07.06.07
Posted in General, Landscape, Travel at 10:00 pm by Warren Williams
The final dawn arose of my final day in the tropics of Southern Thailand.
What better way to start it off, at the Reggae bar on the sands of Loh Dalam Bay, sipping a smooth banana flavoured liqueur.
I was planning to do a couple of activities, including scuba diving, and wake-boarding, however I was nursing a nicely bruised toe, which was difficult to walk on. (thanks to that invisible rock on Maya Bay!)
A walk Eastward along Loh Dalam Bay, revealed the disturbing past of the devastating Boxing Day Tsunami, 2004. This side of the bay was worst affected, as two simultaneous waves crashed through the land, from both sides. Only 850 bodies were ever recovered, however up to 4000 could have been killed, leaving thousands missing.
It was evident of the continual rebuilding on the Northern bay of Loh Dalam. Glass, building material and clothing still litter the beach, which was surprising the locals haven’t cleaned up this beach!
The final sunset, never arrived. Rain has just passed through, so took out the tripod, for the beach shots, whilst a few tourists were enjoying their warm beach swim.
A lone kayaker, skips past Phi Phi Le, (The Beach movie, if you’ve already forgotten)
Monkey Beach, is directly under the middle peak on the right side mainland.
Whilst enjoying the final meal on the beach, was given a fire performance.
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07.05.07
Posted in General, Landscape, Travel at 9:00 pm by Warren Williams
Koh Bida Nok, and Koh Bida Nai are two islands further South of Phi Phi Le. It’s a well known diving site, with depths of 8-28metres, often frequented by Leopard Sharks.
The islands also provide a brilliant foreground against the sunset in the West.
Koh Bida Nok
Koh Bida Nai Sunset
Koh Bida Nok – with soft pastel colours in the sunset
Koh Bida Nai, and Phi Phi Le – Phi Phi Don can be seen in far distance
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Posted in Landscape, People, Travel at 5:30 pm by Warren Williams
After visiting the monkeys, we skimmed past Viking Cave, which is generally closed to the public. Cave swifts live in here, producing edible bird nests, worth up to several thousand dollars per kilo. Further Southward, along the Eastern coast of Phi Phi Le, we went snorkelling under the towering limestone cliffs. Coral built up on the edge, before the water depth, disappeared into unknown hidden depths, straight down.
Sheer cliffs in every direction
Harsh lighting made it difficult to get any decent shots at Maya Bay. The cliffs are so large, you need about 10 frames just to cover it all. I can see why Leonardo DiCaprio enjoyed himself here!
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Posted in Animals, General, Travel at 3:30 pm by Warren Williams
The following morning, left Railay Bay by ferry, to Ton Sai Bay, Phi Phi Don. I had booked in 2 nights at the Phi Phi Villa Resort feeling like a little splurge, after everything else had been relatively cheap.
A popular afternoon/evening excursion is the sunset cruise, departing at 3pm daily. It includes snorkelling, kayaking, seeing monkeys, a visit to Maya Bay (scenes from “The Beach” movie) on Phi Phi Le. Dinners, and drinks were included, so at 350 baht, (NZ$15) this was a bargain!
Monkey Beach, was the first destination. 2minutes from the pier. We dived into the deep water, and snorkelled up and over the shallow coral, onto the small golden sand beach. We were provided some fruit for feeding them, and watch the manic behaviour of them. One moment they’re timid, and a moment later they’ll go aggressive, especially around the young ones. The tour company also provided a waterproof bag for carrying everyones cameras to the shore…
Attack mode
Cute mode
I knew the lens cap would come in handy for something..
The cutest of them all – whilst mummy gets some fresh fruit
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07.04.07
Posted in General, Landscape, Travel at 8:00 pm by Warren Williams
Another long day of travelling, involving two flights (both with Air Asia), Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to Bangkok, Thailand, followed by a 4 hour wait, before flying onto Krabi on the Southern coast. I decided to travel via Krabi, rather than Phuket, to avoid the high tourist numbers.
The 10km journey by Long Tail boat took 45min, through some rough seas. An umbrella was offered to provide some protection from the sea swells crashing over the bow, but I still ended up drenched once again.
