrated but their bodies remaining. Amazing.
On many you can still see the paint remnants.
Rows, and rows and rows.
The chariots.
Oddly enough, this is the only warrior I saw that looked out of proportion. A charioteer.
700,000 people and 36 years. It boggles the mind.
Our time in Japan has come to an end.
We could have stayed longer, but factors played out that a different choice was the right one for our family. Leaving a country is always a bittersweet experience, there are things you are looking forward to in your next destination while you know there are things that you will miss from the previous country. You also get into a groove in a new country after 2 years …. that groove is over.
In no particular order are the things I will miss about Tokyo:
Safety and cleanliness: A society that is homogeneous with very little immigration means that they have 3,000 years of shared tradition and values which drive their society. The downside is that it leads to rigidity, hierarchy and significant innovation constraints. On the plus side, it makes Japan truly unique. There is no garbage because people care about their society and are too proud of Japan to litter. You can walk a back street at 2:30am and be completely safe, while a 4 year old child can walk to school with zero issues. That is truly unique.
The people: Our western society is so fast paced and all about the push. I will admit to being too abrupt, irritable or not polite enough. In Japan, as a whole, that is not the case. Sure the subways get crowded but over the last two years I have come to respect the little things like the politeness of a bow. We as westerners have not lost all of that and not everyone is rude (insert Canadians saying “excuse me” joke here), but in Japan it is the way that they all live. I heard a story the other day where a fellow was in Japan teaching English and he happened to mention to a few of the women he was teaching that he found Tokyo cold. The next day they showed up with extra blankets and a warm jacket for him. The sense of community, sharing and “team” is alive and well in Japan.
The food and drink: If you like food, you need to go to Japan. Good food on every corner, with more drink choices than you can imagine. There is no where like it. Odd to think that Tokyo has more Michelin stars than any country in the world and Canada, sadly barren.
January and February: Why? Because if you want snow you can jump on a train and be at the ski hill in 90 minutes. Otherwise, my heavy winter jacket did not come out once in over 2 years. Now that is the type of winter that I love – tennis in January.
Amazon.jp and Japan Post: I know, miss a postal system? Japan Post is amazing. Order something on Amazon on Saturday morning at 8am (and you can order EVERYTHING on Amazon) and see it arrive that same evening. A post man working on a Saturday night? Now that is customer service.
The 5pm song: Every evening in Tokyo at 5pm huge loudspeakers play a song. I have been told it is so that children know it is dinner time. How quaint.
Vertical parking: Why? I don’t know. But I always found it interesting and Roppongi Towers has to have the most advanced parking system in the world.
The wonderful, oddity of Japan: As I have said before, living in Japan is like living on Mars. You could never feel more different (As a side note, I have heard Japanese say the same thing about when they are in North America). They do so many things differently than us and it is always interesting to stumble upon new things. A simple example; they have these sinks in the washrooms in our office and I could never figure out what they are for.
Turns out they are for brushing your teeth and the button on the left (blue swirl) is a special flushing button that swishes water all around the bowl in a circular motion to clean the sink. And of course, don’t get me started on Japan’s greatest invention – the Toto. I had 3 installed into my house in Canada instantly – and yes there is a Toto Canada, and yes they sell their products on Amazon.
Japanese English: I love to read interpretations. I snapped this one recently because of the gargling insert. I also like the detailed instructions – it feels like mom wrote it – “don’t forget to wash under your fingernails” (smile)
Facemasks: This might seem like an odd one, but I like facemasks. To understand the Japanese facemask culture, you need to understand how they think.
To the Japanese, facemasks are about being polite. If you have a cold, you wear one so that you will not get anyone else sick. If you have a baby, you will wear one so that you don’t bring home any germs. To see someone wearing a facemask in western society is an oddity, in Japan it is incredibly common – people wear them everywhere. On a few occasions I have worn them when ill in the office, I have worn them at home to try not to spread a cold when I get off a plane and I love wearing them when on a plane (for hydration reasons – a great way to reduce your chance of getting a cold or sore throat).
A reflection on their community focused culture.
Last but certainly not least, Japanese customer service: Customer service in Japan is THE BAR. There is nothing that compares and it is consistent, people take pride in their work and bend over backwards to service the customer. The primary driver for this is that the Japanese people expect excellent service and are therefore willing to pay higher prices – something “Lowest price every day” mentality in North America has destroyed – it is our consumer choice.
Good-bye Japan. You are very, very unique in this world.
An amazing hike.
Mind the gap.
An excellent perspective on the elevation changes – as the wall winds up and down the hills/mountains.
