Foto Phaves: Vivid Sydney

Our stay in Sydney happened to be during the Vivid Sydney festival of light. We watched the lighting of the sails of the opera house from our apartment. The long exposure created streaks as the ferry passed by.

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Foto Phaves: Chinese Food Shops of Hong Kong

Bird nests for sale in Hong Kong. Made fro the saliva of swallows, they are a key ingredient in bird nest soup.

This lovely package in a bird nest shop window is of perfectly arranged mealworms. They cook them into all sorts of things.

Dried starfish at a dried fish market. Our apartment [...]

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Foto Phaves: A Market in Hue, Vietnam

A morning visit to the Market in Hue; this is a typical market in Vietnam. We liked the one in Hue more than those in Ho Chi Minh City because so many of the women were in traditional clothing and hats.

A food stall selling herbs, eggs, and chicken.

A woman selling fish. [...]

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Foto Phaves: Streets of Ho Chi Minh City

The Vietnamese carry everything on their scooters and motorbikes. We found watching the traffic in Ho Chi Minh City entertaining.

At the Tan Binh Market

Another heavy load at the Tan Binh Market. We saw people carry sheet metal, poles, several cases of cola, and all sorts of baskets of food on their small [...]

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Long Necks in Mae Hong Son, Thailand

A long neck woman in Huay Pu Keng, near Mae Hong Son, Thailand

In Mae Hong Son, a little town in the hills near the Myanmar border, we took a boat ride down the river to a Karen village. This place was home to refugees from Burma, the hill tribe where the women wear heavy [...]

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Mothers Day in Chiang Mai

MOM

Sunday was mothers’ day in the US… still is back home, although it’s Monday here in Chiang Mai already. Yesterday, in honor of mothers day, the family went with me to Wat Doi Suthep. My destination picks usually involve some sort of history and architecture. We came across this dragon guarding one of the [...]

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Foto Phaves: Chobe National Park, Botswana: Part 1

Crocodile sunning on the bank of the Chober River. I did not know their mouths were yellow inside.

Croc Eyes…

Cheetah in Chobe National Park, Botswana. Unfortunately, between the shake of the vehicle and my excitement, I did not get any super shots of this cat. These two are the best. We were thrilled [...]

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Foto Phaves: Central Kalahari Predator Conservation Project

Wild African Dogs waiting to be fed at the Kalahari Predator Conservation Project facilities, near the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana. Here the local cattle farmers have taken on the responsibility of caring for predators who wander off the huge reserve into farmlands, while they wait for the government to relocate the animals. [...]

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Foto Phaves: Bangkok by River Chao Phraya

Bangkok, Thailand, and the Chao Phraya River from the Temple of Dawn

Colorful bows and umbrellas on a long tail boat.

Longtails lined up

Bow of the King’s boat at the Royal Barges Museum

Restoring the barge- a worker helping to restore the gold leaf on one of the royal barges

Figurehead on a [...]

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Foto Phaves: Zulu!

At Giants Castle, a group of Zulu dancers showed up. I was midway into a nap when the drums started. Well worth the wake-up, though.

Dancing is for Zulu men and girls before they are married.

The drums are quite loud, and I would imagine that even just the drumming is very athletic, [...]

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Foto Phaves: KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

Women with their laundry in the river in KwaZulu Natal

An umuzi, or traditional Zulu homestead, in KwaZulu Natal

Driving through an area of the KwaZulu Natal close to the Drakensberg, we came across two women carrying huge baskets of laundry on their heads, taking them to the river to do their wash.

Beautiful [...]

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Foto Phaves: Schotia Safari

What is new, gnu? A wildebeest eyes us as we stop to watch during a safari drive at Schotia Safari Park. They’re called gnu because of the noise they make.

Let sleeping rhinos lie. A white rhino lounging in the late afternoon.

As we drove around in an open air Landy, our guide, [...]

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Foto Phaves: Storms River Mouth

Tsitsikamma National Park, South Africa

Leaping on the suspension bridge at the mouth of the Storms River, Tsitsikamma, South Africa

A section of the Otter Trail over the rocks

A view from the Otter Trail near Storms River. The seas were too rough and we were unable to go kayaking into the mouth.

Building [...]

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Foto Phaves: Penguin Colony at Boulders Beach

Here is an audio of the jackass penguins. I’d been told they were called this because of the noise they make. If you’ve ever heard the bray of a donkey, you’ll understand why. Have a listen! The Song of the Jackass Penguins

Our trip to South Africa is a pilgrimage of sorts, on behalf of [...]

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Foto Phaves: Cape of Good Hope

We made a drive the other day to Cape Point and to the Cape of Good Hope. Cape Point was crowded and foggy. Just to the West, the Cape of Good Hope was lovely. Besides, it is the name we all learned in school, anyway.

Wildlife. A female ostrich. We hoped to see baboons, [...]

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