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Travel snapshots from Toonsarah

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  • Archive
  • Home
  • Destinations
    • England
      • London
      • Newcastle-upon-Tyne
    • Europe
      • Austria
      • Bulgaria
      • Estonia
      • France
        • Paris
      • Germany
      • Iceland
      • Italy
      • Jersey
      • Latvia
      • Norway
      • Portugal
      • Spain
        • Seville
      • Switzerland
      • Ukraine
    • Beyond
      • Africa
        • Botswana
        • Cape Verde
        • Gambia
        • Kenya
        • Morocco
        • Namibia
        • Senegal
        • Tanzania
        • Zimbabwe
      • Americas
        • Belize
        • Canada
        • Chile
          • Rapa Nui
        • Costa Rica
        • Ecuador
          • Galapagos Islands
        • Guatemala
        • Jamaica
        • USA
          • New Mexico
          • New York City
          • Washington State
      • Asia
        • DPRK
        • India
          • Kerala
          • Rajasthan
        • Indochina
          • Cambodia
          • Laos
          • Vietnam
        • Japan
        • Oman
        • Syria
        • United Arab Emirates
        • Uzbekistan
  • Themes
    • Architecture
    • Art
      • Crafts
      • Street art
    • Colour
    • Dark tourism
    • Eco-tourism
    • Food & drink
    • Gardens
    • History
      • Ruins
      • War
    • Landscape
      • Coast & seascapes
      • Deserts
      • Mountains
      • Rivers
    • Nature and wildlife
      • Animals
      • Birds
      • Plants
        • Flowers
        • Trees, forests and woodland
    • People
      • Culture & tradition
      • Street photography
    • Travel in general
  • Photo galleries
    • Themed galleries
    • Travel galleries
  • Challenges
    • General challenges
      • Friendly Friday
        • The Friendly Friday Challenge: how to join in
      • Monday walks
      • Writers’ Quotes Wednesday
    • Photography challenges
      • Lens-Artists
      • Life in Colour
      • One-to-Three
      • Photographing Public Art
      • Pick a Word
      • Squares
      • Sunday Stills
      • The Changing Seasons
      • Thursday Trios
      • Cee’s challenges
        • CBWC
        • CFFC
        • CMMC
    • Challenges archive
      • Bird Weekly
      • Friday’s Foods of the World
      • Just One Person
      • Ten photos
      • Thursday Doors
  • About me
    • Contact me
    • ‘Always Write’ interview
    • My love of travel
    • My photography
      • Photographic techniques
      • My photography journey
      • Video
    • Disclaimer & GDPR
  • Archive

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Topics I’ve touched on

africa architecture art birds bird_weekly black_&_white botswana buildings cambodia cffc chile churches cities colour costa_rica deserts dprk ealing england flowers friendlyfriday Friendly_Friday history india japan just_one_person_from_around_the_world landscape Lens_Artists_Challenge london Monday_Walks museum new_mexico north_korea people photography photo_effects PPAC rivers ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills usa village wildlife
  • Culture & tradition,  DPRK,  Food & drink

    Eating like honoured guests in North Korea

    December 30, 2021 / 56 Comments
    Elaborately decorated table

    Many people worry, unnecessarily, at the idea of visiting North Korea. Is it safe? Are the rules too strict? Will the food be tasty, and adequate? The latter question is perhaps understandable, given the well-documented periods of famine suffered in the country, but tourists, as honoured guests of the regime, have nothing to fear on that score.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Man sitting on a rug using a hammer and anvil

    A blacksmith at work in Bukhara

    March 24, 2022
    Banner with photo of two women in yellow dresses

    Friendly Friday: meet some wedding guests in Cambodia

    October 8, 2021
    Girl in traditional blue clothing

    Traditional textiles in San Antonio Palopo

    April 21, 2021
  • Architecture,  History,  Seville

    A visit to the Real Alcázar of Seville

    December 29, 2021 / 40 Comments
    Ceramic tiles with blue border and brown lion and castle

    Once upon a time, when Seville was the capital of Al-Andalus, the ruling Almohade caliphate built a palace in the city which they named ‘Al Mubarak’ or 'The Blessed'. It was the hub of both the city's government and its artistic and literary life. Little of that palace remains today, apart from some foundations. On these, in the thirteenth century, the conquering Castilians built their own palace to serve as both seat of government and royal residence, a function the Alcazar performs to this day.

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    Or what about ...?