A rather “overly steep” part of the wall that we did not climb.
And one that we did.
A truly impressive remnant of days long past.
In the Forbidden City the most interesting thing to me was the roofs. I can only imagine how much was lost during the different cultural purges of the last century.
Right below the roof at the front of this shot is where a Starbucks use to be. It was removed prior to the Olympics as it was not good for their image. I would hate to have seen the lineup.
A few more roof shots from around the city. Grass can grow in the toughest of places.
Deer are a popular ornament for under the roofs. Blue deer.
Last shot.
In the Forbidden City, Beijing, China.
A little bit on the history of the wall:
is a type of screen wall with reliefs of nine different Chinese dragons. Such walls are typically found in imperial Chinese palaces and gardens.
Early reference to the tradition of putting a screen wall at the gate is found in the Analects, 3:22: therein, it is mentioned as a trivial ritual norm ("The princes of States have a screen intercepting the view at their gates". 邦君樹塞門, trans. by James Legge).
Built in 1771. It is beautiful to look at.
An abandoned section of the Great Wall. Amazing that these bricks are 900 years old and were hand carried up a 800m incline centuries ago.
Traveling around Asia you become accustom to different levels of garbage. In the emerging countries where people are trying to make a living you see garbage everywhere for logical reasons; when you are trying to feed your family, ensuring that every plastic bag is picked up doesn’t really make the priority list.
In Tokyo, which went through a terrible pollution stage post World War II, the emergence of wealth has led to incredible cleanliness. Garbage in Japan is about as common as immigrants – not often seen; truly the cleanest city in the world.
Which left me wondering, what would it be like outside of the business areas that I was accustomed to in China? We have all read about the terrible pollution, so would that also mean that the same disregard for the environment is prevalent along back streets?
The answer was a a surprise – it is quite clean. As we traveled around Beijing and Xian, you did not see piles of roadside or back alley garbage. Instead, I saw a lot of people collecting garbage.
My favorite garbage collectors were those at Tiananmen Square and like many people in China, they were on electric scooters.
After all of my posts on India, I am left with a sense of awe. We went not knowing what to expect, a little worried and questioning if it was the right trip for us.
India is a full-on, visual assault. People, activity, honking, smells, traffic, chaos, laughter, despair – all these words describe it. But in the end, I think I would trend toward words like ‘vibrant’ and ‘colorful’ as the ones that truly capture India.
Yes, I think the right word is “colorful”.
It is not for everyone. It is definitely not for the first time or unseasoned traveler.
Personally, I cannot wait to go back.
Being Expats our propensity to “consume” is quite low. Beside the fact that we are living in Tokyo, we have entered into a phase in our lives where we are getting rid of things – not adding. It has to be pretty special to get into our suitcase on a trip.
Our guide had scheduled a stop at a textile shop which is a collective and one that he trusts. I have a long sales background and appreciate a good selling process. Their process is all about creating that emotional tie, letting us know the background on the collective and walking us through how the carpets are made.
The selling process started with showing us how they print silk by hand. Amazing to watch.
The finished process.
Made me wish that we needed something. Carpets, their high price item, were next.
Ever since we landed in Japan two years ago I have constantly been smiling at the little things that are so different. Truly, I say it again and again, living on Japan is like living on Mars. It could not be more different than Canada.
Case in point, music. J-pop is everywhere and I personally find the dollification (I made that word up) and boy/girl band music confusing and well, not reeling me in. That artificial, tinny, synthetic type of music can be found everywhere in Japanese society. It is particularly grating in D2, my local hardware store, which has found a way to make elevator music even more soul crushing by replicating it via synthetic organ music.
To give you an insight into this music, I pass on a video. It is me recording what it is like to be on hold with an un-named Michelin 3 star restaurant in Tokyo.
I live on j-pop Mars (smile).
The only way that we found out about this wildlife sanctuary is through TripAdvisor, and my unwillingness to accept a pre-canned trip. I am glad we did.
The sanctuary is a little bit out of the way and I wish we would have scheduled more time as they also have a elephant sanctuary in the park – 30 minutes away. If you read through the TripAdvisor reviews, there will be people complaining about some fees such as the “take picture” fee at the entrance to the park. For me, it was worth every penny. These people are doing amazing work and we made a donation on the spot.
It is a rather heartbreaking story. Wildlife SOS started in 1995 with a movement to save the “dancing bears” of India. Ripped from their mothers at an early age their noses are pierced, teeth are broken and they are trained to “dance”. Their owners move from town to town, entertaining the villagers. Through a program of buying back the bears and helping the previous owners find a new livelihood (i.e. become a rickshaw driver), they have slowly eliminated the practice. Very few remain and it is now illegal.
