When city life is getting strenuous take a flight or a bus to the islands of Thailand. Phang Nga Bay features for example unique limestone formations only found in this scope in the two more places in the world: Guilin, China and Halong Bay, Vietnam. Get remembered of 007's movie, “The Man With The Golden Gun” and take a look at life on water in the Muslim village Koh Pannyi. All can be done in a day trip for example from Phuket.
While Bangkok is flooded with temples, there is another side of the city: The Kao San road with the neon lights ever awake, the winding waterway of the Chao Phraya river. The bird's eye view on the city and the frog's eye view from one of the numerous tuk-tuks.
While Cambodia is not the only country in South-East Asia we visited, as promised new pictures are coming. The temples in Bangkok boast vivid colors which unique forms which are a pleasure to the eye when the sun is out and shining. A great place to start a trip to Thailand and its neighbors is truly the bursting city of Bangkok.
By popular demand, the fascinating trees overgrowing the Temples. They are around the temples so watch in every corner. My personal favorite was just by the road outside the Bayon. Yelling at the tuk-tuk driver to stop, got us there at just the right light. He brought us safe around the enormous temple complex, with routes up to 30 Kilometers a day. There are schools in the complex and people living there, quite a sight.
From the top:
Road between the Bayon and Ta Prohm (top), Preah Khan (lower left), Ta Prohm (rest)
The second major attraction at the Angkor Temples is the forever at you staring Bayon. The numerous faces spread around this temple give you a special feel. It lacks the scenic silhouette of the Angkor Wat, take a closer look for fascinating detail.
Often called the mother of all temples clearly marks the main attraction when visiting the Temples of Angkor. Get there early in the morning, before sunset or climb up the nearby hill, slap a 300mm+ lens on your back (Angkor is 1,3 km away) and this is what you get. Stunning and worth the bumpy ride, either from the Thai boarder or the capital, on dirt roads getting there.
Sunrise (top), Hill (mid higher), Detail (mid lower), Sunset (bottom)
After 20 days of backpacking, we're back on a totally changed Shanghai. Construction sites have been finished, new stores sprouted and others disappeared, the city is moving. But most of all winter has struck. After being the last three days in Bangkok with 30C the 12C here are quite noticeable.
The trip went as shown below with minor changes. Only took night trains instead of buses and added a stop at the Bolivian Plateau in Laos. In the following there will be pictures and small stories in the usual format. Enjoy.
The name Shanghai Blog is really being used now. The following entries will come from Southeast Asia. In the planning stage there will be the route plan shown. Later the photos and stories will follow. The trip will not be around the world but we only have 20 instead of the 80 days. The map shows the major destinations, dates there and what we plan to do and see. All flights are booked and the visas are in the works. Any comments appreciated.
Although a little out of the normal travel path the old capital Xi’an close to the tomb is a good starting point for a day with the warriors.
Since the first warriors were found in 1974 a lot has happened. A big airplane hanger type building and a museum complex surround the original site. Every single man, copied from a warrior who lived 2200 years ago, is fitted with his own weapon and colored individually. If you ever want to have an army to protect you in your afterlife, be sure to start in your teens, to allow for the construction time. This site will keep archeologists busy for some decades to come.
PS Beware of the fluorescent light the auto while balance will have a tough time, try setting it to manual and please take a fast lens with you so you don’t need to flash on the artifacts.
When sun is shining the Great Wall at Badaling is surrounded by a beautiful landscape. There are not only millions of stones but also a millions of visitors. As always get there early if you can and maybe go up left and not right if you don’t want to get squished. If you are there don’t miss the 20 min. free 360° movie on the Great Wall. Get one of the “I have climbed the Great Wall” sweaters, it can become quite chilly while climbing and they go for a third of the entrance price. If you plan to go for a hike on the Great Wall, then don’t forget the obligatory walking shoes.
