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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
        • 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
  • DPRK,  Lens-Artists,  Mountains

    Mount Paektu, the revolutionary mountain

    October 24, 2022 / 58 Comments
    Looking down at still blue lake in a crater

    Straddling the border between North Korea and China is a still-active volcano, Mount Paektu. Its last eruption was in 1903 and scientists consider that another one could be imminent, based on a trend of eruptions roughly 100 years apart. The crater lake, Lake Chon (‘Heaven Lake’) was formed in the 946 AD eruption.

    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
    Row of huts in front of a larger modern building

    Dreaming of reunification in North Korea

    March 26, 2023
    Grassy mounds and statues of sheep

    Around the world in ten photos: day three

    December 19, 2020
  • Pick a Word,  Themed galleries

    Gallery: pick a word (September)

    October 6, 2022 / 50 Comments
    Black and white photo of tiny fungi growing out of lichen

    According to Horace, 'A picture is a poem without words'. That would seem to be a good motto for a photography blog. But I like to write (and talk!) almost as much as I like to take photos. So my posts are usually a mix of the two, and I leave my readers to decide whether the pictures or the text say the most.

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    Or what about ...?

    Black and white photo of a lady smoking a cigar

    Gallery: pick a word (August)

    August 30, 2022
    Man with a beard in sunglasses, wearing a hat

    Gallery: pick a word (July)

    July 28, 2022
    Black and white shot of a hill with terraces and bushes

    Gallery: pick a word (November)

    November 26, 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.

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    Relief carvings of battle scenes

    So who did start the Korean War?

    September 15, 2020
    Long empty tunnel with subdued lighting

    Jersey under occupation: the War Tunnels

    July 28, 2021
    Looking down on faded yellow-painted buildings

    Campo da Morte Lenta: Camp of the Slow Death

    March 31, 2021
  • Culture & tradition,  DPRK,  Food & drink

    Eating like honoured guests in North Korea

    December 30, 2021 / 56 Comments
    Elaborately decorated table

    Many people worry, unnecessarily, at the idea of visiting North Korea. Is it safe? Are the rules too strict? Will the food be tasty, and adequate? The latter question is perhaps understandable, given the well-documented periods of famine suffered in the country, but tourists, as honoured guests of the regime, have nothing to fear on that score.

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    Low stone houses on a hillside

    The Birdmen of Rapa Nui

    January 15, 2021
    Colourful houses built over water

    Chiloé: a place of witches and gnomes

    August 4, 2022
    White hearts with purple trim

    Viva Cuenca: one weekend, three festivals

    January 21, 2021
  • Culture & tradition,  DPRK,  Lens-Artists

    The Land of the People

    December 13, 2021 / 21 Comments
    Performers in a stadium with a backdrop image of Kim Jong Un

    Imagine an Olympic Games Opening Ceremony; full of spectacle and colour, involving tens of thousands of performers. Add a good dollop of political propaganda and unashamed messaging. Throw in hundreds of well-drilled cute children, all eager to please. Imagine too that this ceremony takes place every single night for several months. Now you have just a small idea of the scale of the North Korean phenomenon known colloquially as the Mass Games.

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    Or what about ...?

    Low stone houses on a hillside

    The Birdmen of Rapa Nui

    January 15, 2021
    Banner with photo of two women in yellow dresses

    Friendly Friday: meet some wedding guests in Cambodia

    October 8, 2021
    Rock face with small caves and bushes

    In the footsteps of the Anasazi: Tsankawi

    May 3, 2022
  • 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.

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    Or what about ...?

    Large statues of North Korean Leaders with visiting locals

    Gallery: statues of the Great Leaders

    February 20, 2021
    School children in the Hiroshima Peace Park

    Finding peace in Hiroshima

    September 7, 2020
    Low chairs around a table, dark wood wall units

    Welcome to the 1980s in Bulgaria

    October 20, 2022
  • Architecture,  CFFC,  Culture & tradition,  DPRK

    A look inside the Grand People’s Study House

    November 18, 2021 / 20 Comments
    Large building with green oriental roof

    Nearly all the great buildings and monuments of Pyongyang were built to mark a significant event linked to the Great Leaders, usually a birthday; and Kim Il Sung was especially fortunate on his 70th to be honoured with three such gifts. This special event was marked with a grand library, a triumphal arch and a tower.

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    Or what about ...?

    Blue and green wooden doors

    Gallery: the doors of Nepal

    January 23, 2023
    Red sandstone palace buildings and pool

    ‘He keepeth a great court’: Fatehpur Sikri

    March 26, 2021
    Terraced fields, shadowy buildings and mountains tinged with pink

    In Bandipur, an ancient hilltop town

    December 20, 2022
  • Architecture,  DPRK,  Lens-Artists

    The astounding architecture of Pyongyang

    November 7, 2021 / 48 Comments
    View of a city with river and modern architecture

    The capital of the DPRK, Pyongyang, has been developed as a showpiece for the country, demonstrating to both outsiders and the North Korean people the strength and power of the regime, and making a strong statement about the country’s ambitions to be self-reliant in the face of often hostile challenges from elsewhere – those challenges being of course both political and at times physical.

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    Or what about ...?

    Empty airport seating area

    Gallery: Wonsan Kalma International Airport sits deserted

    May 7, 2021
    Panoramic cityscape

    The best views of Paris?

    September 12, 2022
    View of cathedral on far side of river, with large crane

    Rising from the ashes: Notre Dame in 2021

    September 30, 2021
  • DPRK,  History,  Ruins

    Another slice of North Korean history in Kaesong

    October 21, 2021 / 17 Comments
    Ornate moss-covered oriental roof

    Kaesong is unusual among North Korean cities in having not been largely destroyed during the Korean War. It is also noteworthy as the only city to have changed hands as a result of the armistice agreement, having been part of South Korea from 1945 to 1950 until the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement brought it under North Korean control.

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    Or what about ...?

    Looking down at a station platform

    Taking a ride on the Pyongyang Metro

    July 10, 2021
    Memorials separated with low green hedges and city view beyond

    Commemorating the fallen: the Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery in Pyongyang

    February 10, 2021
    Large statues of North Korean Leaders with visiting locals

    Gallery: statues of the Great Leaders

    February 20, 2021
  • DPRK,  History,  Squares

    A rare glimpse of history in North Korea

    October 14, 2021 / 28 Comments
    Grassy mounds with stone sheep

    Once upon a time a king consulted geomancers to find the best place to locate the tomb of his beloved wife. The first one he asked recommended a place that, when he went to inspect it, seemed to him very inappropriate. So when he went to look at the suggestion of the second geomancer he was wary. He told officers in his revenue that he would climb the mountain alone to check it out. If they saw him wave his white handkerchief it would mean that he was displeased with…

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    Or what about ...?

    Elaborately decorated table

    Eating like honoured guests in North Korea

    December 30, 2021
    Little girl in red skirt playing piano

    Spending time with the children of Chongjin

    March 25, 2021
    Factory gates with propaganda signs and various buildings

    Some short stories from the Hermit Kingdom

    November 28, 2021
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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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You may have missed

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  • Dreaming of reunification in North Korea
  • Gallery: three is an odd number
  • Gallery: monochrome portraits and street shots
  • A wander through Getsemani

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