Since I arrived back at the hotel later in the evening, I didn't have a chance to explore the area much, or use a proper camera. By the time I got out and walking around small dunes some workers' settlements, it was already dark. But I like these effects with the 3.2mp Blackberry (i.e., "calculated accidents"). One of my favourite painters, Gerhard Richter, had a lot of influence on how I compose and apply effects to my photos.
Not very much about the UAE surprised me. Granted, I only visited a few sites during my four-day visit, but what I did see was what I expected and had read about. Almost no vegetation, no people walking on the street in the 35C weather (it was winter), and a lot of new buildings. Construction everywhere. I passed by some of the most elegant bridges I have ever seen; sleek and modern. Like I experienced in Egypt, I am sure there is a vibrant Arab culture that is seen mainly indoors. I hope to get a glimpse on my next visit.
More action photography courtesy of Blackberry.
A month ago I was in Dubai, and took a few shots out of the taxi window with my Blackberry. I like the interesting effects you get with stationary objects in the foreground when moving 60kmh<. The taxi rides from Hanoi and Saigon's airports are both about an hour into the respective cities, and I will add some of those experimental shots.
This small scene from our plane leaving the city shows the amazing amount of activity and effort put into expanding the usable land area in Dubai. There were many sites like this, in clear view as we banked after takeoff. I adjusted the contrast in this shot, but the haze is simply thick.
I like to take alleyways between streets in Saigon, some of which are less than 2m wide. I discovered a lot about Vietnamese life this way; one sees the families relaxing in their street-level living rooms with the doors open, small shrines, people cooking outside, and children running around. Because it is quieter in these passageways, you can hear traditional music playing more clearly, smell more spices, and occasionally interact with a local. I love to hear old people singing in their homes, which you do from time to time.
Before dinner, we had a great Kompot. I can't remember the word in English (fermented drink with fruit), but in Germany, we do the same thing around Christmas. This was special, of course, because the variety of fruit was Vietnamese, and fresh from that day.
Sometimes I see symbols of hate in developing countries, and I wonder if the people wearing them actually understand what they represent. I feel every adult should know a bit of history and take some responsibility for building a better world, not repeating bad mistakes.
Here is Hue, who works for Miss Thuyen in D1. A very friendly bunch of people, and dear friends.
Walking on the street in the direction of De Tham, where I first visited Vietnam and within three days fell in love with the country. At that time I was somewhat afraid of how the people would view and treat me as an American. But since then, meeting literally hundreds of people during 17 trips up to the Chinese border down to the deep Meekong, I never met anyone who said anything bad to me because of my origin. Ironically, that is in stark contrast to other places I have lived. The Vietnamese are a great people; resilient, sensitive, and constantly progressive.
I like this area of D1 in Saigon. It has a vibrant atmosphere; shops are selling art, music, clothing - and are open early until late. Many young foreigners stay in this area because it has an active nightlife, and it is central to most museums and sights. Having travelled all over Vietnam in the past three years, I feel comfortable here and like to see old friends whenever I visit.
The food and the mood were fantastic. Most of the people were either artists or art teachers, so there was a lot of laughter and smiling, but my Vietnamese is still not good enough to understand a lot. Vietnamese is a difficult language (six tones, meaning that the same word can have six means depending on the inflection). After two years' instruction, my level is still basic.
I was invited by my friend Luu to her sister Soung's house for dinner while in Saigon last weekend. Her sister is an artist, and lives with her husband and child in District 8, which I hadn't been to yet.
This photo is from Lantau Island (Hong Kong), where friends of mine used to live. I liked the mood here, and recently came across the photo. Sorry for the lack of geographical consistency in this blog; I'm still thinking about how best to organise it. Because I don't want it to be a boring daily "we did this, I saw this", but rather a rolling commentary about interesting things around the world, which might be of particular interest today.
About five minutes out of Provincetown is marshland called Herring Cove. It is one of my favorite places in the US. At low tide you can find all kinds of interesting shells and animals that get trapped in the ponds or come out to eat the tiny crabs that climb out of their holes. Many seagulls come in to eat, and the air has a pungent salty/fishy smell.
This is from Provincetown, the small city on the tip of Cape Cod, close to where I was born and grew up. It’s a tourist area that gets all but abandoned save for artists, writers, fishermen (fisherpeople?) and local business owners off-season. I used to go here every year from Germany to see the strong waves and experience the wicked, biting rain coming off the ocean. Sometimes in late fall I was lucky because the first snow fell, which turns the sand dunes into a barren, harsh environment. You need quite proper clothing to go hiking then.
Okay, I think this is the last photo I will post from Tahiti. I have many more, but not many good ones. I was using two relatively low-quality Cybershot cameras back then in 2003, and although they show a lot about Tahitian culture, the quality of many of the shots are poor. I highly recommend visiting, and taking more than four days (as we did) to explore areas like Bora Bora.
This gives you an idea of the inland area of Moorea, with the dark rich earth and scattered farmhouses. Since I was riding on the scooter as fast as I could, I didn’t meet any people, but did get a few odd looks. I didn’t pass any other tourists.
I don’t want to bore you with repetitive pictures, but this was a special trip for me. Since I was in a rush and wanted fiercely to retake the 400+ pictures of the previous day, I raced and stopped the bike often. It was a shame to experience this alone (reason to return!), but I hope the shots convey the gorgeous land and peaceful nature of Tahiti.
I’m not sure if this is the correct name, either that or Vaipeu. The ferry let us off to the right on the horizon, and I rode nearly a full circle around the island. Part of it is blocked by a Club Mediterrané complex, which at the time had closed business. There were a few interesting coves and rock cliffs on the SE side which I could not reach in time.
The island wasn’t as fragrant as I expected, but it was completely covered in vegetation. The sun was hot, and at the same time cool moist wind would blow from time to time. It really was close to paradise on earth. But I don’t know if I could cope with the isolation that some people spoke of. Their closest cultural ties, beyond Polynesia are of course to France, but a few people I spoke with mentioned with some melancholy that they meet many visitors and make friends that they will never see again. They envied us a bit, that we were mobile and had the ability to stay in contact with a larger group of people. I didn’t expect that.
This was the view from our hotel across the water passage to Moorea. The water was warm and clear. During the day we rented kayaks and could see 20m straight down. Ever since I was a child, I dreamt about staying in a house on stilts in the water. Well, it was good, but the flora and mood in Tahiti were even more enjoyable. The colours and culture are vibrant and powerful.
I am experimenting with a new blog feature. The map is linked, and you can zoom and pan. Tell me if you find it useful, or if simply geo-tagging the photos is enough:
Sometimes I look out from my balcony and am just amazed at what I see. Sorry if these landscape shots are getting redundant, but I am experimenting with my new wide-angle lens. At this time, the wind was warm and rather dry. It might look stormy, but there was no rain.