I stayed at the Sand Sea Resort for around NZ$75, but the views were simply amazing, the swimming pool refreshing and the beach side dining relaxing.
Arriving to East Railay, with West Railay a short 200metre stroll through another resort
West Railay, whilst the clouds still loom
Tranquil Railay Bay
The epitome of Thailand’s beaches
Looking to the Southern end of West Railay Bay – Sand Sea Resort is 3/4s the way along
From within the water, at the cliff dominating the Northern end of Railay Bay
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07.03.07
Posted in Animals, General, Travel at 10:00 pm by Warren Williams
After a smal rest from Tonle Sap, paid US$10 for the “luxury” coach, for a faster trip. Fast it was, for 10km. Bang. The front right tyre blew out, and this is when a typical “not-sure-what-to-do” scenario came into effect. Took 45min of patient waiting on the bus, for them to say, please get off, we need to take off the wheel. Well the wheel was already off, and the bus sat precariously on a small jack. After almost three hours waiting, they finally decided to send another bus from the depot just down the road.
During the wait, I was left to photograph ants, and talk to a couple other travelling photographers.
20D + 24-105L
The bus rolled up into the darkness of Phnom Pheng around 9pm. After leaving at just after 12 midday, it was a long time to sit around on a bus! Tomorrow involves an early flight, wait at the airport, before another flight to Krabi around lunchtime.
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Posted in Landscape, People, Travel at 9:00 am by Warren Williams
To start the morning off, took a motorcycle ride with my driver, Sou Sok Heng, to the great Tonle Sap lake. As it was the end of the dry season, the lake was 17km away from Siem Reap, however a month or two later, the lake grows from 2700 square km to an amazing 16,000 sq km. The floating village moves throughout the year depending how close their water source is. The boat trip I took was well over-priced from a tourist checkpoint along the main road. The cost was US$20 for 2 hours. Although I’m sure it would have been much cheaper if I wasn’t travelling alone everywhere I go.
Not sure what I was going to encounter, and knowing we’d be going on a bumpy road, I took my old 20D camera out, leaving my 1D back in the guesthouse. The new 24-105L lens continued to excel also, providing a great focal range, as well as macro abilities, as already shown in previous posts.
Looking hungry…
A limbless beggar boy, in a tin cup
On the way to school
After some slight disappointment on this trip, Sou Sok gave me the keys to his motorcycle to ride the bumpy 17km back to Siem Reap. Now that was some fun, zipping left and right to avoid the pot holes, wandering dogs, and speeding buses.
Siem Reap Riverside Guesthouse before I left
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07.02.07
Posted in Landscape, Travel at 7:30 pm by Warren Williams
My final night evening in Siem Reap, went along to another popular tourist spot, Phnom Bakheng atop a 67metre hill. The height is level with the nearby Angkor Wat just over 1km South-East. My attention however was drawn to the West, over the Western Baray. A monumental rainstorm, with dark clouds was screaming our way. The sun still beamed through clouds, lighting up the rich coloured landscape surrounding.
The final shot taken, 15 second exposure, as the rain storm clouds can be seen blurring through the sky.
The rain lashed down for 30minutes, whilst I took shelter in the small structure as seen in the last photo. Unfortunately the roof was open, and the dry floor became a 15cm deep swimming pool. The camera bag needed a good dry out overnight, before more shooting in the morning.
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Posted in Animals, Landscape, Travel at 1:00 pm by Warren Williams
After the sunrise, we headed North 30km to Banteay Srei with some intricate carvings.
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Posted in Landscape, People, Travel at 7:00 am by Warren Williams
After a hectic day previously, having to negotiate swarms of tourists, I asked my tuk tuk driver to take to a quiet temple, and we came to this peaceful lake, Sras Srang.
My great tuk tuk/motorcycle driver playing around with my 20D camera, whilst I made use of my new Canon 1D MkIII.
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07.01.07
Posted in General, Landscape, Travel at 3:00 pm by Warren Williams
After an already long day, after rising at 4:30am, made the 3rd large temple visit at Ta Prohm, 1km East of Angkor Thom.
