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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
          • 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,  Photographing Public Art

    The Monument to Party Foundation

    July 22, 2023 / 33 Comments
    Three concrete sculptures against the sun

    Three enormous fists reach skywards, dominating the cityscape at the end of a long grassy avenue. Linked by a massive concrete belt they loom over visitors and passers-by. However this monument makes a statement not just through its grand scale but also the details of its design. This is a story told in numbers and in symbols.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Large modern Oriental style building surrounded by trees

    International friendships in North Korea

    June 30, 2022
    Ornamental gate

    The Killing Fields of Cambodia

    June 23, 2022
    Huge statues of young women holding a stone map above an empty road

    The Monument to the Three Charters for National Reunification

    September 18, 2021
  • Albania,  Dark tourism,  History

    The legacy of Enver Hoxha

    May 13, 2023 / 23 Comments
    A large 1960s style home

    Few people are all good or all bad. Most of us hope that in our cases the good will outweigh the bad. But there are some people for whom it is clear that the opposite is true. Such a person was Enver Hoxha.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Men at small tables, with drinks

    Gallery: the people of Tirana in black and white

    April 26, 2023
    House in a garden with concrete path

    A postcard from Tirana: Enver Hoxha’s former residence

    April 22, 2023
    Books on a market stall

    A postcard from Tirana: the flea market

    April 24, 2023
  • Albania,  Dark tourism,  Postcards from the road

    A postcard from Tirana: Enver Hoxha’s former residence

    April 22, 2023 / 40 Comments
    House in a garden with concrete path

    In Tirana's now trendy Blloku district one house stands empty and isolated, ignored it seems by the bright young things who come here to eat and drink in the many bars and restaurants.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Books on a market stall

    A postcard from Tirana: the flea market

    April 24, 2023
    Two boys cycling past a utility box painted with a figure from South Park

    Gallery: boxing clever in Tirana

    May 14, 2023
    White blossom and deep blue sky

    Gallery: an April selection (2023)

    May 2, 2023
  • Dark tourism,  DPRK,  Lens-Artists,  War

    Dreaming of reunification in North Korea

    March 26, 2023 / 34 Comments
    Row of huts in front of a larger modern building

    Travel is all about experiences. They may seem quite small at the time, like a chance but memorable encounter with a local person that changes your perspective on the world. Or they may seem huge, visiting an iconic world sight that you’ve dreamed about seeing for years. But whether large or small, long-planned for or serendipitous, the experiences of travel are, in my opinion, among the best to be found.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Man seated in front of poster of himself

    Meeting a survivor of S-21, Tuol Sleng

    February 24, 2021
    House in a garden with concrete path

    A postcard from Tirana: Enver Hoxha’s former residence

    April 22, 2023
    Huge statues of young women holding a stone map above an empty road

    The Monument to the Three Charters for National Reunification

    September 18, 2021
  • Colombia,  Dark tourism,  Postcards from the road,  Ruins

    A postcard from Colombia: Pablo Escobar’s former lakeside retreat

    February 13, 2023 / 34 Comments
    Ruined building among trees

    On the shores of the El Peñol-Guatapé Reservoir the infamous Colombian cocaine drug-lord Pablo Escobar built a lavish estate which he named La Manuela, after his daughter.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Steep-sided valley with tall palm trees and other vegetation

    A (steep) walk in the Valle Cocora

    March 13, 2023
    Two women in colourful traditional dress looking at mobile phones

    Gallery: a February selection (2023)

    March 3, 2023
    Colourful mural street art depicting two women

    Gallery: the street art of Candelaria, Bogota

    February 24, 2023
  • Bulgaria,  Dark tourism,  Photographing Public Art

    The Monument to the Soviet Army in Sofia

    October 22, 2022 / 36 Comments
    Black and white photo of sculptures of two women, one a soldier

    To leave a monument standing, to mothball it or to destroy it? That is a question that faces many countries right now, as they face up to an uncomfortable past. Maybe values have changed, better understandings emerged, or political systems been rejected. Do we want still to be surrounded by reminders of that past? Or is it justifiable to remove them, hide the memories?

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Mural of Barack Obama shaking hands with another man

    Gallery: Staro Zhelezare, another street art village

    March 24, 2021
    Orthodox cathedral at the end of a wide street

    Gallery: Sofia’s St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

    March 7, 2021
    Mural of a girl's face

    Gallery: looking for street art in Sofia

    April 2, 2021
  • Bulgaria,  Dark tourism,  History

    Welcome to the 1980s in Bulgaria

    October 20, 2022 / 51 Comments
    Low chairs around a table, dark wood wall units

    In one corner of the room a small TV broadcasts news and propaganda. Photo albums on the table are full of reminders of happy family gatherings. Some medals are proudly displayed on a shelf, while the drinks cabinet holds treasured bottles of imported brands.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Mural of Barack Obama shaking hands with another man

    Gallery: Staro Zhelezare, another street art village

    March 24, 2021
    Sepia photo of Buzludzha Monument

    Buzludzha Monument

    September 4, 2020
    Stone statue of man in an overcoat

    A visit to Sofia’s Socialist Art Museum

    October 10, 2022
  • Bulgaria,  Dark tourism,  History,  Monday walks

    A visit to Sofia’s Socialist Art Museum

    October 10, 2022 / 40 Comments
    Stone statue of man in an overcoat

    What do you do with a load of monuments that celebrate a past you’d rather forget? You can haul them down and break them up for scrap perhaps. Or you can leave them where they are, a constant reminder of that troubled past. Or you can gather them up and put them in a museum; a museum that acknowledges and documents the past but doesn’t celebrate it.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Wall painting of a sleeping purple cat

    Gallery: more street art from Sofia

    October 8, 2022
    Exterior of brick mosque with dome and minaret

    The Square of Religious Tolerance in Sofia

    April 6, 2021
    Mural of Barack Obama shaking hands with another man

    Gallery: Staro Zhelezare, another street art village

    March 24, 2021
  • 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 ...?

    Factory gates with propaganda signs and various buildings

    Some short stories from the Hermit Kingdom

    November 28, 2021
    Stone statue of man in an overcoat

    A visit to Sofia’s Socialist Art Museum

    October 10, 2022
    School children in the Hiroshima Peace Park

    Finding peace in Hiroshima

    September 7, 2020
  • 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 ...?

    A man with a young girl on his shoulders

    Lunch with Mr Noon and his family

    January 13, 2023
    Man frying insects at a food stall

    Exploring the street food of Phnom Penh

    April 3, 2021
    Header image with two small photos

    Friendly Friday Challenge: think about your viewpoint

    July 1, 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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