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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
        • 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
      • 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 Doors
      • Thursday Trios
  • 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 black_&_white bulgaria cambodia cffc chile churches cities 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 mountains nepal new_mexico north_korea paris people photography photo_effects PPAC rivers ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills usa village wildlife
  • Rajasthan,  Writers' Quotes Wednesday

    Udaipur, Rajasthan’s city of lakes

    August 14, 2022 / 25 Comments
    Lake surrounded by low mountains with a small island

    Udaipur’s setting in the Aravalli Mountains, and around a string of man-made lakes, gives it a unique character among Rajasthan’s cities. Arriving here it is immediately obvious why it is so often called the ‘city of lakes’.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Lake with palace on the hill beyond

    The Palace of Bundi: Kipling’s ‘work of goblins’

    November 18, 2020
    Ornate marble pillars holding up carved ceilings

    Chaumukha Mandir, the four-faced temple of Ranakpur

    March 1, 2021
    Landscape with trees and escarpments

    Tiger, Tiger, burning bright …

    November 8, 2021
  • Monday walks,  Rajasthan,  Street photography,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: the friendly people of Khimsar

    July 13, 2022 / 40 Comments
    Boy and his father in a shop

    Around a 450 year old fort on the edge of the Thar Desert a small town has grown up, consisting of little more than a market, some shops and a bus station. These serve the surrounding rural community and those who work in the fort, which is today is both home to the Thakurs, former rulers of the Kingdom of Khimsar, who built it, and also a heritage hotel.

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    Or what about ...?

    Stone carving of a dragon on an old building in front of a modern one

    A city stroll in London

    January 22, 2023
    Black and white photo of a river with bridges and city buildings

    Following the River Tyne to Ouseburn

    April 20, 2021
    Rock face with small caves and bushes

    In the footsteps of the Anasazi: Tsankawi

    May 3, 2022
  • Animals,  Birds,  Rajasthan,  Sunday Stills

    Tiger, Tiger, burning bright …

    November 8, 2021 / 51 Comments
    Landscape with trees and escarpments

    Like just about everyone else who visits, we came to Ranthambore with the aim of seeing tigers. And Ranthambore is all about the tigers. Every conversation you have here is guaranteed to start with ‘Did you see any tigers?’ The answer is quite likely to be yes, although there are, as ever with wildlife, no guarantees ...

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    Or what about ...?

    Elephant calf drinking

    Meet the orphaned elephants being rescued in Nairobi

    May 15, 2021
    Three lion cubs

    Gallery: emerging into life

    April 12, 2021
    Giraffe eating

    Giraffe Manor: getting up close and personal

    January 11, 2021
  • Architecture,  Culture & tradition,  Friendly Friday,  History,  Rajasthan

    Friendly Friday: meet a young tightrope walker in Jaisalmer

    August 27, 2021 / 49 Comments
    Banner with photo of a tightrope walker

    Perched on the top of Trikuta Hill, Jaisalmer’s honey coloured fort rises above the city like a giant sandcastle. This is the second oldest fort in Rajasthan, one of the largest in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and almost unique in India in being still inhabited.

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    Or what about ...?

    Sign on boarded-up window

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

    January 17, 2021
    Ceramic tiles with blue border and brown lion and castle

    A visit to the Real Alcázar of Seville

    December 29, 2021
    Black and white photo of a modern building and silhouetted bridges

    Gallery: seeing the Sage in black and white

    December 28, 2022
  • Colour,  Culture & tradition,  Rajasthan,  Sunday Stills,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: La Vie en Rose in Rajasthan

    June 14, 2021 / 30 Comments
    Group of ladies in pink saris

    The fashion editor Diana Vreeland once said, ‘Pink is the navy blue of India’ and in Rajasthan I certainly saw why she would say that. Everywhere we went the women were dressed in the most gorgeous shades of that colour. Among all the wonderful colours that I remember from our time there, it is pink – a shocking pink – that stands out.

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    Very large green snail sculpture

    Gallery: giant snails invading Riga!

