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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
  • Colour,  Culture & tradition,  Laos,  One Word Sunday

    Tak Bat in Luang Prabang

    August 27, 2023 / 43 Comments
    Monks in orange robes seated on the floor

    The traditional ceremony of Tak Bat, or almsgiving, isn't unique to Laos, or even to Luang Prabang, but has become particularly associated with this town because of the sheer number of temples in a concentrated space. Every morning the monks leave the temples to walk the streets, carrying a pot in which local people place food, usually sticky rice. In this way the monks have food to eat, and the people receive good karma and blessings in return for their giving.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Bright yellow daisies

    Gallery: winter is dead

    May 5, 2023
    Colourfully painted houses on a cobbled street

    A postcard from Colombia: a street corner in Guatapé

    February 15, 2023
    Dried fruit and nuts displayed with price tags

    Gallery: tenderly love the apricots

    September 15, 2022
  • Indochina,  Street photography,  Sunday Stills,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: fleeting moments in Indochina

    October 18, 2022 / 35 Comments
    Small child looking out of a window

    Our visit to Indochina was only just over two years ago, yet in some ways it feels like a world away. A world barely touched by Covid, in which we didn’t question our ability to travel. Took it for granted, perhaps? Looking back at my photos I wonder why we didn’t realise that the disease already causing deaths and chaos in China would spread to engulf the whole world. Were we like ostriches, our heads in the sand? Or was it such an alien concept that we couldn’t envisage it?

    Carry on reading
  • Architecture,  Lens-Artists,  Themed galleries

    Buildings three ways (three of a kind)

    May 29, 2022 / 41 Comments
    Three photos in a black frame showing an oriental palace and some details

    Every picture tells a story. But sometimes it’s useful to have more than one picture to expand on the narrative. If one picture can tell a story, what more can three tell us? Here I’ve chosen to focus on some impressive buildings I’ve visited around the world. I’ll show you the overall appearance, share a detail that caught my eye and introduce you to a person or people I saw there. Hopefully this will bring these buildings to life in a way a single image could never do.

    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
    White painted cathedral

    A city shaped by earthquakes

    October 27, 2021
    Three large highly decorated buildings around a central square

    Gallery: building in threes

    May 13, 2022
  • Laos,  Monday walks,  Ruins

    Wat Phou: walking in the footsteps of the king

    May 23, 2022 / 31 Comments
    Avenue lined with small stone pillars and distant mountains

    Wat Phou is a pre-Angkorian Khmer Hindu temple at the foot of Mount Phou Khao. The Khmer chose this site because the unusual shape of the mountain peak seemed to them to resemble a Shiva linga. Today it was so hazy that the peak was hard to make out, but we had seen it yesterday in the late afternoon sunlight.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Hand holding knife and straw shavings

    Gallery: getting up close and personal

    September 24, 2021
    Two elephants among trees

    Elephant encounters on elephant terms

    September 13, 2020
    Man in orange robes by worn plaster wall

    Gallery: the monks of Luang Prabang (a life in orange)

    October 11, 2021
  • Culture & tradition,  Laos,  Life in Colour,  Sunday Stills,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: the monks of Luang Prabang (a life in orange)

    October 11, 2021 / 22 Comments
    Man in orange robes by worn plaster wall

    You only have to spend a few hours in Luang Prabang to see why this town regularly tops lists of travellers’ favourite places. Its laid-back vibe, its historic royal palace and perhaps most of all its beautiful Buddhist temples, over 30 in total. What struck me was the way that the monks and tourists co-exist, with full respect among (most of) the latter for the traditions of the former.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Two images of narrow city streets

    A walk in Seville’s picturesque Triana district

    December 2, 2021
    Dark table with lots of small dishes

    Gallery: Dining in (Japanese) style ~ kaiseki

    March 6, 2021
    Little boy and two little girls in Japanese costume

    Celebrating childhood at the shrines of Japan

    April 25, 2021
  • Cambodia,  Friendly Friday,  Laos,  Travel galleries,  Vietnam

    Gallery: getting up close and personal

    September 24, 2021 / 31 Comments
    Hand holding knife and straw shavings

    Like many photographers, I shoot quite a lot of images of flowers and that’s the first thing I think of when asked to showcase macro photography (which technically-speaking I don’t do) or close-up photography (which I do a lot). After that, my next thought will be insects. And I already have a few posts here on those lines. So what to do when Amanda asks for close ups and macros for this week’s Friendly Friday Challenge? The following photos are all taken from my travel archives, specifically my early 2020…

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Close-up of fried tarantulas

    Gallery: fancy a snack in Spider Town?

    April 30, 2021
    Pink bike helmet with Pinkie logo

    Gallery: motorbike ‘art’ in South East Asia

    December 27, 2021
    White window shutter and green leaves

    Eating out with a conscience in Indochina

    April 17, 2021
  • Landscape,  Laos,  Lens-Artists

    A day on the Nam Ou

    July 3, 2021 / 26 Comments
    River with small boats and rocky cliff

    I like nothing more than a boat trip. Whether we are by the sea, a lake or a river; if there is an opportunity to get out on the water I will take it. And the smaller the boat, the better. I have little interest in large cruise ships, the so-called ‘floating hotels’. I want to feel the movement, maybe reach out and dip my hand in the water, or feel the spray on my face as we cut through the waves.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    View over trees to river and sea

    Gallery: finding peace while travelling

    May 27, 2023
    Ducks landing on a lake

    Summer in East Anglia

    August 10, 2022
    Mist hanging over a lake

    Gallery: Morning mists over Matthew’s Linn

    January 26, 2021
  • Culture & tradition,  Just One Person,  Laos

    A village blacksmith in the Lao highlands

    March 10, 2021 / 26 Comments
    Blacksmith crouching

    The scent of wood smoke hangs in the air. Children play in the dusty soil. Small pigs, chickens and dogs wander at will between the wooden houses. And inside one a blacksmith is at work, shaping a machete over glowing coals. This is Phou Taen Khamu, home to some of the Khamu people, one of Laos’ minority ethnic tribes.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Two men in fancy dress

    Gallery: Comic and Games festival in Lucca

    November 8, 2020

    A postcard from Nepal: Sadhus

    October 27, 2022
    Print with blue mountains

    Dust collectors? Or precious memories?

    January 23, 2021
  • Cambodia,  England,  Laos,  Lens-Artists,  Vietnam

    2020: my (pandemic) year in review

    January 3, 2021 / 46 Comments
    Red lantern, blue wall, green shutters

    The year that has just past will remain long in all our memories, no doubt, and not for the best of reasons. A year ago the new coronavirus was just seeping into our consciousnesses and we had no idea how it would turn our lives upside down. We certainly know that now!

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Group of people sitting on blue plastic stools in a market

    Gallery: Psar Thmei, Phnom Penh’s Central Market

    February 13, 2022
    Header image with two small photos

    Friendly Friday Challenge: think about your viewpoint

    July 1, 2022
    Man frying insects at a food stall

    Exploring the street food of Phnom Penh

    April 3, 2021
  • Laos,  People,  Ten photos

    Around the world in ten photos: day four

    December 20, 2020 / 11 Comments
    Woman crouching by a river panning for gold

    A woman crouches beside the fast-flowing river, panning for gold. Hers is a simple life in a rural village, but success here could change it forever.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Pink bike helmet with Pinkie logo

    Gallery: motorbike ‘art’ in South East Asia

    December 27, 2021
    River with small boats and rocky cliff

    A day on the Nam Ou

    July 3, 2021
    Blue sign welcoming to village

    Island life in the Mekong

    September 26, 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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