It is truly amazing work they are doing and these bears appear so content in their huge, open sanctuary. The sloth toed bears are beautiful and incredibly serene.
You can see the mark where the ring was initially in place. Now, long gone.
Relaxing.
They also rescue other animals – which we did not have the time to see (regrettably). Although we did have a ton of fun playing with their dogs – rescued from the streets of the city, and beyond happy. This fellow was a vixen (smile).
I would highly recommend watching this video to understand the plight of these bears. You can donate here.
There are a lot in India. Nature and people collide all over the country and like the raccoons of Canada, monkeys clamber amongst the sprawling population.
I love shooting monkeys, they are so interesting to watch. Config: Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 28-300mm f/2.8 USM.
This group of families was at the entrance to a park as we travelled to a wildlife sanctuary.
They are such an intimate species. Clustered together, jumping, playing, taking care of each other.
As I watched this young man came out of the back of a building. It caused quite the racket as they obviously knew what he was about to do.
He smiled the entire time, feeding the group.
A bear I would never buy. The warning is very clear about language.
I believe this golf visor was in the men’s section.
The below translates into roughly $60USD per melon.
And Tokyo is the 6th most expensive city currently!
A sign in Azabu Juban that made me laugh.
It is a question I asked many people before we traveled there for 10 days with a wide range of answers; what is the right amount of time?
Reflecting on our time in the country, I would pass on the following opinions (feel free to disagree):
The tourist sites become repetitive: The pink city, the blue city, Delhi. The architecture of India is surprisingly consistent. Once you see a couple temples, forts and Tajs, they begin to look the same. Therefore if you are planning, remember that. We went to Agra, Jaipur and Delhi. I do not feel that we missed much by not hitting the other northern cities and am very glad that we didn’t make the very long trips.
That isn’t to say that the south isn’t different. It is and we will make another trip to hit the south of India.
It isn’t about the tourist sites: Had we followed the itineraries that were presented to us by travel companies we would have missed out. I spent a lot of time searching different locations on Tripadvisor and opportunities to take us off the beaten path. Into villages, on to locations that others don’t usually go to. The Taj Mahal was interesting, but I wouldn’t call it the highlight of the trip. The highlights for us were often down side streets.
I began to form this opinion at Sikandra tomb, the tomb of Akbar the great. Magnificent building? Yes. Did it have anything different than the other tombs we had seen? Not really. It was at this point in the tour that we started to actively push away from the top, commonly visited sites in the cities.
It is tiring. India is a full on assault on the senses. A 100km drive can take 5 hours. Everything is caked in dust. You will see flaunted wealth and the saddest of poverty. We booked in breaks at our hotel to just relax or it would have been to much.
As I said in a previous post, our private guide gave us this flexibility and truly explained India to us. The culture, the rich history and he was very flexible as we evolved our itinerary as we went.
And to answer the question again on safety – just be smart. We had a few run ins, but we were never in danger. We stood out in the crowd (My wife and boys are blonde), so expect lots of stairs, people asking for money and a few other things. As a group, it was safe. It is just about being smart.
India is an incredible place, but it is not for the first time traveler.
Right up until the day we left for India, there was a lot of debate around going. With all of the negative press (and shocking tourist attack right after we left), we had our reservations. We spoke about cancelling many times. Was it dangerous? Was our time there too long? Would the driving from city to city be too much? I would say that of all of the places that we have travelled, this trip was the one that was most debated. We almost cancelled several times and last minute I completely changed the itinerary – shortening it by a few days.
As our guide said “India is not for the first time traveller. Most of the people who come here have been to many places before they venture to our country”.
Well said and good advice because it is not for the unadventurous or first time traveler. While I am sure there are bus tours which put you in a cocoon, India is what I would describe as “full on”. We spent 9 days there and after the trip we left enlightened, amazed and exhausted.
To be clear, we were also cautious and had a few uncomfortable moments. I happened across this post and could not help but shudder at how this woman is tempting fate (I hope her parents read it and talk some sense into her). Would you walk down a dark alley in Toronto in the middle of the night alone as a woman? Of course not. Same goes for India. We recognized that we stood out in the crowd and with the help of our amazing guide, were smart about it.
It also turned out to be the perfect opportunity to shoot my new lens. The 28-300mm proved it’s value by being able to shoot while in the van or while walking, with huge range.
