Category Archives: photos

February 4, 2013 · 9:00 pm

Out in space

Ever since we arrived in Hong Kong, we’ve been saying that we should do some hiking. Hiking in Hong Kong, you might ask? In one of the most densely populated cities in the world? Why yes, indeed. There’s lots of great hiking in HK because so much of the land here is undeveloped—it is a city of mountains, after all.

That means that the parts of HK that are built-up are really densely populated. In mid-2010, for example, the Kwun Tong area of Kowloon had a population density of 54,530 people per square kilometer, according to the HK government. (That’s 141,000 people per square mile. For the sake of comparison, the population density of Manhattan, the densest of the NYC boroughs, was just under 70,000/sq. mile according to the 2010 census.)

The New Territories, on the other hand, are almost fourteen times less densely populated than that. So there’s lots of beautiful open space for trekking.

One of the best, and best-known, trails is the MacLehose Trail. It covers 100km across the New Territories, broken up into 10 stages.

That’s a long walk.
(Map from the HK Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department.)

Cate and I recently hiked Stage 1, which loops for 10 km around the High Island Reservoir. (The reservoir is on the right side of the map above. Stage 1 starts on the northwestern side of it and loop around counterclockwise, ending almost due east of where it began.)

The reservoir is gigantic, and affords all kinds of gorgeous views. Getting to the trailhead is a bit of a project, as it involves a trip on the MTR, a minibus to Sai Kung, then a normal (i.e., double-decker) bus to the start of the trail. While waiting for the final bus, we got a sense of just how far we were from home when we saw this ad on the side of a bus, advising people what to do when encountering the feral cattle of Sai Kung. And yes, we did see one. Fortunately we had seen this PSA and thus knew what to do (namely, enjoy their presence).

We thought we were lucky to have with us a detailed guidebook about the MacLehose Trail, which included all kinds of photographic details meant to help reader find their way. Here, for instance, is the photo that shows how to get to the Stage 1 trailhead from the bus drop-off point.

Would you like to hear something hilarious? This photo is totally accurate, except that the starting point is actually ninety degrees in the opposite direction.

The original photo is 100% correct, assuming that the full caption is supposed to be “Here’s the starting point; now go the other way.”

Fortunately we didn’t go too far before encountering a posted map that made clear we’d gone the wrong way.

After retracing our steps, we were good to go.

The views are almost immediately spectacular. After about 10 minutes going the correct way, we found this. This is one of those fancy panoramic shots, so click on it to see it in its full glory. The water really is that color.

Since it’s a reservoir, there are occasional weird water-management thingies, like this recently landed spacecraft.

But the sights are mostly just gorgeous.

MacLehose-05

After stopping for a snack, some Rootin’ Tootin’ Four Seas Biscuit Sticks…

Hands in the air! You’re under arrest for impersonating a Nilla Wafer.

… we continued on.

The end of Stage 1 is near this interesting sculpture, a memorial to those who died during the construction of the reservoir. That’s the open Pacific Ocean in the background.

The sun was starting to set as we finished up. It’s still early February, so by 4:30 it was starting to get dark and chilly.

Sunset over the High Island Reservoir. It really is as isolated as it looks. When we were finished, we were lucky to share a cab back to Sai Kung with some HK natives who had the good sense to call for one. (And who had the ability to explain where we were.) Otherwise, we would have had to walk three hours back to where we started.

But we had just another kilometer to go, not only to officially finish Stage 1…

… but also to enjoy Long Ke beach down there on the left.

Three hundred stone stairs later, we were there. As you can see, we were practically alone.

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Tagged as hiking, Maclehose Trail, Sai Kung

February 3, 2013 · 9:00 pm

Thailand

Behold, some pictures from our trip to Thailand. We had a great time during our 12 days there, and were fortunate to see several different parts of the country, from lazy southern beach to crazy Bangkok to a more subdued city in the north. We started off by flying into Bangkok and going directly to Hua Hin, a beach town about 3 hours southwest of Bangkok. (The country to the west there is Myanmar, which is pronounced “BUR-ma.”)

There is little doubt that you would like to see a map.

We did only a little—a very little—exploring of the town itself since mostly we were there to enjoy this view.

Nothing wrong with that.

After much relaxing and reading of books, we headed back to Bangkok. Bangkok is a very, very big city, with the efficient public transportation system and traffic problem typical of big cities. And, of course, some fabulous temples and other fun stuff. To wit:

On our first evening in Bangkok we walked through Lumphini Park and met some of its residents. I’m not sure which of the two pictured here is breaking the law, but as you can see neither one cared about their transgression.

