Thursday, May 27, 2010

Phi Phi Islands, Phuket, Borneo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore 2009

The Harbor - Phi Phi Don Island

 The beaches in the Andaman Sea are breathtaking

 Overcast

 Island Life

 "Viking Cave" on Phi Phi Leh, this is one of the premier spots to harvest swiftlet nests, which are used to make Bird's Nest Soup.

 Hongs

 Taking it easy on the boat ride out of Phuket

 A Lamp Dealer in Patong 

 Phuket Red Light 

 The Petronas Towers - Kuala Lumpur

 Catch of the Day - Kota Kinabalu Night Market, Malaysian Borneo 

 Night Market - Borneo
 Orang 

 Sunset over the South China Sea

 A Sliver of Moon hangs in the Magical Borneo Sky 

 Secrets among Princesses 

 Urban Hunter - Singapore

 Singapore Giants

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Photos of Hong Kong, Macau, Cambodia, Bangkok 2009

 Hong Kong Harbor at Night

 Hong Kong Harbor Day

 A view of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon from The Peak

 Bank of China Building 

 Hong Kong Island's endless string of waterfront high-rises
 A city park in crowded Macau 

 A statue in Kowloon 

 In the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas 

 Guarding the Forest 

 Top of a very long climb 

 From the star Ferry pulling into Hong Kong Island 

 Buddha shrouded in Mist 

 Lantau Island 

 Storm rolling into Bangkok 

 Ta Prohm Temple in Cambodia, "The Forest Takes"

 Overgrowth - Cambodia 

 The outline of an icon - Angkor Wat 

 Lilliesin a moat outside Angkor Wat

 A macaque enjoys a treat 

 Good old fashioned monkey beat down in Siem Reap

Fallen Empire 

Sunday, May 16, 2010

My Favorite Pictures of Europe 2008

Tarifa, one of the most beautiful places in all of Spain.  Columbus started a few of his voyages here, and it has a great small town vibe.  The beaches here are seriously my favorite in all of the world.  It also has an edge of the world feel, since it used to be literally considered the edge of the world, passed the Pillars of Hercules that flank the Strait of Gibraltar.  I once had a deepwater sole at a restaurant on the waterfront that made me weep tears of joy.  Another great thing about Tarifa is that you can catch a 2 hour ferry across the Mediterranean to Morocco.

 Kristin and I relaxing on the beach, staring out across the Atlantic, Tarifa

 This overexposed photo is proof that the sun comes out in Ireland.  I lounged by this little brook in Wicklow County and had a nap.

A little stream in Ireland, very cold, very clear water.

Granada from the Alhambra

I climbed to the top of a Moorish castle that rests in the hills behind Malaga, Spain.  I took this picture on the way up.  Side note, notice the shadow in the bull fighting arena at left.  If you arrive late to a bull fight, you will be forced to stay on the sunny side of the stadium.  The shady seats go quick.

 I am not a fan of London, but love the homes.  I like trying to imagine what goes on behind closed doors, especially when the doors are a vibrant shade of blue.

Prague Castle from the iconic Charles Bridge.  Prague is such an amazing city with great art, history, and character.  It was never really bombed during the wars, so much of it is preserved very well.  It is an unreal place and you have to pinch yourself to legitimize its fairy dreamlike ambiance.

    The Charles Bridge which separates Prague is lined with statues and packed with people.  It is surreal to walk across late at night and feels like the statues are ghosts watching you pass.  I highly recommend it.  

Old Jewish Cemetery, Prague.  Very creepy place.
 A quiet room in Berlin

Thursday, May 13, 2010

June 1 is the day


June 1 marks the day that we return to Asia.  Are we excited?  Absolutely.  It feels like returning to a long lost love left mid sentence across the world.  I have missed the area dearly, anxiously, from the living seas of Indonesia to the crooked smiles of mainland Asia.  This trip, will be our most ambitious yet.  We will search for forgotten temples in Cambodia, swim with camouflaged cephalopods in the Lembeh Straits, seek out the hill tribes in Laos, and traverse through the splintered Union of Myanmar by train.


There will be gorgeous beaches, and too many flights.  Choppy boat rides and dangerous nights.  This trip will be ambitiously insane in any right.  And yet, I will take the time to tell our tale.  Our adventure will be laid out across the page screaming out from little typed words and big bright pictures.  That is how we have done it around here, and will continue to do.  

 
This time around, 4 of us will be making the trip.  We have Kristin and I, along with my brother Ryan and his friend Meagan.  I will do my best to keep things entertaining, so you do your best to keep up with the blog.  Hell, tell your friends and their friends, and your friend's friend's mom.  Tell your golden retriever and the opossum that lives in the back yard.  Trust me, no one will think you are crazy.  This is an expensive hobby, and I want more readers.  To say that I do this for free would be a vast understatement, a considerable investment takes place before even one stupid little word scurries out from my fingers and onto this glowing page.

   
I used to want to change the world.  Now, I just want to see it.  That is either a beautiful or horrible thing, perhaps both even.  In the coming weeks, I am going to post my favorite pictures from some of the places that we have been.  Enjoy the blog, our adventure starts in Vietnam in early June.