The road became more and more bumpy as we approached our final destination. The driver came to a stop at the bottom of a steep hill. A group of local school children waved to us from an overcrowded yellow bus parked nearby. . . .
sri lanka
It is barely 9:00AM and we are already sweating profusely. The second class compartment is spacious and comfortable, but the small fans attached to the ceiling do not seem to make any difference in the hot and humid atmosphere. However, the views outside the window provide plenty of distraction to the small discomforts of hot weather. . . .
If you’ve been following a number of travel Instagrammers on the famous social media app, chances are you’ve seen them visit Sri Lanka, the country that made some of the top travel destination lists since 2018. The photos these Instagrammers shared were usually stunning, showing the famous swing on the beaches of Unawatuna, the Sigiriya rock further inland and of course the famous blue train of Ella crossing over the nine arches bridge. . . .
The above quote by the famous photographer Paul Strand has immediately become my favorite. People photography remains the top genre I like to immerse myself in. I also think it is one of the most anxiety provoking areas for most photographers, sometimes even the well experienced ones. As long as I can remember, I have always been drawn to the human face and the joy it gives me when I make a portrait of someone. . . .
middle east
jordan
Monika and I started to get a little freaked out. The road was getting narrower with each turn and there was not another vehicle in site. Our rental car kept climbing steadily through this winding mountain road, but we had no idea whether we were actually on the right track to our destination. Every turn we took we saw nothing but mountains and not the slightest peek of any civilization. . . .
I have been seeing images of Wadi Rum all over social media and given my love for deserts in general, I knew we had to include it on our itinerary. The landscape of this Valley of the Moon, as it is known in Arabic, exceeded my expectations on all levels. To better understand what the place is really all about, imagine yourself a thousand years ago, in a land where nomadic herders rule the land and a caravan of brightly dressed camels appears on the horizon at any given time. . . .
Whenever I think of travel, my mind always goes to the people I meet along the way. The kind stranger on the street in Beirut helping me with directions. The beautiful barista in a hip coffee shop in Chile chatting about local attractions. The children playing in their front yard in a village in Cuba, letting me take their photos. The people I meet during my travels are what makes the journey real special to me. . . .
middle east
lebanon
After a few days of group planning, I booked my ticket through Expedia and was all set to go. I flew to Paris on the initial part of the journey and landed in Beirut at sunset the following day. As the plane made final descent into the Beirut Rafic-Hariri International airport, I glanced a peek through another person’s window seat in the same row. . . .
I have waited way too long to share this post with you and I am not really sure why. Part of it was the hectic days that followed my trip to Lebanon, an almost immediate departure on our trip to Nicaragua, followed by hurricane Irma and then the post-hurricane mayhem at work in the ED. . . .