    Several bridges over a river

    Newcastle: a city and its river

    February 18, 2021
    Half-timbered building seen above a hedge

    A misty morning visit to Stokesay Castle

    July 14, 2021
    Large building with green oriental roof

    A look inside the Grand People’s Study House

    November 18, 2021
  • Cambodia,  Laos,  Photographing Public Art

    Gallery: motorbike ‘art’ in South East Asia

    December 27, 2021 / 18 Comments
    Pink bike helmet with Pinkie logo

    From time to time while travelling I find myself taking photos on a theme, even if I hadn’t intended to when I set out. In Cuenca and Tallinn it was doors; in New Mexico it was Harley Davidson motorbikes. And in Indochina it was not only the motorbikes but the bike helmets.

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    Or what about ...?

    Ornamental gate

    The Killing Fields of Cambodia

    June 23, 2022
    Red lantern, blue wall, green shutters

    2020: my (pandemic) year in review

    January 3, 2021
    Man frying insects at a food stall

    Exploring the street food of Phnom Penh

    April 3, 2021
  • CBWC,  Nature and wildlife,  Photographic techniques,  Themed galleries

    Gallery: seeing animals in black and white

    December 23, 2021 / 44 Comments
    Black and white photo of two zebras

    You can’t get much more black and white than a zebra! But actually many animals look good in monochrome. I’ve had a go at editing some of my favourite wildlife shots – mammals, reptiles and birds – with my favourite software. Let me know which versions you prefer, colour or black and white?

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    Or what about ...?

    Two baby baboons playing

    Gallery: two of a kind

    December 3, 2021
    Sepia photo of motorbike riders by a cliff

    Gallery: of vintage wheels and shiny steel

    April 22, 2022
    White wooden doors with painting of girl in red dress

    Double dipping: a challenges overload!

    January 9, 2022
  • Gardens,  Monday walks,  Seville

    A walk in the gardens of Seville’s Real Alcázar

    December 22, 2021 / 31 Comments
    Garden with orange and palm trees

    The most intriguing gardens to explore often feel like a series of rooms, each with a distinctive style of decoration. We wander from area to area, never knowing what might be around the next corner. We get glimpses through trees and over hedges, and sometimes wider views that draw us on, ever eager to see more. Such are the gardens of the Real Alcázar of Seville.

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    Or what about ...?

    Half-timbered building seen above a hedge

    A misty morning visit to Stokesay Castle

    July 14, 2021
    Landscape with church and autumn trees

    Signs of autumn at Emmetts Garden

    September 27, 2021
    Three bright red flowers

    Gallery: three flowers, three fruits

    June 16, 2022
  • Culture & tradition,  Morocco,  Sunday Stills

    Day into night in the Jemaa el-Fnaa

    December 20, 2021 / 22 Comments
    View from above of large square with market stalls

    Sooner or later it seems, all paths in Marrakesh lead to the Jemaa el-Fnaa. The name (sometimes spelled Djemaa el Fna or Jamaa el Fna) means ‘Assembly of the Dead’ in Arabic; but a visit here suggests life in all its vibrancy. To call this the city’s main square doesn’t begin to do justice to it. This is a meeting place, a shopping centre, a performance space, a happening. It is surrounded by restaurants and cafés, each with a roof terrace to offer a ringside seat from where to observe…

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    Man in orange robes by worn plaster wall

    Gallery: the monks of Luang Prabang (a life in orange)

    October 11, 2021
    Golden temple reflected in a lake

    Exploring the temple gardens of Kyoto

    May 9, 2021
    Man applying colourful face paint

    Gallery: a traditional Keralan Kathakali performance

    April 28, 2021
  • Guatemala,  Landscape,  Lens-Artists,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: the serenity of dawn on Lake Atitlàn

    December 19, 2021 / 38 Comments
    Man in small boat and a distant volcano

    Early morning by Lake Atitlàn. A lone fisherman drifts past, checking his lines. Volcanoes dot the horizon. In the distance a small motorboat speeds past; empty now but likely to be full of passengers when the lake’s ferry services start up soon. The jetties too are quiet, waiting for the lakeside villages to wake up.

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    Or what about ...?

