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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
  • Dark tourism,  DPRK

    International friendships in North Korea

    June 30, 2022 / 6 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 ...?

    Large poster depicting man waving red flag

    Gallery: the art of the propaganda poster in North Korea

    July 17, 2021
    Painting of young slave

    Roots: dark history or tourist trap?

    October 29, 2020
    Sepia photo of Buzludzha Monument

    Buzludzha Monument

    September 4, 2020
  • Cambodia,  Dark tourism,  War

    The Killing Fields of Cambodia

    June 23, 2022 / 61 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 ...?

    Red lantern, blue wall, green shutters

    2020: my (pandemic) year in review

    January 3, 2021
    Pink bike helmet with Pinkie logo

    Gallery: motorbike ‘art’ in South East Asia

    December 27, 2021
    People walking by wide river lined with palm trees

    A Sunday evening by the Tonle Sap, Phnom Penh

    April 8, 2021
  • Dark tourism,  DPRK,  Lens-Artists

    Some short stories from the Hermit Kingdom

    November 28, 2021 / 33 Comments
    Factory gates with propaganda signs and various buildings

    We visited many strange and wonderful places on our tour of North Korea. But this is a short story about a place we didn’t visit. The Hungnam fertiliser factory was first established in Hungnam by the Japanese in 1927 and reopened by the Koreans after having been destroyed in the Korean War.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Relief carvings of battle scenes

    So who did start the Korean War?

    September 15, 2020
    Sepia photo of Buzludzha Monument

    Buzludzha Monument

    September 4, 2020
    Statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il

    Why go to North Korea?

    September 10, 2020
  • Dark tourism,  DPRK,  Photographing Public Art

    The Monument to the Three Charters for National Reunification

    September 18, 2021 / 24 Comments
    Huge statues of young women holding a stone map above an empty road

    Like many such states, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea does public art on a big scale. The many statues of the Dear Leaders are well known, but perhaps a little less so is this rather astounding example, the Monument to the Three Charters for National Reunification.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Painting of young slave

    Roots: dark history or tourist trap?

    October 29, 2020
    Sepia photo of Buzludzha Monument

    Buzludzha Monument

    September 4, 2020
    Long empty tunnel with subdued lighting

    Jersey under occupation: the War Tunnels

    July 28, 2021
  • Dark tourism,  Jersey,  War

    Jersey under occupation: the War Tunnels

    July 28, 2021 / 22 Comments
    Long empty tunnel with subdued lighting

    In June 1940 France fell to the advancing Nazi army and was occupied. The British government decided that the Channel Islands, just off the Normandy coast, were of no strategic importance and would not be defended. The islands were effectively demilitarised, and the residents were faced with an impossible choice. Should they stay and face occupation or go, leaving behind families, friends and possessions?

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Large statues of North Korean Leaders with visiting locals

    Gallery: statues of the Great Leaders

    February 20, 2021
    Large poster depicting man waving red flag

    Gallery: the art of the propaganda poster in North Korea

    July 17, 2021
    School children in the Hiroshima Peace Park

    Finding peace in Hiroshima

    September 7, 2020
  • Dark tourism,  DPRK,  Photographing Public Art,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: the art of the propaganda poster in North Korea

    July 17, 2021 / 24 Comments
    Large poster depicting man waving red flag

    Any visitor to North Korea can’t fail to be struck by the absence of what we take for granted both at home and in most countries we visit: advertising. Only state-produced goods are available, so with no competition for customers, there is no need to advertise. But that doesn’t mean that there no eye-catching posters clamouring for our attention in the streets.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    School children in the Hiroshima Peace Park

    Finding peace in Hiroshima

    September 7, 2020
    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
    Two large mosaics with portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il

    Gallery: mosaic portraits of a dynasty

    October 21, 2020
  • Architecture,  CFFC,  Dark tourism,  DPRK,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: Wonsan Kalma International Airport sits deserted

    May 7, 2021 / 20 Comments
    Empty airport seating area

    Our arrival at Wonsan’s International Airport delivered another of those surreal ‘only in North Korea’ experiences; a glitzy but surreally empty new airport, built for international flights that never come!

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Black and white photo of white building

    Gallery: seeking geometry in architecture

    March 28, 2021
    Looking down a spiral staircase

    Gallery: the perfect simplicity of a spiral staircase

    October 10, 2021
    Ornate door and building

    Gallery: the doors of Tallinn

    October 24, 2020
  • Dark tourism,  Germany,  History

    Around the corner in Leipzig: die Runde Ecke

    April 16, 2021 / 26 Comments
    Stone carved with cherubs

    Leipzig’s Runde Ecke (‘Round Corner’) building was originally constructed for an insurance company in the early 20th century. But this attractive stone building was to assume a much darker role, and in time to play an important part in the history not just of this city but of the whole of Germany.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    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
    Factory gates with propaganda signs and various buildings

    Some short stories from the Hermit Kingdom

    November 28, 2021
    Large statues of North Korean Leaders with visiting locals

    Gallery: statues of the Great Leaders

    February 20, 2021
  • Cape Verde,  CFFC,  Dark tourism,  Ruins

    Campo da Morte Lenta: Camp of the Slow Death

    March 31, 2021 / 25 Comments
    Looking down on faded yellow-painted buildings

    On the southern outskirts of the small fishing town of Tarrafel on Santiago, one of the Cape Verde Islands, is a haunting sight. Now a museum, this former concentration camp, also known as Campo da Morte Lenta, commemorates a darker time for the islands, under Portuguese rule.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Lady in bright carnival costume

    Carnival parade in Praia, Cape Verde

    January 18, 2021
    Large mural of woman's head wearing a colourful headscarf

    Gallery: Cape Verde street art

    June 3, 2022
  • Cambodia,  Dark tourism,  Just One Person,  People,  War

    Meeting a survivor of S-21, Tuol Sleng

    February 24, 2021 / 24 Comments
    Man seated in front of poster of himself

    When the Khmer Rouge prison Tuol Sleng, in Phnom Penh, was liberated by the invading Vietnamese army in 1979, the guards killed all but a handful of prisoners to try to prevent them telling of the horrors perpetrated there. Chum Mey is just one of thousands who were imprisoned here. He is also just one of a very few to have survived the experience – to have lived to tell that story.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Pink bike helmet with Pinkie logo

    Gallery: motorbike ‘art’ in South East Asia

    December 27, 2021
    Close-up of fried tarantulas

    Gallery: fancy a snack in Spider Town?

    April 30, 2021
    Man frying insects at a food stall

    Exploring the street food of Phnom Penh

    April 3, 2021
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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

Archive

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  • March 2022
  • February 2022
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  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020

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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