Photos, Philosophy, Politics & Pool...
I can see the golden spire rising above the trees, so I know I’m going the right way, but I’m also passing by an odd building to my right. It’s long, narrow, columned, and ignored. A sign reads, “No shoes allowed inside.” I take my sandals off and enter. It’s a stone walkway stretching to near infinity, with glowing light...
I’d seen a photo of this place years ago and decided I wanted to go there one day… if only I knew where “there” was. Out in a remote part of the desert, up a proverbial (dry) creek, the ancient Navajo built shelter beneath an overhanging cliff. It’s not marked. There are no signs. No tours. The powers that be...
Saigon is a bustling town, but not particularly scenic. Its a commercial city, with business and traffic in good measure, but short on photo opportunities. Among its attractions is a leftover from the French: The Church of Notre Dame. I walk over there to catch the evening light. There’s a kid pushing a vending cart. It takes a lot of...
Sandamuni Pagada was built in memory of Prince Kanaung, who was to have been the next King of Burma but was assassinated in 1866. Many Burmese believe their history would have been quite different, had Kanaung ascended to the throne. For he was a modernizer and believer in a strong military to maintain independence. Instead, his younger brother Thibaw became...
The first couple days in Vang Vieng, I rented a scooter to get around. My mission was to find a particular rice field, with an elevated wooden walkway, a pavilion at its end, and the mountains beyond. I failed to find that rice field, or any rice field worthy of a photo. On the third day, I slept in. It...
Driving around on a scooter west of Vang Vieng, trying to pick out a spot for a sunset shot. It appears to me that the sun will set dead center on this country road, and I like the smoke from whatever the farmers are burning back there, so I park and hang out. What I really need though is a...
The USA donated a bunch of concrete to Laos so they could build an airport. The year was 1957, and the U.S. was probably thinking, “Hey, it looks like shit is about to go down in Vietnam, wouldn’t it be great if we had an airport in next-door Laos to park our planes and stuff?” “Yeah, yeah, great idea. Let’s...
I’ve got a long list of the best places on earth to take a photo, and I’m here in Mandalay to tick one of them off the list: U-Bain Bridge. Tell the taxi driver what I want, and he knows just where to go. Apparently U-Bain is not much of secret. In fact, an entire village has sprung up around...
Made my way to this spot under less than the best health conditions. It’s the view along the palace moat up at Mandalay Hill. A classic view in my opinion, but as with many of my opinions, one which I seem to hold alone. There are no other photographers or tourists on the scene. Zero. Throughout my visit to Myanmar...
Naturally this means I’ve got to take the train again, and at least this time I’ll have a clue how to do it. But down at the “ticket” machine, there are a couple young Chinese tourists who don’t have clue. They think the “ticket” machine, the one with the big “Ticket Machine” sign above it ought to sell them a...
The sun sets in forty minutes, and with Bangkok rush hour already underway, the places I want to photograph – Wat Arun and Sky Bar – are just not possible. A little internet digging shows that the Sofitel SO Hotel has a rooftop bar overlooking Lumpini Park, and its very near a train station. So Softitel SO it is. Down...
Some photos are harder to take than others. And some are damn near impossible. When I first saw the Madonna of Boracay, I knew she would be in the latter category. Though a main attraction of the island, she appears on neither postcards nor brochures. Why not? The non-stop procession of tourists lined up to “take a photo,” are the...