Lumphini Park’s answer to muscle beach.

The Grand Palace.

Do not mess with him.

Part of the gorgeous murals at the Grand Palace, beautifully maintained. (Compare these with those from the palace in Phnom Penh, which were no doubt equally splendid in their time but which have suffered considerably from the ravages of time.)

Death by lacrosse stick.

A huge model of Angkor Wat at the palace.

Some decorative load-bearing figures.

Beautiful.

A brief moment of repose during an otherwise very busy day.

The grand palace by night.

Wat Pho, home of this giant reclining Buddha.

The rarely seen back of Buddha’s head.

You may recall that President Obama visited here last fall. Photos and other memorabilia from that visit, like this autograph in the visitors’ book, are on prominent display.

An image from our tour of the canals.

More from the canal tour.

Drama.

Our boat driver stopped the boat, cackling, to point this guy out to us. We saw a few more of these guys along the way, leading us to believe that this is hardly a rare occurrence.

We jumped out of the cab during a trip back to the hotel because of traffic like this. It’s literally not moving.

A panoramic view of Bangkok by night, taken from the rooftop bar of our hotel.

We then headed north to Phitsanulok, which is in the southern part of northern Thailand. (Pedantic aside for those who care: this more or less rhymes with “hits a new low.” The “ph” at the start, as in “Phuket,” is like a really aspirated /p/, as far as I can hear. It’s definitely not a /f/ sound, since it’s not a transliteration of Greek phi.)

Anyway. Are you just dying for a map?

Apparently this is not a super-popular destination, or at least not among people leaving Bangkok. Naresuan University was hosting a conference at which I was doing a teaching workshop, hence our travel there, but it’s also a good place—maybe the best place—from which to visit the ruins of Sukhothai. But when we were leaving Bangkok, we told the concierge at the hotel that we needed a cab to the domestic airport. He nodded and asked, just to be polite, “Heading to Chiang Mai?” (This is a very popular and, we’re told, beautiful city in the north.)

“No,” we said. “Phitsanulok.” He stared at us hard for a second. “Why?” Our answer, “for work,” seemed even more baffling. Later we had essentially the same conversation with the cab driver, except that the cabbie substituted raucous, sputtering laughter for incredulity and also noted that “the lady will not find very good shopping.”

First, however, a few views of and from the Phitsanulok airport.

The Phitsanulok airport (PHS). Yeah, finding our driver wasn’t too difficult.

Nok Air flies from Bangkok to Phitsanulok. Isn’t that just the cutest airplane you’ve ever seen? Evidently people who often fly Nok call it “No OK Air,” but we had no trouble. Our 40-minute flight included meal service: a small cup of water and an Auntie Annie’s pretzel. On United, that would cost $14, exact change only.

For unclear reasons, there is one of these ancient, rusty behemoths permanently installed at either end of the Phitsanulok runway, kind of like decorative aeronautical bookends. If they are meant to inspire confidence, well, they fail.

And here’s what downtown Phitsanulok looks like.

It’s a very un-touristy town that had some lovely and important things to see and two of the best restaurants we’ve eaten at this year. I actually didn’t get to see many of the sights because I was at the conference, but Cate took these pictures:

Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahatat Woramahawihan, built in 1357 and home to one of the most revered Buddha images in Thailand.

Also Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahatat Woramahawihan.

On the day before the conference, one of the organizers very kindly took us on a day-long trip to two fantastic sights near Phitsanulok. The first, Si Satchanalai historical park, is about a 2.5-hour drive north of the city. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site, and there was practically no one there (apart from a few school field trips). Amazing.

Wat Chang Lom, built by King Ramkhamhaeng between 1285 and 1291.

We had the place to ourselves.

Offerings lined up.

One of the field trip groups, rolling through on their tram. They waved at us the whole time.

Even Buddhist monks need trinkets and ice cream.

One of the most striking things we saw was this dramatic Buddha sculpture. It’s contained within four walls and has only one small access point at the front. That door, though, is really more of an opening all the way up, which means that you can see part of the Buddha from a distance. To see the entirety, though, you have to enter the opening, at which point the Buddha towers over you. Very striking, very moving.

On approach.

Finally, we went to Sukhothai, the ruins of the city that was the capital of Thailand in the 13th and 14th centuries (and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site). There are several temples arranged in three big groups. Unlike the Angkor temples in Cambodia, these are quite close together, and renting bikes allows you to very easily cruise from one to another.

Sukhothai, Wat Mahathat (13th c.).