And lets just say, we spent a lot of time in the van as we moved from city to city. India’s lack of infrastructure coupled with a huge population does not make for speedy movement.
Our trip took us from Delhi to Agra to Jaipur and then back to Delhi over 9 days – the Golden Triangle. Over those days we would see many things; beautiful monuments, spectacular architecture, wealth, shocking poverty, back streets, main streets, road side markets and everything in between.
Trip of a lifetime.
A few more shots from around the Mekong Delta, Vietnam (Config: Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 28-70mm).
We spent time wandering around an island market … where the fresh fruit is abundant.
Even the durian (smile). Seriously, every traveler must try it at least once.
A flower along the river.
This woman was making taffy. Coconut taffy. It was amazing when eaten fresh.
To get back to our boat, we took a taxi through a back canal.
Vietnam is a beautiful country.
I knew very little about the Mekong Delta prior to traveling there. My knowledge was limited to things I had seen on Vietnam war movies and a belief that the delta was full of life.
The last hypothesis was correct. The river brings life to those around it.
The Mekong Delta (Vietnamese: Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long "Nine Dragon river delta") is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of 39,000 square kilometres (15,000 sq mi).[1] The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.
The Mekong Delta has recently been dubbed as a "biological treasure trove". Over 10,000 new species have been discovered in previously unexplored areas of Mekong Delta, including a species of rat thought to be extinct.[2]
Our journey would be a boat ride along the river with a range of stops. The boats had a similar look at feel to those in Cambodia.
I am sure the population in this area dwarfs that of Tonle Sap Lake. As one would expect, the river was full of people coming and going, making a living.
There were a lot of boats.
One of our more interesting stops was a fish farm. Just like in Cambodia, I cannot fathom living my entire life on the water. A few shot from around the farm.
Another water dog. I wonder if he looks at the shore wishing he could go for a run?
The farm itself.
There were thousands and thousands of fish.
I
A very different life.
As mentioned in the previous post, the boat picked up speed and we headed to the next village. One of the first boats we saw as we entered the main village was this floating restaurant, looking for customers.
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The lake will rise and fall 9-10M in a year and the people will float from location to location, following the water. It is a bit unfathomable to live your entire life .. floating.
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Moored into the trees or to each other, the homes at mid/high-tide. At low tide, those trees will be 20m high.
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The village delivery system … gas, fruit, you name it.
Everyone drives a boat. No matter how old.
Some boats with motors.
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Many boats with only a paddle.
Of course, there is a phone store.
A completely different way of life. Thanks for dropping by.
We have been traveling over the last week and it is amazing to watch foreigners enter a country and simply shed the logic that they apply in their home country. I am not sure if it is the “do as they do here” mindset or simply a belief that entering a country with less rules is a refreshing change from our safe, structured 1st world way of life.
Or perhaps it is naivety.
This is no more apparent than in helmet usage. Rent a scooter; why use a helmet in a foreign country where they don’t enforce it? After all, travelers logic dictates that your chance of an accident is lower while tearing down dirt, pothole ridden streets with scooters and cars everywhere right?
Taking a tour with scooter drivers. They have helmets on but you don’t. Why would you?
As one tour guide said, he found many travelers ‘obstinate’. In his words, we warn them “please don’t go there’ or ‘please don’t climb that’ but they do anyway.
I don’t understand it. We had a tour in Ho Chi Minh city and the options were scooters with drivers or the ‘scaredie cat’ option of a taxi to flit us around. We took a cab option.
I got off of a red-eye from LAX in Haneda, Japan this week and the total time from plane to taxi was 12 minutes. I love Japanese efficiency and Haneda is my favorite airport in the world. Close to downtown Tokyo and so efficient.
The "special re-entry" line also helps as it is often empty (smile).
I bought a Canon G12 with an underwater casing a few years ago and enjoy taking shots with it.
However, I think it may be time to consider taking my 5D underwater (although the price tag is not for the faint of heart).
A few underwater favorites from Palau. Off of the beach of our hotel was a marine sanctuary and the biggest clams I have ever seen. This one was more than 1m long and if you got to close, it would snap shut.
I had never seen a blue starfish before. They were everywhere.
Hang on little starfish.
Come to think of it I had never seen a neon blue and pink clam before either.
This fellow was tucked in the coral and looked rather ominous.
The other thing that I noticed was that many clams were literally embedded into the coral, like these two. One has to wonder how many years that took?
Coral as far as you could see.
Note the sharp looking teeth on this cheery pink fellow.
Spot the fish.
Last shot, the rain from below.
Michael Weening: a few pictures 