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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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    • Disclaimer & GDPR
  • 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
        • 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 bulgaria cambodia cffc chile churches 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 village wildlife
  • 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 ...?

    Monkey looking down from a branch

    Gallery: pick a word (March 2023)

    March 18, 2023
    Face of a sloth among large leaves

    A postcard from Colombia: a three-toed sloth in a city park

    February 17, 2023
    Large pink flower

    Gallery: in the pink in Colombia

    March 8, 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 a girl's face

    Gallery: looking for street art in Sofia

    April 2, 2021
    Black and white photo of a city view with a large cathedral

    Gallery: seeing Sofia in black and white

    October 13, 2022
    Wall painting of a sleeping purple cat

    Gallery: more street art from Sofia

    October 8, 2022
  • 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 ...?

    Black and white photo of sculptures of two women, one a soldier

    The Monument to the Soviet Army in Sofia

    October 22, 2022
    Mural of a girl's face

    Gallery: looking for street art in Sofia

    April 2, 2021
    Sign saying Kapana in Cyrillic letters

    Gallery: a walk in colourful Kapana

    December 18, 2021
  • 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 ...?

    Brick church with domes against a blue sky

    A postcard from Sofia

    September 28, 2022
    Red Metro sign against a backdrop of leaves

    Gallery: a September selection

    October 3, 2022
    Wall painting of a sleeping purple cat

    Gallery: more street art from Sofia

    October 8, 2022
  • 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 ...?

    Statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il

    Why go to North Korea?

    September 10, 2020
    Empty airport seating area

    Gallery: Wonsan Kalma International Airport sits deserted

    May 7, 2021
    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 ...?

    Banner with photo of two women in yellow dresses

    Friendly Friday: meet some wedding guests in Cambodia

    October 8, 2021
    People walking by wide river lined with palm trees

    A Sunday evening by the Tonle Sap, Phnom Penh

    April 8, 2021
    Man frying insects at a food stall

    Exploring the street food of Phnom Penh

    April 3, 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 ...?

    Painting of young slave

    Roots: dark history or tourist trap?

    October 29, 2020
    Stone carved with cherubs

    Around the corner in Leipzig: die Runde Ecke

    April 16, 2021
    Empty airport seating area

    Gallery: Wonsan Kalma International Airport sits deserted

    May 7, 2021
  • 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 ...?

    Relief carvings of battle scenes

    So who did start the Korean War?

    September 15, 2020
    Two large mosaics with portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il

    Gallery: mosaic portraits of a dynasty

    October 21, 2020
    Large poster depicting man waving red flag

    Gallery: the art of the propaganda poster in North Korea

    July 17, 2021
  • Dark tourism,  Jersey,  War

    Jersey under occupation: the War Tunnels

    July 28, 2021 / 26 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 ...?

    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
    Relief carvings of battle scenes

    So who did start the Korean War?

    September 15, 2020
    Black and white photo of sculptures of two women, one a soldier

    The Monument to the Soviet Army in Sofia

    October 22, 2022
  • 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 ...?

    Stone carved with cherubs

    Around the corner in Leipzig: die Runde Ecke

    April 16, 2021
    Empty airport seating area

    Gallery: Wonsan Kalma International Airport sits deserted

    May 7, 2021
    School children in the Hiroshima Peace Park

    Finding peace in Hiroshima

    September 7, 2020
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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 cffc chile churches 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 village wildlife

Archive

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  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
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  • August 2020

You may have missed

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  • Gallery: the wheel turns and turns
  • Gallery: pick a word (March 2023)
  • Gallery: seeing Colombia in black and white
  • A (steep) walk in the Valle Cocora

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All images and texts copyright Sarah Wilkie - 2023 ©
 

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