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Travel snapshots from Toonsarah

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  • Archive
  • Home
  • Destinations
    • England
      • London
      • Newcastle-upon-Tyne
    • Europe
      • Albania
      • 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
        • Colombia
        • 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
        • Nepal
        • 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
  • Postcards from the road
  • Challenges
    • Photography challenges
      • Just One Person
      • Lens-Artists
      • Mid-week Monochrome
      • Monochrome Madness
      • Nature Photo Challenge
      • One Word Sunday
      • Photographing Public Art
      • Pick a Word
      • Squares
      • Sunday Stills
      • The Changing Seasons
      • Words of Wisdom
      • Cee’s challenges
        • CBWC
        • CFFC
        • CMMC
    • General challenges
      • Monday walks
      • Writers’ Quotes Wednesday
    • Challenges archive
      • Bird Weekly
      • Friendly Friday
        • The Friendly Friday Challenge: how to join in
      • Friday’s Foods of the World
      • Life in Colour
      • One-to-Three
      • Ten photos
      • Thursday Trios
      • 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 animals architecture art birds black_&_white buildings bulgaria cffc chile cities colombia colour costa_rica dprk ealing england flowers france friendlyfriday Friendly_Friday history india just_one_person_from_around_the_world landscape lens-artists Lens_Artists_Challenge london Monday_Walks nepal new_mexico north_korea paris people photography photo_effects PPAC ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills usa views 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 ...?

    Distant mountains with colourful fabric in foreground

    Exploring the temple town of Manakamana

    December 6, 2022
    Faded photo of a large statue and old apartments behind

    Where Lenin once pointed the way to …?

    February 5, 2021
    Large statues of North Korean Leaders with visiting locals

    Gallery: statues of the Great Leaders

    February 20, 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 ...?

    Banner with photo of a tightrope walker

    Friendly Friday: meet a young tightrope walker in Jaisalmer

    August 27, 2021
    Red sandstone palace buildings and pool

    ‘He keepeth a great court’: Fatehpur Sikri

    March 26, 2021
    Three photos in a black frame showing an oriental palace and some details

    Buildings three ways (three of a kind)

    May 29, 2022
  • 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 ...?

    Hand holding knife and straw shavings

    Gallery: getting up close and personal

    September 24, 2021
    Man frying insects at a food stall

    Exploring the street food of Phnom Penh

    April 3, 2021
    Red lantern, blue wall, green shutters

    2020: my (pandemic) year in review

    January 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 ...?

    Looking directly down at a cluster of simple houses

    Gallery: ways of seeing

    April 2, 2022
    Looking down at a curved spiral staircase

    Gallery: staring up at the steps

    May 19, 2023
    Black and white photo of sea stacks

    Gallery: reflecting on black and white

    July 24, 2021
  • Gardens,  Monday walks,  Seville

    A walk in the gardens of Seville’s Real Alcázar

    December 22, 2021 / 33 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 ...?

    Group of deer with antlers

    Studley Royal, a very English country garden

    September 13, 2022
    Purple flower on a long stem

    Gallery: roses are red, violets are blue …

    April 19, 2021
    Gardens with flower beds, lawns and statues

    Gallery: a sunny afternoon in the Jardins du Luxembourg

    September 30, 2022
  • Culture & tradition,  Morocco,  Sunday Stills

    Day into night in the Jemaa el-Fnaa

    December 20, 2021 / 25 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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    Or what about ...?

    Large illuminated reindeer model

    Celebrating Christmas in London and (a little way) beyond

    December 6, 2021
    Man frying insects at a food stall

    Exploring the street food of Phnom Penh

    April 3, 2021
    Little boy and two little girls in Japanese costume

    Celebrating childhood at the shrines of Japan

    April 25, 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 fishing boat with a man in it, on a large lake

    Around the world in ten photos: day five

    December 21, 2020
    White painted cathedral

    A city shaped by earthquakes

    October 27, 2021
  • 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 ...?

    Brick church with domes against a blue sky

    A postcard from Sofia

    September 28, 2022
    Sepia photo of Buzludzha Monument

    Buzludzha Monument

    September 4, 2020
    Stone church and blue sky

    The wonders of Bulgaria’s Bachkovo Monastery

    February 10, 2022
  • 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?

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Sun rising above a tree

    Gallery: our fire returns

    April 7, 2022
    Row of impala drinking from a river

    Monochrome in colour: creating an impact

    November 1, 2020
    Sign on boarded-up window

    Gallery: London, off the beaten track (urban erosion)

    January 17, 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!

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    Or what about ...?

    Very large green snail sculpture

    Gallery: giant snails invading Riga!

    November 12, 2021
    Two elephants in long grass in black and white

    Two ways: black and white or colour?

    November 6, 2020
    Dried fruit and nuts displayed with price tags

    Gallery: tenderly love the apricots

    September 15, 2022
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Read my featured blogger interview

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By Marsha of 'Always Write'

And my answers to Bren’s ‘five at five’ questions

Lady in a hat and red top sitting on rocks

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 animals architecture art birds black_&_white buildings bulgaria cffc chile cities colombia colour costa_rica dprk ealing england flowers france friendlyfriday Friendly_Friday history india just_one_person_from_around_the_world landscape lens-artists Lens_Artists_Challenge london Monday_Walks nepal new_mexico north_korea paris people photography photo_effects PPAC ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills usa views village wildlife

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You may have missed

  • A postcard from Norway: Roald Amundsen
  • A postcard from Norway: crossing the Arctic Circle
  • Gallery: a May selection (2023)
  • Gallery: London from the top of the Shard
  • Gallery: finding peace while travelling

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All images and texts copyright Sarah Wilkie - 2023 ©
 

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