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Travel snapshots from Toonsarah

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  • About me
    • Contact me
    • ‘Always Write’ interview
    • My love of travel
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      • Photographic techniques
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    • Disclaimer & GDPR
  • 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
          • Chicago
          • 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
      • Lens-Artists
      • Monochrome Madness
      • Nature Photo Challenge
      • One Word Sunday
      • Photographing Public Art
      • Pick a Word
      • Squares
      • Sunday Stills
      • The Changing Seasons
      • Cee’s challenges
        • CBWC
        • CFFC
        • CMMC
    • General challenges
      • Happy Place Happy Space
      • Monday walks
      • Words of Wisdom
      • Writers’ Quotes Wednesday
    • Challenges archive
      • Bird Weekly
      • Friendly Friday
        • The Friendly Friday Challenge: how to join in
      • Friday’s Foods of the World
      • Just One Person
      • Life in Colour
      • Mid-week Monochrome
      • 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 bulgaria cambodia chile cities colombia colour costa_rica dprk ealing england flowers france friendlyfriday Friendly_Friday history india landscape lens-artists Lens_Artists_Challenge london Monday_Walks naturephotochallenge nepal new_mexico north_korea paris people photography photo_effects PPAC ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills thechangingseasons usa views village wildlife
  • Dark tourism,  DPRK

    International friendships in North Korea

    June 30, 2022 / 14 Comments
    Large modern Oriental style building surrounded by trees

    Among the mountains to the north of Pyongyang two vast edifices are set into a mountainside. Climate controlled and windowless, the International Friendship Exhibition buildings house thousands of gifts presented to the Great Leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, both during and after their lifetimes, and more than a few given to Kim Jong Un.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    A large 1960s style home

    The legacy of Enver Hoxha

    May 13, 2023
    Large poster depicting man waving red flag

    Gallery: the art of the propaganda poster in North Korea

    July 17, 2021
    Low chairs around a table, dark wood wall units

    Welcome to the 1980s in Bulgaria

    October 20, 2022
  • England,  History,  Monday walks

    A stroll around Avebury’s stone circle

    June 28, 2022 / 66 Comments
    Large stone in a field

    I find it a little odd that Avebury is not as well known, nor as visited, as nearby Stonehenge. Personally I find it just as impressive and in some ways more atmospheric. Its stone circle is so large that over time people have built their houses around and among the megaliths; so that today it seems almost as if the somewhat unearthly stones are slowly encroaching on human space.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Huge sculpture with outspread wings

    The Angel of the North

    December 8, 2020
    Close up of peeling white bark

    Gallery: barking up the wrong tree?

    July 9, 2021
    Orange rose

    Gallery: a July selection (2023)

    August 1, 2023
  • Animals,  Botswana,  Kenya,  Lens-Artists,  Themed galleries

    Gallery: making eyes at me

    June 27, 2022 / 51 Comments
    Close up of a giraffe's eye

    Giraffes’ eyes are beautiful but they can look rather mournful. Maybe that’s a touch of anthropomorphism, attributing human emotions to an animal? And yet …

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    Or what about ...?

    River and wooded shore with reflections

    Gallery: on the Narayani River

    November 16, 2022
    Cheetah head and shoulders

    With the beautiful Africat cheetahs in Namibia

    May 16, 2021
    Tabby cat peering from between wooden board and a drain

    Gallery: peeking at animals, peeking at me

    March 30, 2023
  • Latvia,  Photographing Public Art

    Introduction to some monuments in Riga

    June 25, 2022 / 25 Comments
    Looking up at large stone sculpture of a soldier

    Riga was a city in which I quickly felt very comfortable. It has a compact old town with plenty to see but not too ‘aspic-like’; by which I mean that it felt both touristy and homely at the same time, somewhere I could imagine that the locals don’t feel too overwhelmed by the history and the visiting population. It is also a city of monuments.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Row of elegant buildings in cream, blue and white

    Gallery: the Art Nouveau gems of Riga

    August 20, 2021
    Sculpture of a cat on a roof

    Gallery: meet the many cats of Riga

    September 25, 2021
    Large yellow building with white window details and ornamentation

    Rundāle, the Baltic Versailles?

    August 18, 2022
  • Pick a Word,  Themed galleries

    Gallery: pick a word (June)

    June 24, 2022 / 28 Comments
    Large rock outcrops

    Not for nothing is this blog subtitled ‘travel snapshots’. In it I try to blend my two passions of travelling and photography, often both in the same post! I can be wordy, but sometimes it’s better to be succinct and let the photos do the talking. Well, most of the talking; being me, I can't resist a few words to accompany each!

