If you’re wondering where Laos is, this map might help. Laos is a small landlocked country bordered by Burma, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. The legendary Mekong flows along the border between Laos and Thailand.
Laos includes the delightful town of Luang Prabang as well as the small pleasant capital of Vientiane. In Luang Prabang the streets are lined with old colonial French buildings, many of which have been converted into shops or restaurants. The food here is some of the best in Asia. One particular dish I had in Luang Prabang at the Apsara Hotel still stands out as delicious and unusual. The dish was a salad with peanuts, sprouts, herbs and other vegetables with a tamarind style dressing, making it slightly tangy and also crunchy. Quite delicious and quite unlike anything I have ever tasted before. The cafe culture is also surprisingly sophisticated, with laid back places where you can relax while sipping on a cappuccino. The French influence is also visible in bustling markets where vendors sell freshly baked baguettes.
I found that unlike some other more tourist intensive parts of Asia, Laos has a more relaxed pace. There is also a complete absence of the hard sell, bargaining is more gentle and carried out with good humor.
Laos also offers some beautiful wilderness areas and a diversity of colorful tribal people with different ethnic influences. Some of the village people came from as far away as Tibet, via the mountain paths and the Mekong before settling and raising a family.
Buddhism is the main religion in Laos and this is reflected in the country’s many beautiful temples. Many boys will live as a Buddhist monk for a few years and receive an education from their monastery. One Buddhist ritual is the collection of offerings of food in the mornings from Buddhists in the village. The giving of an offering is thought to be a form of blessing to the giver.
In summary Laos offers one of the most authentic travel experiences in Asia.
Here is a slide show of the Laos gallery. To see a larger version simply click on any image and it will take you to the gallery page. For personal use please feel free to embed the gallery in your own blog or website using the embed button on the lower right corner.
Here are a couple of shots from a Palau diving adventure holiday. One is the strangest looking jellyfish I have ever seen. It really looks like some sort of space ship. The lights or spots on the dome of the jelly look like they might be refracted light, but I think they are more likely pigmentation on the surface. My unconfirmed hypothesis is that they deter predators, since they look a bit like eyes. I will really have to take a closer look next time I see one of these strange creatures.
The other shot is of a gar fish taken inside an underwater cave. The reflection is on the still water of an overhead air pocket trapped on the cave ceiling.
Palau is a small island country in Micronesia located in the Pacific, south of Japan and north of the Philippines. Near Yap where they have the stone money!
Palau is quite difficult to get to, but really fabulous once you are there.
I believe Palau has the best diving in the world. There are some simply amazing, out of this world dives. One dive called Blue Holes is down an underwater vertical tunnel that goes down about 100 feet and then levels out horizontally for about another 80 feet and then opens up onto a fabulous blue vista, with sharks cruising on the current all around you and barracuda circling overhead. (Although it might sound like your workplace, I assure you it is a truly magnificent sight!)
I will be posting more images from Palau on my website, from time to time.
I am excited to announce a new Sri Lanka gallery with a selection of images that I think captures some of the character and beauty of this pearl of a country as it emerges from civil war and the tsunami.
Sri Lanka has so much to offer the traveler, and now that there is a peace I hope that many more travelers will serendipitously find their way to the place once named “Serendip”.
One of my personal favorites is this elephant stampede from maybe a little too close range.
Another favorite of mine is the tea pickers. I feel it captures the essence of Sri Lanka – the shimmering green of the of the tea plantations, the deep blue of the sky and the friendly nature of the people.
Alternatively, just watch the slideshow below. There are controls in the lower left corner to go to full screen, control the rate, or embed the slideshow in your own website. Try it, it is is easy!
Stay tuned, I will be back soon with a full report of the new galleries I will be releasing in the next few weeks. The first will be the Laos gallery, followed by England which could not be more different!
The website and blog are now up and running! There is also a great newsletter subscription option that will help you keep track of any of the blogs you are interested in.
As you’ve probably guessed the main topics I will talk about here in my blogs are travel & photography.
I have traveled to some amazing places and seen some incredible things. Now my hope is that through my images I can share some of that magic and wonder.
I think moving through the world and meeting people from diverse cultures you get a different perspective on the world, a different way of seeing how we all live on this planet.
Another great thing about travel is that as a photographer you are continually finding new and exciting subject matter.
The challenge for me as a photographer is to capture an interpretation that illustrates the essence of things as I see them.
No matter how many times I visit a place, I always feel there are opportunities for a new way of seeing things and new images to capture.
So that is what these blogs will be about. I hope you will find them interesting and tune in to this developing story!