One particular tree and building was made famous in the movie, Tomb Raider. Plenty of trees in the area provide some shade from the mid 30s temperatures.
Self portrait, to give a scale of the tree!
360° panoramic of Ta Prohm. Plenty of tourists surround another tree growing over the historical buildings
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Posted in General, Landscape, Travel at 1:00 pm by Warren Williams
Immediately following Angkor Wat, we travelled North to the next temple, Angkor Thom. First established in the 12th century, 3kmx3km walls enclose the city made up of various styled temples.
Gateway to Angkor Thom, leading through to Bayon
Lensflare over a Bayon face
Small side gateway from Baphuon to Phimeanakas.
Phimeanakas – bigger than it appears
Millipede atop the steep Phimeanakas
A spider on the cloth of a Buddha, Tep Pranam
6 Tiers of carvings on the outer walls of Leper King Terrace
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Posted in General, Landscape, Travel at 8:00 am by Warren Williams
Dawn arose, for an early start from Siem Reap to the majestic Angkor Wat temple. It’s the worlds’ largest religious building, with more stone than the Great Pryamid of Egypt. Words or even photos cannot describe the scale of the building and surrounding walls and moat. More info can be found on Wikipedia.
Hundreds of tourists littered the walkways, and by the cliched sunrise photo position by the small lake. This made photo opportunities very limited, however crowds soon dispersed within 30 minutes. Few dared to climb up the dangerously steep rock walkways, which gave impressive views around the area.
Lack of a sunrise, but the structures certainly make up for it
Note the restoration taking place (was edited out in first photo)
North-West tower of the inner gallery
Looking North from the inner gallery
Another view, the scale simply cannot be imagined
Westward to the entrance of Angkor Wat
Thick jungle surrounds the outer buildings
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06.30.07
Posted in Landscape, People, Travel at 6:00 pm by Warren Williams
After an already hectic first 3 days of travelling, I thought it would be great to keep up the momentum and head straight to Siem Reap, Cambodia. The cheaper flights arrive in the capital, Phnom Penh, but then there’s a 5-6 hour bus ride (314km), to Siem Reap. Transportation is very cheap, with buses costing between US$4-10. I had a bit of a run in with a taxi, who took me straight to a hotel on a back street. I didn’t ask to go there, but he took me there, unloaded my bags, before I reminded him I’m not staying the night, and will be travelling by bus to Siem Reap. The driver swore at me, then said “don’t you speak to me again!” and drove eratically to a nearby bus station. Unfortunately I just missed the 10am bus, and had to wait for the 11:30am bus. First impressions of Phnom Penh were obviously not good, and I was very glad to get out of there.
Flying in from BKK to Phnom Penh, can see the wet landscape of rice fields
At the half way point of the bus trip, we stopped for some lunch… Just at this moment a heavy rain storm passed, which over the next couple of days proved to be a regular occurence.
Once arrived in Siem Reap, there were 50 odd tuk tuk drivers, who charged up to the few Westerners travelling by bus, offering cheap rides of $1. Surprise, surprise there was a young man there with my name. He showed a place of recommendation on the back of the tuk tuk, a simple advertisement. I decided to trust him, and also made mention that the place is only a year or so old. We arrived at “Siem Reap Riverside“, which was actually quite nice to what I had seen driving through the town! Finally something was going well.
The ride can be bone-jarring
Tonight’s dinner
Siem Reap Riverside guest house was 100metres past here on the right. 300metres out of town
My first early night, as I have a 5am get up for Angkor Wat.
NASA image of Angkor Wat
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06.29.07
Posted in People, Travel at 6:30 pm by Warren Williams
Soon after the Cobra show, we were whistled by the Wood Carving Shop. Another way for them to make some money. Some of the displays are highly impressive, however at several thousand US$ a piece, I really wonder where this money is going.
The greatest relief came from the air conditioned luxury van ride, back to Bangkok. I was the last to be dropped off, and was still a further 30min away in traffic, so was dropped off at MBK shopping centre. NZ$100 spent on loads of T shirts, and a DVD, and sent most of it back home to NZ… The parcel cost… Another $100
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