    November 12, 2021
    Small purple blossoms

    Gallery: a bouquet of purple flowers

    August 11, 2021
    Wooden hut painted in candy stripes

    Gallery: colourful beach huts in Whitstable and Broadstairs

    November 20, 2020
  • Culture & tradition,  Just One Person,  Rajasthan

    Meeting the locals in Narlai, Rajasthan

    March 17, 2021 / 22 Comments
    Lady in Indian dress with a goat

    The village of Narlai in Rajasthan would be completely off the tourist track were it not for the hotel that has been created in the former hunting lodge of Jodhpur’s royal family. It is a small village which faces some of the same challenges as rural communities everywhere. Its population is declining as younger people drift away, tempted by big city life and its wider opportunities.

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    Or what about ...?

    Girl in traditional blue clothing

    Traditional textiles in San Antonio Palopo

    April 21, 2021
    Two large mosaics with portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il

    Gallery: mosaic portraits of a dynasty

    October 21, 2020
    Distant mountains with colourful fabric in foreground

    Exploring the temple town of Manakamana

    December 6, 2022
  • Architecture,  History,  Rajasthan,  Sunday Stills

    Chaumukha Mandir, the four-faced temple of Ranakpur

    March 1, 2021 / 24 Comments
    Ornate marble pillars holding up carved ceilings

    On a wooded hillside in the Aravalli range of hills in Rajasthan, north of Udaipur, is an exquisite Jain temple, intricately carved in white marble, Ranakpur. It has a cool serenity, its pale stone a welcome contrast to the vivid colours and assault on the senses that is India.

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    Or what about ...?

    Looking up at a spiral staircase

    Gallery: monochrome curves

    March 20, 2022
    Large wooden curved structure

    Gallery: Seville’s mushrooms, art or architecture?

    December 4, 2021
    Looking down a spiral staircase

    Gallery: the perfect simplicity of a spiral staircase

    October 10, 2021
  • Culture & tradition,  History,  Rajasthan

    Tales of death in Jaisalmer and beyond

    February 19, 2021 / 18 Comments
    Lake with domed structure and birds

    Deep in the Thar Desert in the far west of Rajasthan is a golden city. A fairy tale fort sits on a ridge overlooking the town, still home to many families whose houses cluster within its sheltering walls. I loved Jaisalmer's remoteness, its border-town mentality, and the beauty of its golden architecture. And I enjoyed the personal stories of life (and death) as told by our Brahmin guide Gaurav.

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    Or what about ...?

    Faded photo of a large statue and old apartments behind

    Where Lenin once pointed the way to …?

    February 5, 2021
    Lady in bright carnival costume

    Carnival parade in Praia, Cape Verde

    January 18, 2021
    Old bus and motor garage

    Stepping back in time: living history at Beamish

    September 23, 2021
  • Culture & tradition,  Just One Person,  Rajasthan

    A warm welcome in the Thar Desert

    February 11, 2021 / 30 Comments
    Lady in pink head covering in front of grass roof

    Nothing makes you feel more welcome in a country than to be invited into someone's home, however humble. And language is no barrier to connecting with a friendly hostess and her curious children.

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    Or what about ...?

    Colourful houses built over water

    Chiloé: a place of witches and gnomes

    August 4, 2022
    Little boy and two little girls in Japanese costume

    Celebrating childhood at the shrines of Japan

    April 25, 2021
    Lake with domed structure and birds

    Tales of death in Jaisalmer and beyond

    February 19, 2021
  • Belize,  Botswana,  Galapagos Islands,  Rajasthan,  USA

    Wherever I lay my hat … (continued)

    January 6, 2021 / 11 Comments
    Bed decorated with leaves and seeds

    What makes a place to stay special? Is it the location? The people? The building itself? Maybe in the best places it is all of these things, plus a small helping of ‘je ne sais quoi’.

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    Stone face

    Lamanai: submerged crocodile

    October 4, 2020
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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 architecture art birds black_&_white bulgaria cambodia cffc chile churches cities 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 mountains nepal new_mexico north_korea paris people photography photo_effects PPAC rivers ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills usa village wildlife

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