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Travel snapshots from Toonsarah

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  • About me
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    • ‘Always Write’ interview
    • My love of travel
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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
        • 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
  • Japan,  Mid-week Monochrome,  Monochrome Madness,  Photographic techniques,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: seeing Japan in black and white

    January 26, 2023 / 35 Comments
    Black and white landscape with red tinted Japanese gate

    There’s a restraint, a rejection of what is not necessary, in Japanese art and architecture. What is left out is as important as, if not more important than, what is put in.

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    Or what about ...?

    Smiling man in chef's whites

    Gallery: a visit to Takayama’s morning market

    April 1, 2021
    Colourful decorated archway

    Gallery: on Tokyo’s lively Takeshita Dori

    April 7, 2021
    School children in the Hiroshima Peace Park

    Finding peace in Hiroshima

    September 7, 2020
  • England,  Nature and wildlife,  Squares,  Themed galleries

    Gallery: barking up the wrong tree?

    July 9, 2021 / 42 Comments
    Close up of peeling white bark

    Photographing a tree, a complete tree, can be a challenge. Stand back to get it all in the frame and perhaps other trees may block your view, or the drama of the tree’s size be lost within the bigger picture. Sometimes you can capture its strength best by stepping closer and focusing on the details.

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    Stone circle in a landscape with blue sky and white clouds

    A visit to Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain

    June 21, 2022
    Large stone in a field

    A stroll around Avebury’s stone circle

    June 28, 2022
    Rocky foreshore and distant cliffs

    Gallery: not just any day!

    November 1, 2021
  • Culture & tradition,  Japan,  Photographing Public Art,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: the humble manhole cover as public art

    June 22, 2021 / 22 Comments
    Colourful manhole cover

    The Japanese seem to take pride in making everything look the best it possibly can; even the humble manhole cover is an opportunity for some decorative design. Each town or city has its own unique styles, and many are not only intricately moulded but also colourfully painted.

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    Three women in red checked fabric wraps

    The Maasai people of the Ngorongoro Crater

    January 25, 2021
    Large illuminated reindeer model

    Celebrating Christmas in London and (a little way) beyond

    December 6, 2021
    Small squat tree in a dry stony landscape

    Dhofar, the Land of Frankincense

    May 11, 2022
  • Culture & tradition,  Gardens,  Japan,  Lens-Artists

    Exploring the temple gardens of Kyoto

    May 9, 2021 / 43 Comments
    Golden temple reflected in a lake

    Japanese gardens are not beautiful by accident. Every detail is carefully considered, every plant and rock precisely placed. And the result is often stunning. It was in Kyoto that I really came to appreciate the nuances of Japanese garden design.

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    Lady in bright carnival costume

    Carnival parade in Praia, Cape Verde

    January 18, 2021
    Old sign advertising a clog shop entrance

    Gallery: shoes, slippers, trainers, boots and clogs

    August 15, 2021
    Village street with men sitting on bench

    A village built on shells

    May 11, 2021
  • Culture & tradition,  Japan,  Sunday Stills

    Celebrating childhood at the shrines of Japan

    April 25, 2021 / 13 Comments
    Little boy and two little girls in Japanese costume

    Nikko’s Futarasan shrine is only five minutes’ or so walk from its more famous neighbour, Toshogu, but it seemed to us that we were in a different world. The crowds had dissipated, leaving just a handful of tourists and some local families. We strolled around in a much more leisurely way than had been possible at Toshogu, taking photos and soaking up the tranquil atmosphere and the rich colours of the leaves just starting to take on their autumn hues.

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    Line of seated stone statues wearing red caps and bibs

    The Bake-Jizō of Kanmangafuchi Abyss

    February 16, 2021
    Dark table with lots of small dishes

    Gallery: Dining in (Japanese) style ~ kaiseki

    March 6, 2021
    Man beating white cloth

    A dhobi wallah in Fort Cochi, Kerala

    April 14, 2021
  • Japan,  Squares,  Street photography,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: on Tokyo’s lively Takeshita Dori

    April 7, 2021 / 35 Comments
    Colourful decorated archway

    The Tokyo district of Harajuku is known as a focal point for some of Japan's most extreme teenage cultures and fashion styles. And at its heart is Takeshita Dori, the perfect place to see Tokyo’s youth at play. This narrow street, little more than a lane, is lined with uber-trendy clothes shops interspersed with the kind of refreshment stops likely to appeal to its mainly teenage market.

