A travel blog of an international couple.
Or the Pure Water Temple is one off the many temples of Kyoto. It is best known for its 13-meter high wooden platform. It is fully built without use of any nails and this 1250 years ago. The surrounding around this temple complex is made out of maple and cherry blossom trees. From inside the temples main platform, you have a nice view on the city of Kyoto. And if you have a nice sunset sky like we had, the visit is very rewarded.
On an ordinary evening walk in Antibes with my family, we jumped in the Mediterranean. On that moment I noticed the reflection of the sun in the water. So I took my smartphone and took some pictures from it. The result is something very different, but I liked it.
I spend 2 hours at the same spot in front of the Colosseum, to take multiple photos. So I could erase most of all the people out off the picture. Only Yujie didn’t like the time spend at the moment. She would rather be exploring the city in the evening. Probably to find a good restaurant to eat. She is like a little monster when she gets hungry. But in a moment like this, I never feel hungry. I only think about the result that I can get out of it.
I asked this woman if I could take a photo of her, and she approved.
This event happened when, I visited her small village in the north of Thailand, during a jungle trip that I was making. They still life on a very primitive way to our standards. But they all look happy. We stayed overnight in there village and had a good time with them. They are very friendly and welcomed our group with open arms. There kids invite me to play some kick volleyball or Sepak Takraw, which was actually very funny to do..
They start putting these rings around there neck from a very young age. The older they are the more rings they will have. So they get more status in there village by having a longer neck.
In this smaller, but very beautiful museum, you find the private art collection of François Pinault. And he is open minded, because small dogs are allowed if you can carry them. That is a nice change of thinking.
In the building you find this staircase, that is converted in a piece of art. This by simply putting 3 long lights trough it, from top to bottom. Black and white conversion of the photo, makes it very artistic.
The Arakurayama Sengen Park is a globally known as a scenic spot for Mt. Fuji. The park has a lot of cherry blossom trees, but we visit not in the good season for that. Nevertheless the view on a good day makes everything fine. We where their in October. Mt Fuji was already closed for climbers, but there was no snow on its peak yet.
Hashima Island or battleship island was used in the James Bond movie Skyfall. It is located close to the city of Nagasaki in Japan. This tiny island is located 15 km from the city shore.
The island today is fully abandoned, but it was previous known for its undersea coal mines. They were established in 1887 and are a symbol for the industrialization of Japan. There are only a few companies that are allowed to bring people to the island and your not allowed to walk around freely. But still I can recommend the short visit.
Would you take a sandy bath in a bathroom? Paint comes falling from the walls like tree leafs before winter. It is located in a house at Kolmanskop in Namibia. A old ghost village build by German settlers, they where on a search for diamonds. It is nice to walk around and explore in this small town, that slowly is overtaken by sand.
You will find a hospital, ballroom, power station, school, bowling hall, theater and sport-hall, casino, ice factory and the first x ray station in the southern hemisphere.
And if you are extremely lucky, you can spot a brown hyena that is also wondering around the village.
The Mao Zedong Statue is a marble sculpture of 30 meters high located in Tiznfu Square, in the center of Chengdu. It has an outstretched arm, like he is waving to something on the other side of square. Well, when I turned my back to him, I only saw him waving in the direction of capitalist stores, like Rolex and Louis Vuitton. Which I found very funny.
Located in Barcelona and designed by Antoni Gaudi. It was expected to be fully finished in 2026. That’s 144 years after the first foundation stone was laid in the year 1882. But the corona epidemic will probably push the date further away till 2030. Inside however you already can admire the beauty of the interior. Wait till the afternoon, when the sun comes trough the windows to start your visit.
We visited the great Chinese wall back in 2016. A little further away from the fully restored part that is close to Beijing. Vegetation around and up the wall is still very prominent, which give that abonded feeling when you walk it.
Sometimes the sky above our heads, becomes a real piece of art. Like this occasion on the island of Flores in Indonesia. The colors where so intense, a perfect moment to dream away.
On the cliffs in North Italy you find Manarola. It is one of the 5 small villages called “Cinque Terre”. It is the oldest of the five and the second smallest. You can reach it easily by train and walk around the area to other villages. In the evening you have a nice warm atmosphere in this small village.
We travelled a lot with our tent. That makes us mobile to the places we go, where no hotels are. One of these places is the Namib desert. Where at night you can see all these stars and galaxys above you.
Being one of the first to enter the side, gives you a good opportunity to get the reflection photo without a ton of people in it.
Deadvlei is a part of Sossusvlei that is located in the middle of the Namib dessert.
And it is well known for its dead trees and red dunes. Behind this tree you will see big daddy dune, which is the tallest dune in the Sossusvlei at 325m and dwarfs all the other dunes.
In older dynasties of ancient China, the ceremonies of offering sacrifices to ancestors or gods were usually held in the suburbs of the capitol. So they build this place, because it was a good way for the emperors to demonstrate their supreme status and dignity every year to the common people. Today it is not located in the suburbs anymore, but in the southeast centre of Beijing. This happens when a small city gets oversized.
It was a very long bus drive to this region on a local bus and a short night of sleep. But the reward was more then equal. When the sun came up and the first shapes of the volcano started to be noticeable, a big happy smile came on my face. Moments later, when the very first sunlight hit Mount Bromo, a saw this active beauty in full glory.
September is a good moment to visit Hermanus. One of the big attractions is the whales watching. From the rocky shore or a coffee shop, all locations are fine to see some whales.
From time to time, you can be lucky when they do their breach or a full whale dance.
I saw a lot of wild monkeys over the world in my life. One of them is the gelada baboon or bleeding heart monkey. They life on the highlands of Ethiopia and are the last surviving species of ancient primates in the world. If you don’t count humans. Maybe I went to close for one of them, when he started to show some teeth and his mate was standing in a boxing position.
