Category Archives: Pictures

Hong Kong, again

by ladina

Three months after our first visit to Hong Kong, the anticipation of going back there grew very high. How often over yet another meal of nasi goreng did we dream of the variety of dim sums? When did we actually last wear clean clothes? Or sleep in the same bed for more than five consecutive days? When did we last receive handwritten letters?

Our high expectations were not disappointed: in Hong Kong, we were able to appreciate the conveniences of sedentary life for two weeks. Again, we were very warmly welcomed by José’s relatives, and they were keen on showing us around in their city, inviting us to taste new savours of the Asian cuisine and taking us back to our favourite yum cha places. On several occasions, we got lost in the jungle of tall skyscrapers and shopping malls, amazed by all the shiny and glittery goods in the shop windows and the modern architecture of the buildings. Eating was one of the main occupation during these days: as you can see on the pictures, we tasted numberless specialities from all over Asia, including sinful desserts. Therefore, yielding to all the temptations, we put on a few pounds — as a reserve for meagrer times in Nepal.

All too soon, the moment of packing our backpacks and saying goodbye to everyone arrived. This time, it was much harder to leave Hong Kong behind, for we did not know when we will go back there again. All we have left now are the beautiful memories of those days as well as José’s photos; and the latter we want to share with you in this post.

Continue reading →

Balinese culture

by jose

The simple word “Bali” usually conjures to the mind a plethora of exotic scenes: oneiric beaches, swaying coconut trees, tropical paradise where smiling locals massage our limbs aching from the hard work sitting at the office. However, while they certainly are well-founded, we know we will keep in memory another image of the iconic island: one of the Balinese culture, rich with music and dances, architecture and religion, paintings and sculptures.

Continue reading →

Mount Bromo, Eastern Java

by ladina

2.30 am. The alarm clock harshly rings us back from a short but deep sleep. More mechanically acting than fully realising what we are doing, we put on our warmest clothes — four layers should be enough — and help ourselves to a few sips of warm ginger tea from our thermos flask. Over a handful of biscuits, the excitement of what lies ahead comes to our dull senses. We tie up our hiking shoes, switch on the headlamps and, now fully geared, silently leave our homestay.

Continue reading →

Quickly, about Malaysia

by jose

Almost as quickly as we went through it. Following our beautiful, inspiring journey through Myanmar, we only spent a grand total of ten days in Malaysia — where to head to, given so little time? After Kuala Lumpur, the thriving megalopolis which was no more than an arrival point for us, we quickly made our way to Pulau Perenthian Kecil (small Perenthian island) before exploring Penang and its bright, exploding mishmash of cultural heritages.

Continue reading →

Burmese portraits

by jose

 

The openness and friendliness of the Burmese people allowed me to practice something I usually seldom do: portraits. So during our three-day trek from Kalaw to Inle Lake, going up and down hills, between rice terraces and vegetable fields, passing through remote villages and sleeping in a monastery, I tried to capture the diversity of the people we met on the way.

Continue reading →

The Plain of Bagan

by jose

More than four thousand Buddhist temples (you read it right. Four thousand) were built in the plain of Bagan between the 11th and the 13th century — and Myanmar stays, still today, known as one of the most devout Buddhist countries in the world. This incredible landscape, offered by innumerable pagodas piercing the green forests to reach the sky, is fully as breathtaking as the massive temples of Angkor were, back in Cambodia — despite their differences. Here, to the sheer size, complexity and grandeur of single monuments, the kings preferred the numbers, diversity, and immensity of the panorama.

Continue reading →

First impressions of Myanmar: Mandalay

by ladina

What to expect from a country which was, not so long ago, as closed and secluded as North Korea? We had had gorgeous tales of fellow backpackers, jaw-dropping pictures of remote landscapes, news about the harsh rule of the government; but nothing had prepared us for the simple, kind-hearted generosity and friendliness of the Burmese people. These undeniably fervent and devout Buddhists are everything a traveller could dream of. Welcoming and readily helpful, asking to take pictures with you (“As a token of rememberance!”) and smiling for yours, as interested in you as you in them, showering you with free tea, soups, salads, cakes, and never trying to cheat you, they are more than our pictures could hope to convey: they are, simply, an inspiration for the way we lead our lives.

Continue reading →

Koh Phangan, Thailand

by ladina

“Do you have fresh coconut?” I ask the waiter from the restaurant in Haad Yao, the beach where we just arrived.

“Yes,” he answers and points upwards to the coconut tree above our heads. He counts “One, two, three, four, five, six…” fresh coconuts and laughs. Then he fetches a long stick and starts hitting the coconuts; Salome and Fernando have to get up lest they be struck by the falling green hard ball. A few minutes later, the waiter serves us the delicious coconut water and as we suck happily on our straws, feeling the sun on our skin, watching over the white sand with the deep blue ocean beyond and hearing the waves, all four of us agree: we just arrived in paradise.

Continue reading →

Koh Tao, Thailand

by jose

We met up with Salome and Fernando, two old friends of Ladina’s, in Bangkok, the capital of the kingdom of Thailand. And after an evening of plotting and scheming, we all decided to head straight to the heavenly tropical islands of the South. So we made a run to the train station, dodged the touts trying to enlist us in an travel agency package, bought tickets in a sleeper train to Chumphon, came back under heavy rain in the evening, discovered inside the carriage that our tickets had been issued for two days hence, ran to the controllers, argued at the counter, changed our tickets for seats in a later train, sat down in the station hall to play Yatzy, and finally, boarded our train bound south.

Continue reading →