Shaped exactly like an elephant’s head, Thailand is a vast, sweltering hot tropical kingdom whose landscape ranges from powder white beaches with turquoise water to ultra-green, lush jungles and mountains full of traditional hill tribes. Insanely ornate, gold-splashed Buddhist temples dot the villages and cities, where ramshackle shantytowns nestle up to glitzy shopping malls. Ladyboys, tuk-tuks and picturesque floating markets also await the foreign visitor’s dollars. Welcome to Thailand, one of the world’s top tourist destinations.
Shaped exactly like an elephant’s head, Thailand is a vast, sweltering hot tropical kingdom whose landscape ranges from powder white beaches with turquoise water to ultra-green, lush jungles and mountains full of traditional hill tribes. Insanely ornate, gold-splashed Buddhist temples dot the villages and cities, where ramshackle shantytowns nestle up to glitzy shopping malls. Ladyboys, tuk-tuks and picturesque floating markets also await the foreign visitor’s dollars. Welcome to Thailand, one of the world’s top tourist destinations.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Los Angeles, California
An information counter in a China Airlines lounge at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in Tapei, Taiwan.
By the time we entered Tapei airspace around 12:00 am midnight, the pilot announced there was a lot of air traffic, which meant we had to circle around the city a few times in a holding pattern. Once we did finally land, it took forever to taxi to the gate, because we kept having to stop because of the aforementioned traffic. Then, to add insult to injury, we had to wait close to half an hour at the gate before we could de-plane because the crew and equipment were not ready. Around 1:30 or 2:00 am, we finally made it into the gigantic Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where it was a mighty long hike–at least a half mile–to gate D1 for my connecting flight from Tapei to Los Angeles.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Tuban, Bali, Indonesia
Ngurah Rai International Airport in Tuban, Bali, Indonesia.
On my last day in Bali, I set my alarm for 7:30 am so I could pack up my backpack and get dressed and eat breakfat, I mean breakfast in time for my 10:30 am shuttle van to the airport. I had originally planned to take everything out of my backpack and wipe it down inside and out with a damp cloth just in case if any bed bugs set up shop in there. That way, I could avoid transferring them to my bed at home, which would be an utter nightmare, because they’re really difficult to get rid of. Unfortunately, I ran out of time and had to just re-pack the backpack minus the wipe down. Let us spray, I mean pray that there are no bugs in there!
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
A kite shop in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
I took the day off to catch up on Photoshopping, writing and posting updates of the previous few days of this travel journal. This is the only photo I shot all day.