Cate makes dog friends wherever we go.

Sukuothai, Wat Mahathat (13th c.)

Sukhothai, Wat Mahathat complex panorama.

Sukhothai, Wat Si Sawai (12-13 c.). Originally built by the Khmers as a Hindu temple (hence its Angkorian look).

Sukhothai, Wat Si Sawai detail.

Sukhothai: the moat around the Wat Mahathat complex, believed to represent the cosmic ocean and thus the outer reaches of the universe.

Bikes are the easiest way to get around among all of the temples, and it is perhaps the most pleasant thing you can imagine. That’s Wat Sa Si in the background.

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Tagged as Bangkok, hua hin, Phitsanulok, sukothai, Thailand, wat pho

January 23, 2013 · 9:00 pm

Tangent: signs and co-signs

Was that a trigonometry joke? It was.

More scenic photos from Thailand coming soon, but in the meantime this. Thailand, for some reason, presented far more interesting and/or hilarious signs than other places we’ve been. Here, then, is a sample.

What I like about this one is the icon form of the person juxtaposed with the exquisite detail in which the railing—is that a balustrade?—is rendered.

Hester Prynne thanks you. (Ba-dum dum!)

Not clear what the threat level is with Thai pickpocket gangs, but the foreign ones are apparently worthy of special notice.

The fourth icon is priceless.

I don’t think Mister Poulet would look so cheerful if he knew what his future held.

Seen near a ferry dock on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. Its irritated tone suggests that it’s reacting to some kind of annoying tourist behavior, but neither its location nor any in-the-field observation suggested what that behavior might be.

In the Phitsanulok airport.

The toilets struck me as no more cheerful than others I’ve encountered, but we didn’t have a super-long conversation about it.

A Buddhist maxim, I believe.

Phitsanulok airport, Nok Air check-in counter. If you’ve ever smelled durian, you understand.

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Tagged as Bangkok, Phitsanulok, Thailand

January 19, 2013 · 9:00 pm

Cambodia: Phnom Penh

Okay, here’s the last of the photos from our December trip to Cambodia. These are from Phnom Penh and environs.

Be forewarned: some of these are of the Tuol Sleng S-21 Genocide Museum and the Cheong Ek Killing Fields. Only one photo actually depicts anything graphic—and it’s a photo of a photo—but the most horrific acts one can imagine occurred here.

Phnom Penh: a downtown street.

Just a routine occurrence: people pushing carts of what appear to be piles of salted shellfish.

We were told that there are traffic laws in Phnom Penh. I think there’s actually only one, though: do what you have to. Seriously, most intersections have no traffic lights, so light anarchy is the status quo.

Q: Who has the right of way here? A: Whoever asserts it most forcefully.

There’s much to admire in this photo. The SUV parked nonchalantly into the street, the disappearance of the sidewalk beneath a shoe “display,” etc. Walking around Phnom Penh is a bit of a challenge.

Just a fine street scene.

The view from the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, where foreign journalists gathered in the early months of the Khmer Rouge to try to figure out what was going on.

Our hotel. Now that’s a Christmas tree.

The National Museum.

Central Market’s most fantastic Art Deco dome.

The Russian Market, at the other end of town. It is basically thousands of small stalls within a corrugated metal structure that lacks air conditioning. As our guidebook puckishly put it, “Shop till you drop (of heat exhaustion).” Hilarious!

Seriously, you can buy almost anything here, like fabrics and souvenirs…

Or dinner…

Or shoes… (I was afraid to touch for fear of Jenga-ing the whole thing on top of me)

Or fruit…

Or, ummm, motorbike parts… (pretty sure this stall was run by Jawas)

Or housewares. (Aside: this photo is completely untouched, and is of the 1500+ photos I took perhaps my most favorite).

I got this for a song. You know what it is? It’s my (wait for it…) Phnom pen.

Tuol Sleng, or S-21, is a former high school that was converted by the Khmer Rouge in 1975 to Security Prison 21. It is estimated that, from 1975-9, 20,000 people were imprisoned, tortured, and executed here. “Tuol Sleng” means “Strychnine Hill” in Khmer.

Tuol Sleng, Building B. One of the things that makes this place so stomach-turning is the juxtaposition of the horror of what occurred with the beauty of the place itself—it’s in a quiet, almost suburban, neighborhood, and has this beautiful courtyard.

The site has been left almost completely untouched. The barbed wire was put in place to keep prisoners from throwing themselves off the balconies.