    Girl in traditional blue clothing

    Traditional textiles in San Antonio Palopo

    April 21, 2021
    Small town beneath a forested hillside

    Meeting Maximón, the idol of Santiago Atitlàn

    December 13, 2020
    Small fishing boat with a man in it, on a large lake

    Around the world in ten photos: day five

    December 21, 2020
  • Bulgaria,  Monday walks,  Photographing Public Art,  Street art,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: a walk in colourful Kapana

    December 18, 2021 / 17 Comments
    Sign saying Kapana in Cyrillic letters

    Plovdiv’s Kapana district is an object lesson in how to transform run-down into lively, neglected into loved. In this part of the city , a maze of small streets follows much the same pattern as the Ottoman souk which once stood here, although the mainly wooden buildings of that era are long since gone. The very name, Kapana, recalls that maze, as it means ‘Trap’; once among these streets it was hard to find your way out!

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    Or what about ...?

    Stone church and blue sky

    The wonders of Bulgaria’s Bachkovo Monastery

    February 10, 2022
    Orthodox cathedral at the end of a wide street

    Gallery: Sofia’s St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

    March 7, 2021
    Rustic blue house

    Stepping back in time in Bulgaria

    June 5, 2021
  • CFFC,  Colour,  Themed galleries

    Gallery: the colours of the season

    December 16, 2021 / 38 Comments
    Bright red berries

    Red and green should never be seen without a colour in between. Whoever coined that old phrase clearly didn’t have Christmas in mind. Surely there are no two more seasonal colours than red and green?

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    Or what about ...?

    Sun rising above a tree

    Gallery: our fire returns

    April 7, 2022
    Two flamingos feeding

    Gallery: reflecting on birds

    March 27, 2021
    Sculpture of a bronze wheel decorated with figures, buildings etc

    Gallery: turning wheels and circles from my past

    October 5, 2021
  • Colour,  Sunday Stills,  Themed galleries

    Gallery: all that glitters is not gold (or silver)

    December 15, 2021 / 21 Comments
    Lots of metal lanterns hanging

    Martin Luther said, 'For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver. But while he makes a good point about the glories of nature, there are still times when we need a bit of bling in our lives. And now is probably one of those times!

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Bright red berries

    Gallery: the colours of the season

    December 16, 2021
    Dark red hollyhock with raindrops

    Gallery: what’s in a name? Burgundy / Beaujolais / Ruby reds

    November 23, 2021
    Turquoise sea with light and shaded areas

    Gallery: expressions of a single colour

    April 17, 2022
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Some favourite photos

Man in a turban with fishing nets
Fisherman in Fort Kochi, Kerala
Two elephants in long grass
Okavango elephants
Blue glacier edge
Glacier Grey, Torres del Paine, Chile
Elderly woman in black hat and sunglasses
In Santiago, Chile
Very large statues of North Korean Leaders
Statues of the Great Leaders on Mansudae Hill, Pyongyang
Water reflecting the sky with clouds and low sun
Approaching sunset in the Okavango Delta
Feet of huge metal sculpture, with man standing beside
The feet of the Angel
Large moai with row of more behind
The ‘travelling moai’ and Ahu Tongariki
Man in knitted hat by water, black and white photo
Waiting for the ferry, Banjul
Mountain reflected in a lake
On the road to Dyrholaey
Sunset at Wahiba Sands, Oman
Squirrel with a conker in his mouth
In Walpole Park, Ealing
Silhouette of a man in a gateway
Looking out from Bundi Palace
Blue and pink bird on a dead tree
Lilac-breasted Roller, Chobe NP, Botswana
Buddhist monk in orange robes with mobile phone
Monk at Wat Nong Sikhounmuang, Luang Prabang
Man sleeping in a tuk tuk by a carved stone wall
Tuk tuk driver by the Terrace of the Leper King
Close up of flamingo with head tucked under
Flamingo (Jersey Zoo)
Lady with baskets of fruit sitting by a canal
In Hoi An, Vietnam
Small fishing boat with a man in it, on a large lake
Lake Atitlan
Wet street and two people with bright pink umbrella
Street in Lucca, rainy day – edited

Some topics I’ve touched on

africa architecture art birds bird_weekly black_&_white botswana buildings cambodia cffc chile churches cities colour costa_rica deserts dprk ealing england flowers friendlyfriday Friendly_Friday history india japan just_one_person_from_around_the_world landscape Lens_Artists_Challenge london Monday_Walks museum new_mexico north_korea people photography photo_effects PPAC rivers ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills usa village wildlife

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You may have missed

  • International friendships in North Korea
  • A stroll around Avebury’s stone circle
  • Gallery: making eyes at me
  • Introduction to some monuments in Riga
  • Gallery: pick a word (June)

How to join the Friendly Friday Challenge

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