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    A subway station platform seen through columns supporting the roof

    Gallery: pick a word (January 2023)

    January 28, 2023
    View of rocky islet framed by leaves

    Gallery: pick a word (June 2023)

    June 24, 2023
    Black and white photo of a lady smoking a cigar

    Gallery: pick a word (August)

    August 30, 2022
  • Cambodia,  Dark tourism,  War

    The Killing Fields of Cambodia

    June 23, 2022 / 64 Comments
    Ornamental gate

    This post contains images and descriptions that some may find disturbing. The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek are not a place that everyone would choose to visit, despite being firmly on the tourist trail in Phnom Penh. But this is part of the recent history of Cambodia, still vivid in the memories of its older generation, and if they can't run away from that past then arguably nor should we.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Banner with photo of two women in yellow dresses

    Friendly Friday: meet some wedding guests in Cambodia

    October 8, 2021
    Header image with two small photos

    Friendly Friday Challenge: think about your viewpoint

    July 1, 2022
    Man frying insects at a food stall

    Exploring the street food of Phnom Penh

    April 3, 2021
  • England,  History,  Monday walks,  Sunday Stills

    A visit to Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain

    June 21, 2022 / 69 Comments
    Stone circle in a landscape with blue sky and white clouds

    Nowhere in England is the summer solstice more famously celebrated than at Stonehenge. This ancient site has been a place of worship and celebration of the solstice for thousands of years. Every midsummer it draws crowds, some committed Druids, others merely curious observers, to watch as the sun rises behind the Heel Stone to the northeast, and its first rays shine into the heart of the stone circle.

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    Or what about ...?

    Lobster pots, small boats and a distant castle on a hill

    Gallery: an ode to beautiful Northumberland (shhh!)

    November 28, 2022
    Fierce-looking owl

    Gallery: owl portraits, striped and speckled

    June 12, 2021
    Black and white photo of a river with bridges and city buildings

    Following the River Tyne to Ouseburn

    April 20, 2021
  • Architecture,  Lens-Artists,  Themed galleries

    Gallery: when one door closes …

    June 20, 2022 / 46 Comments
    Closed sign on a shop door

    We all know that saying: when one door closes another one opens. Doors symbolise opportunity, a chance to discover something new and maybe unexpected. There’s also a sense of mystery about a door, especially an unusual one. What would we find were we able to open it?

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    Or what about ...?

    View over group of brick temples with tiered tiled roofs

    A walk in Patan, the City of Beauty

    February 1, 2023
    Black and white photo of street signs

    Gallery: meet me on the corner

    September 2, 2022
    Looking across a park to an historic building with a river and modern skyscrapers beyond

    Gallery: what makes a perfect city?

    March 29, 2022
  • Friendly Friday,  Landscape,  Plants,  Themed galleries,  Trees, forests and woodland

    Gallery: what is green?

    June 18, 2022 / 24 Comments
    Green weed in fast flowing water

    Green is the colour of nature, the colour of spring and summer. It is restful on the eye and calming to the soul. I think it must have inspired more poets and authors than any other colour. And there are almost as many shades of green in our world as there are writers to describe them. Or indeed photographers to try to capture and preserve their beauty!

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Two elephants in long grass in black and white

    Two ways: black and white or colour?

    November 6, 2020
    Blue glacier edge

    Travel dreams

    October 16, 2020
    Banner with photo of a man in Arab dress

    Friendly Friday: meet some amazing guides

    November 19, 2021
  • Flowers,  Gardens,  Themed galleries,  Thursday Trios

    Gallery: three flowers, three fruits

    June 16, 2022 / 32 Comments
    Three bright red flowers

    There are always flowers, and for those of us in the northern hemisphere, especially at this time of year. Is there a photographer anywhere, I wonder, who doesn't want both to see them and to capture them forever?

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Narrow path between flower beds

    Gallery: some favourite English flowers

    October 17, 2022
    Soft focus image of a dramatic flower

    Gallery: soft orchids from Colombia

    February 22, 2023
    Black and white photo of a single magnolia flower

    Gallery: spring sunshine, but in monochrome?

    March 21, 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 bulgaria cambodia chile cities colombia colour costa_rica dprk ealing england flowers france friendlyfriday Friendly_Friday history india landscape lens-artists Lens_Artists_Challenge london Monday_Walks naturephotochallenge nepal new_mexico north_korea paris people photography photo_effects PPAC ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills thechangingseasons usa views village wildlife

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All images and texts copyright Sarah Wilkie - 2023 ©
 

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