My beloved state of California has a total of 9 national parks – more than any other state, including Utah, which I personally consider the most beautiful state for landscape photography. The sheer size of Golden State – slightly larger than Japan and slightly smaller than Sweden – allows for incredible geographic and geological diversity,…
Where Have I Been Lately?
Every time I take a long break from this blog, I feel like starting over again, with introductions and reasons why I am writing it. It’s all my fault, really – I shouldn’t be slacking like this. But remember, this blog is not a commercial enterprise (yet), and therefore, I can afford to take some…
The Lost Treasures (Top 10 List)
Many of us with a travel bug have a dream destination that for whatever reason we have not yet visited and keep in the bucket list for the future. Sometimes it’s the sheer lack of time, or money, or just complicated logistics of getting there. Well, sometimes if you wait too long, these sights may…
The Story of a Photo – Dozed Off
The route of the day was as such: Tabriz – Julfa – Meghri, the lone point of border crossing between Iran and Armenia. It posed a few challenges, as very, very few people speak English in this little-visited province of Iran called East Azerbaijan. As you can tell from the name, it’s the domain of…
Merry Christmas! (and let’s talk about communication)
2020 is finally nearing its end. In most of the other years, people would reflect on their achievements, trips they have taken, life milestones accomplished. While there were still some of those no doubt completed somewhere this year, I think it’s a safe assumption that most of us would remember this year as an aberration,…
That Time I Booked The Wrong Flight
About 2 and a half years ago, I went to a friend’s wedding in the Philippines. Naturally, my plan was to not just attend the wedding but use a week or so of my short holiday to take a side trip in the country, ideally, some place I hadn’t been to before. The wedding reception…
Politics and Travel
2020 will remain in history not only as one of the most disruptive year for travel due to the coronavirus pandemic, but also the year of many political unrests and tense situations around the world. Protests in Hong Kong, Thailand, Belarus, just to name a few, elections in the US, the war between Armenia and…
The Story of a Photo – The Future Is Bright
I visited Cat Ba Island roughly a year ago, before the world as we know if changed in 2020 and travel industry went to hell. It was a routine trip from Hanoi, where I was basing myself at that time, just for a few days. Cat Ba is the largest island in Ha Long Bay…
Latest From Vietnam
Greetings, my dear readers! :)I thought I would write a sort of a personal update post about the past few months that I spent in a self-imposed lockdown in Nha Trang, on the coast of southern Vietnam. Yes, it’s been almost 6 months since I arrived here, and as for most of you, that meant…
10 Things Rich and Poor Enjoy Equally
The year 2020 is probably going to remain in our memories for a long time to come. With the Covid-19 pandemic, so many of things we took for granted are simply no more, and the effect of all these restrictions, closures and health scares are more profound than anyone could every imagine even back in…