Through the eyes of a travelling photographer
The Bracklin Falls travel for some distance, through very blocky rock features. Each large platform stand 5-20metres over the rushing water below.
Difficult to work out the scale, but the fallen tree was huge
Located within the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, a 5min short stroll from the information centre up the hill over Aberfoyle lays a picturesque waterfall.
Not so far past Bamburgh Castle, was the border between England and Scotland. As still under United Kingdom, no border checks, with only a couple of flags and a plaque identifying it. A friendly Scottish voice drew the visitors towards the tasty and cheap caravan takeaway bar, serving baps, burgers and hotdogs.
Located near the Scottish border in the Northumberland county, Bamburgh Castle is one of England’s finest. Sitting on a basalt outcrop, the castle has impressive views across the North Sea. It was too early in the day to explore around the castle itself, but will head back there closer to Christmas.
Can you spot the Monarch Caterpillars?
A rare self portrait
Tower Bridge, East London is not to be mistaken with London Bridge (thanks to artists such as Fergie, who regular call it otherwise) – I overheard many tourists commenting on “London Bridge”, yet this bridge is a few hundred metres upstream, with no features. I found the best location to shoot from was outside Thistle Hotel, on the North-East side
A ferry zips by Tower Bridge
Warwick Castle is one of Englands’ finest. Built in 1068, by order of King William, it features some live shows, exhibits and birds of prey flying demonstrations during summer.
Madame Tussauds Wax Sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II
View from the tower over Warwick Castle
View of Warwick township, from Warwick Castle tower
Panoramic
Hastings is famous for the battle of 1066, between Duke William of Normandy (William the Conqueror), and King Harold II. It’s fairly obvious to say who won, with William being crowned king at Westminster Abbey, on Christmas Day, 1066. The current Queen Elizabeth II is a direct descendant of King William.
East Hill, Hastings
From West Hill, looking back towards East Hill
Rock formations on West Hill, Hastings, with jet contrails across the sky
More rock formations under West Hill, and Hastings Castle. The pier can also be seen, which was recently been closed down due to being unsafe
The pigeon hunter!
My first day in England, was a slow one, after recovering from a 12 day rush of sights, attractions and travel.
I’m now living next to Danson Park, Welling, Kent (South East London). This was my childhood park, when I used to live here two score ago.
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.
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
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!
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
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
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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