The fact that S-21 was formerly a school is especially perverse. Here’s a surviving chalkboard, on which someone appears to have written rules for student conduct in French. (“Il est absolument interdit de faire du bruit.”)

This sign has a translation of the S-21 rules that were posted there.

The institutional floor pattern typical of a 1960s era high school. Yes, we’re pretty sure those dark stains in the center of the room are blood stains.

Each of these interrogation rooms was outfitted like this.

Each room’s wall has a photo of how it was discovered by the liberating Vietnamese army. As they approached, the Khmer Rouge quickly killed the remaining prisoners before fleeing.

The graves of the last 14 people killed at S-21.

Each large classroom (like the one behind this wire) was converted into many smaller cells.

The numbered cells.

More cells, these in brick. You can see how quickly and sloppily they were constructed.

Many of the rooms of cells had these numbers on the walls, equal to the number of cells in the room. I’m not sure what they were for.

The Khmer Rouge took photos of every prisoner, but they got separated from their information folders and so the identities of many of these remain unknown.

Two Buddhist monks contemplating waterboarding equipment. That is a watering can on top.

The memorial stupa at the Cheong Ek Killing Fields contains the remains of thousands of the bodies discovered there. Most of the victims came from S-21.

$There are piles and piles of skulls (more than 5,000), representing only a fraction of the total number of bodies estimated to be buried there.$

There are piles and piles of skulls (more than 5,000), representing only a fraction of the total number of bodies estimated to be buried there.

This is one of many marked mass graves.

These are untouched mass graves—the depressions in the ground are the shallow graves that shift and sink. You can see bits of fabric, bone, and teeth, which appear after heavy rains.

On another topic: seen from the entrance to the Royal Palace.

The palace.

A giant footprint of Buddha.

An amazing collection of objects awaits inside the SIlver Pagoda (so named because the floor is literally covered with silver). Can’t take photos inside, alas.

A spirit house near the Silver Pagoda.

Amazing murals of the Ramayana. Unfortunately, they’re in just terrible shape.

That’s just an awesome photo.

Phnom Penh sites at the confluence of three rivers: Tonlé Sap (which starts up near Siem Reap), Mekong and Bassac.

It was surprising to see a Christian symbol after so many weeks of Buddhist and Hindu art.

This is the Cambodia Navy detail assigned to protect the royal palace (which sits near the water across the river). It’s a bit of an ad hoc affair.

You would think more posh digs would be in order here.

Sunset over Phnom Penh.

Sunset over Phnom Penh

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Tagged as Cambodia, Killing Fields, Phnom Penh, S-21, Tuol Sleng

January 18, 2013 · 9:00 pm

Cambodia: Siem Reap, Angkor Wat, and other awesome things

So here, finally, are some photos of temples and other excellent stuff that we saw during our six days in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Siem Reap is about a 5- to 6-hour bus ride north of Phnom Penh or, if you’re really fancy like us, a short 40-minute flight on Angkor Air (Cambodia’s flag carrier!). Would you like to see a map? I will show you a map.

Angkor Wat—the most famous of the temples in the area, and for good reason—is but one of 200+ temples, so there’s lots of exploring to do. While most of the famous and most worthwhile temples are quite close together, they’re too far to walk to, so we did all of our exploring and traveling via tuk-tuk. Here’s a map of the major temple sites, in French as a nod to their still-visible colonial influence.

Via http://www.angkorvat.com/.

Continue reading →

Cambodia: scenes from a tuk-tuk

And… we’re back!

Been quite a while, I know. Doin’ some traveling, seeing some of Southeast Asia, you know how it is.

But seriously, it’s taken me quite some time to go through our thousands (not a joke) of photos taken over the past month or so, trying to pare them down to a manageable number. I couldn’t do that, though, so I figured I’d post them all. Har!

Photos of the more typical sights/sites will come soon—tomorrow, perhaps—but as a little amuse œil, please enjoy this selection of photos, all of which were taken from the back of a moving tuk-tuk. What is a tuk-tuk, you ask? It is one of these:

We did all of our motorized travel in Cambodia in a tuk-tuk, because (1) they are great fun, even when it seems all but certain you are about to perish; and (2) they are cheap. The lack of separation between passenger and world is really fantastic, even though it means you have a substantial layer of dust, diesel fumes, and who-knows-what-else coating you at the end of the day.

But it permits some great photos of “real” Cambodia, or at least rural, roadside Cambodia. All of these were taken in and around Siem Reap, the town closest to Angkor Wat and hundreds of other temples. They were really taken from a moving vehicle often on bumpy roads, so please forgive the occasional lack of focus or composition.

Behold!