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    Man with green umbrella by a river in autumn

    Where the gods descended: Kamikochi

    March 8, 2021
    School children in the Hiroshima Peace Park

    Finding peace in Hiroshima

    September 7, 2020
    Smiling man in chef's whites

    Gallery: a visit to Takayama’s morning market

    April 1, 2021
  • Japan,  Just One Person,  Street photography,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: a visit to Takayama’s morning market

    April 1, 2021 / 19 Comments
    Smiling man in chef's whites

    Takayama is a mountain town, and the river that runs through it, the Miyagawa, is a clear mountain one. Every morning on its banks stall-holders set out their wares at the town’s famous morning market, in a long-held tradition.

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    Or what about ...?

    Man with green umbrella by a river in autumn

    Where the gods descended: Kamikochi

    March 8, 2021
    Colourful manhole cover

    Gallery: the humble manhole cover as public art

    June 22, 2021
    Line of seated stone statues wearing red caps and bibs

    The Bake-Jizō of Kanmangafuchi Abyss

    February 16, 2021
  • Japan,  Landscape,  Monday walks,  Rivers,  Sunday Stills

    Where the gods descended: Kamikochi

    March 8, 2021 / 28 Comments
    Man with green umbrella by a river in autumn

    Nestled among the dramatic peaks of the Japanese Alps lies the high plateau of Kamikochi; the name means ‘Where the gods descended’. The Azusa River flows through a valley formed by great elemental upheavals, including glaciers and volcanic eruptions, over many thousands of years.

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    Or what about ...?

    Colourful manhole cover

    Gallery: the humble manhole cover as public art

    June 22, 2021
    Black and white landscape with red tinted Japanese gate

    Gallery: seeing Japan in black and white

    January 26, 2023
    Dark table with lots of small dishes

    Gallery: Dining in (Japanese) style ~ kaiseki

    March 6, 2021
  • Culture & tradition,  Food & drink,  Friday’s Foods of the World,  Japan,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: Dining in (Japanese) style ~ kaiseki

    March 6, 2021 / 27 Comments
    Dark table with lots of small dishes

    A traditional Japanese feast, a kaiseki, is a thing of beauty. It isn’t just a meal; it’s an art form balancing taste, texture, appearance, and colour. The dishes are beautifully arranged and presented, on plates chosen to enhance the visual impact, and equally beautifully decorated, often with edible garnishes.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Golden temple reflected in a lake

    Exploring the temple gardens of Kyoto

    May 9, 2021
    Buddhist monk

    Saying prayers for Korean reunification

    June 3, 2021
    Street with low houses and woman carrying a basket

    Weird and wonderful: forbidden culture in Cuenca

    October 24, 2021
  • Colour,  Culture & tradition,  Japan,  Sunday Stills

    The Bake-Jizō of Kanmangafuchi Abyss

    February 16, 2021 / 18 Comments
    Line of seated stone statues wearing red caps and bibs

    Red, in Japan, is the colour of the sun (not yellow as in other cultures). It stands for life, power and protection, but also for death. It is thought capable of expelling demons and illness. You see red everywhere; on temple roofs, torii gates at shrines, lanterns and pagodas. And in the bibs and caps worn by the haunting Jizō statues of Kanmangafuchi Abyss in Nikko.

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    Or what about ...?

    Colourfully painted houses on a cobbled street

    A postcard from Colombia: a street corner in Guatapé

    February 15, 2023
    Wooden hut painted in candy stripes

    Gallery: colourful beach huts in Whitstable and Broadstairs

    November 20, 2020
    Two men in Arab robes on a sand dune

    Gallery: blackness against the light

    January 30, 2023
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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

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All images and texts copyright Sarah Wilkie - 2023 ©
 

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