Favorites
The best places, shots, and cringe from my various trips.
It's all subjective. But for me, it's mainly about the composition: the people (or lack there of), the place, the weather, the lighting, and the overall feeling of the moment. It's also about the comprehensive experience, which can be influenced by the outcome of the whole moment/trip in general. For example, the old town in Riga, Latvia is truly beautiful and historic. You will be able to take some great photos, eat some nice meals, and talk to some nice people. However, Riga is also the only place I've ever been robbed, so it's hard to say it's one of my "favorites." On the other hand, Guatemala might not be as developed or polished as Riga, but there was a sense of mystery and awe in the Mayan jungle ruins and seeing the Mayan people today living on their ancestral lands, making their own textiles, and practicing their cultural traditions the best they can. Therefore, this kind of place is a favorite for me. ​​
Quetzalan: a fantastic small town in Mexico
Buzludzha Monument
Bulgaria
Finished in 1981 to honor the Bulgarian Communist Party, this futuristic monument lies abandoned and boarded up. How to get to the top of the Communist UFO tower? Go down into the dark, dirty basement and find the stairs leading up to the top.
Guatemala
Strolling down the road, and I came upon this sight. Beach sand, nice food, a glass of red wine, and 4 fury companions. It looks like they should be playing cards.
Leshan Giant Buddha
Sichuan Province, China (PRC)
At about 230 feet high, this is the largest stone Buddha statue in the world. Carving began in 713AD and was completed in 803AD. Here, Buddha is sitting down and looking out at the spot where the Dadu, Min, and Qingyi rivers meet. This colossal stone carving into the face of a copper reddish rock cliff is only visible from a river boat or descending a steep set of stairs carved into the cliff on Buddha's left side. Sadly, acid rain is most likely responsible for the dirtying of Buddha's face. After several visits, the terrible air quality, dirty looking river water, and growing crowds of visitors make this formerly spiritual site feel out of place. Unfortunately, the previous sentence could be said of almost any place of historical or cultural value in modern China.
Corvin Castle Well
Romania
This castle is an amazing sight by itself, but what sets it apart from the other amazing European castles is the story of the well inside the castle. The story goes that 3 Turkish prisoners were promised freedom for digging the well. They finally hit water after digging for 15 years. However, the man of the castle had passed, and his wife decided to execute the 3 prisoners instead of freeing them. The prisoners asked to put an inscription inside the well stating: "You may have water, but you have no soul." An inscription on the buttress of the castle reads "The one who dug here is Hassan, prisoner to the giaours in the fortress next to the church."
The Honey Dipper
Bo People's Hanging Coffins, Sichuan Province, China (PRC)
On one side of a narrow country road are the tall, sheer cliffs inundated with ancient hanging wooden coffins from a long lost era, and on the other side of the road are these rural brick houses and farm land. This farmer is using a white bucket attached to a bamboo pole to fill a black pale with organic matter from the access hole on the side of this house. Then, he is dumping it on those crops....What do you think this organic material is? We assumed it was feces...Best case scenario is livestock live in the basement; worst case scenario it's the farmer's shit...
Huilian Tower
Qionglai City, China (PRC)
This 13-floor Zhenjiang Tower was built, destroyed, and rebuilt at the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and renamed Huilian Tower in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). According to a Chinese Baidu article, at 75 meters tall, this is the 3rd tallest ancient tower in China. Unfortunately, this is about all the historical information I was able to find. Being in a less well known rural area has possibly saved this relic from destruction during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and modernization since China's policy of reform and opening up starting in 1978. Many historic areas of China are actually brand spanking new. From my experience there are three kinds of false old buildings in China. First equals old buildings are demolished and then replaced with new buildings copying "traditional" architecture. Second is buildings which were left derelict or intentionally destroyed after the Communists came to power in 1949. Simply rebuild what was destroyed and pretend like nothing ever happened. The third kind is straight up new buildings masquerading as "ancient." The third kind of false old building is used for tourism purposes. Close to or inside almost every urban area is an "ancient town" comprised of partly or wholly new buildings.
Nauyaca Waterfall
Costa Rica
This is a pretty cool place. It has an upper and lower waterfall. The upper being taller and rockier, the lower pictured below, being wetter and having this fun pool. It's a 4KM trek through the jungle, and I was joined by a Canadian traveler. He climbed up several times and dived off the top of the waterfall into the pond below. This was the best picture I was able to take of him.
Wenchang Pavilion
Jiuzhou Scenic Area, Qingxi City, China (PRC)
According to a Baidu article, this 3 floor pavilion was constructed in 1840. Inside are portraits of Kui Xing (the god of examinations), and books were stored here for people to study for the Imperial Entrance Exam during the Qing Dynasty. Wenchang Pavilions of various styles and sizes are found throughout China. What made this one so special was actually the river, not the building. During the entire time we were there, full sized, bloated, dead pigs were floating down the river. They were 1 or 2 hundred feet apart slowly floating down the river and blocking many shots. Over the past several years, African swine fever has killed million of pigs in China. I guess this is the cheapest, and possibly most irresponsible, way to dispose of these diseased pigs.
Cave
Southwest China (PRC)
The river that made this cave is large enough to sail small boats through. Part of the cave is totally underground and lit up with multicolored lights showcasing special geological features. The boat drops you off at one section. From there, you walk through the cave. The path dead ends at a small handrail opening on the river and an empty table with a landline phone sitting on it. Now, pick up the phone, call for a ride out, and wait for the boat to arrive! I've been to quite a few caves, especially in China, and this one is tied for my favorite.
Ulcinj Fortress
Montenegro
This compact, circular fort has several museum type areas inside with old military and religious objects discovered inside. Also, in this picture you can see what must have been a mosque inside the fortress with only the bottom of the minaret remaining. I remember seeing graffiti around town saying Ulcinj is Albanian....Even though it's now inside Montenegro, about 75% of the city is ethnic Albanian.
Widow's Arch (Gate)
Rural Southwest China (PRC)
I remember learning about traditional Chinese culture in a college history course. Basically, if a woman's husband died, she was expected to be a lifelong widow. If she remarried, he husbands would have to split her apart in the afterlife. I guess because they were both entitled to her service in the afterlife...To build support for this cultural tradition of lifelong widow's, communities would build special arches to honor women who displayed chastity, loyalty, and filial piety by not remarrying after their husbands passed. However, I widowed husbands did not follow this tradition. This style of arch was also built to honor people exhibiting other traditional Chinese values or at the entrance to a market or place with many shops. Now a days, you can see them at the entrance to every "Chinatown" around the world. Since the inscriptions in the center of the arch are missing, I am not 100% sure what kind of arch this is, however, whenever I saw one of these gates in an old town, I always wondered if it was a widow's arch.
Costa Rica
Manual Antonio at a bar near the beach
Earlier in the day, I stopped by this bar near the beach for a drink. I noticed there were 2 little bunny rabbits hopping around inside. The chatty, native French speaking, owner told me about how this huge snake kept sneaking in and trying to eat his fluffy pets. Recently, the snake almost succeeded, and according to local law you can't just kill them. But, you can transport them to other areas and release them back into the wild. I stopped there the next night, and he was excited to show me the snake they caught, again, trying to snack on his little rabbits. His plan was to drive this snake very, very far away and release it somewhere it couldn't find its way back.
