World Travel Photo Essays
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Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand
You have not experienced the heritage and culture of Thailand if you have not visited the Grand Palace. Construction started in 1782, when King Rama I moved his capital to Bangkok. Then known as the Kingdom of Siam, which you may know if you are a Rogers and Hammerstein fan, the name is familiar from the musical “King and I”. From that time to about 1925, this was the home to the King of Thailand. The Grand Palace covers 94.5 hectares (234 acres) and has over 100 buildings. Tourists are most familiar with the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, which covers a small portion of…
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Macau World Heritage Site
Macau World Heritage Site Macau World Heritage Site The Historical Center of Macau has over twenty-five sites and has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. The sites shown here are all within walking distance. Macau (also spelled Macao) is one of those places that you think you may have heard of but not really sure about, but mention its sibling and everyone knows her. So it is with Macau and Hong Kong. Like Hong Kong, Macau is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. Also, like Hong Kong, it has a rich background that mixes two very different cultures. While Hong Kong was a…
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Carnival Cruise Line Revisited
Revisiting Carnival Cruise My last Carnival cruise had been about 20 years ago. Back then the “Fun” of the fun ships seemed to be focused on drinking. Heavy often out-of-control drinking was the norm. I remember contests where couples would compete against each other for who could drink a yard of ale the fastest. Over the years, the Carnival cruise line has moved away from that image and does focus on families as well. Carnival Cruise Line Carnival Horizon I found an outstanding value for an 8-day cruise out of Miami, so I decided to take chance with Carnival Cruise Lines and booked it. At the time, using a third…
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Chiang Mai Walking Tour Photo-essay
Chiang Mai Walking Tour Photo-essay I did a Chiang Mai Walking Tour Photo-essay for an online magazine about 7 years ago. The photographs were taken in December 2010. I spent about a month in Thailand with 2 friends joining me for the second week and another friend joining me the last week. The third week I went to Chiang Mai in the northern highlands of Thailand. Bangkok to Chiang Mai is about 450 miles by road. A bus will get you there in about 10 hours depending on the time of day it could be 12 hours. Your bus fare would range from $15 to $30 depending on the class…
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Philippine Eagle Foundation Davao
Philippine Eagle Foundation, Davao While in Davao, Philippines recently, I visited the Philippine Eagle Foundation’s conservation Center. It took an hour by Grab to get to the center, which is on the outskirts of Davao City. The Philippine Eagle, (Scientific Name: Pithecophaga jefferyi) also known as the monkey-eating eagle after its favorite food, has a Critically endangered Status. It is believed that there are less than 400 pairs remaining living in the wild. Eagles found injured are brought to the foundation with the goal of getting them well and returned to the wild. If they can not recover fully and are unable to hunt for themselves, they will stay at…
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Trotters Harness Racing Paris Style
Standardbred Racing with a Twist. The evening I spend watching the trotters race at the Vincennes Hippodrome in Paris was great. I mention some of the highlights of the track in the post VINCENNES HIPPODROME OF PARIS. The racing experience was different as well. Yes they were racing standardbreds, but there were many differences in how they raced. Here are some of my observations. Standardbred Racing Paris Trotters In the United States there are more pacers than trotters. In Canada there seems to be more trotters but there is still a good number of pacers. In Europe, they have trotters. When I was living in Germany, I only saw trotters…
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Church Book Cover
Book cover The Spanish had the Philippines as a colony for over 500 years. Originally ruled from Spanish Mexico, it has a blend of cultures not seen elsewhere in Asia. Today, the Philippines is a predominate Catholic country. Over 80% of the people are Catholic with another more than 10% other christian faiths. This can be seen in the week long Holy Week celebrations, the observance of All Hallows Day and the 3 month long lead up to Christmas. This small selection of churches located in the Province of Pampanga are some of the oldest in the country, but they are just a few of those left behind when the…
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Churches of Pampanga Philippines
St James the Apostle Church: Betis, Guagua PampangaThis church is considered one of the finest remaining example of a Colonial Spanish Church. The details in the ceiling paintings and the quality of the carvings behind the alter attracted the devoted and art lovers alike. Churches of Pampanga Philippines From the late 1500’s to 1898, the Philippines were a colony of Spain. The Spanish’s mandate from the Pope was to find new lands and convert the heathens to Christianity. At the time, the Lubao River and what is now called the Betis River were navigable and it became a natural place for the Spanish to develop. The Spanish settle at a…