You just don’t see enough moats these days.
TODAY’S PHOTO: Vajdahunyad Castle Entrance in Budapest
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Category Archives: Tourism
TODAY’S PHOTO: Roadside Cambodia
This is Cambodia
Traveling cross-country through Cambodia at the end of the wet season, the road seems to be just the Mac-daddy paddy dike, and the rest of the country is a flooded rice paddy. What once was jungle is now solitary trees, often palms, jutting out of a verdant sea. Farmers fish waist deep, casting nets, as emaciated oxen cool their bellies. Everyone lives and dies by water.
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DAILY PHOTO: Coney Island Boardwalk
Glories Past
Sitting off the Coney Island boardwalk, the old Child’s restaurant–like so many structures at Coney Island–embodies glory days past.
Can you see it in its heyday?
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DAILY PHOTO: The Danube from Gellért Hill
Budapest’s south side
Gellért Hill is a prominent overlook in Budapest; it’s topped by the Citadel. The hill offers splendid views both north and south down the Danube River. I show the view to the South to be contrary (pictures to the north, dominated by the sprawling neo-gothic Parliament building, are ubiquitous–and are commonly the subject of postcards.) If you want some exercise, you can walk up to the top. The stairs are adjacent to the roundabout at the foot of the Buda-side of the Erzsébet bridge.
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DAILY PHOTO: A Duck at General Coffee State Park
Killer duck jumps out of the water.
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DAILY PHOTO: The Grand Palace in Bangkok
On the grounds of the Grand Palace
This was taken at the Grand Palace in October 2012 as some foul weather was arriving.
A few things to keep in mind:
1.) The Palace is open all day almost everyday but tuk-tuk drivers tell bald-faced lies, saying that it’s closed for an hour or two. They do this so they can get a fare. The loudspeakers blaring an announcement to not listen to anyone who attempts to divert you, doesn’t dissuade them. They will say that there is some special event involving the King or Queen that has shut the complex down. Don’t believe it.
2.) Cover your thighs. While there are lots of places (temples and so forth) that say they require such modesty, this is one of the few places that seems to strictly enforce it. If you don’t want to end up wearing a communal sarong, leave the daisy dukes in your hotel room and wear some bigboy/biggirl pants (or at least long shorts.) I wore walking shorts that went to the top of my knee, and was fine.
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DAILY PHOTO: Union Station in Nashville
Union Station
The gothic Union Station is now a hotel, but was once a major train station.
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DAILY PHOTO: Plaza de Armas in Arequipa by Night
Basilica Cathedral
Arequipa is known as the White City for the appearance of the stone that serves as one of its most conspicuous building materials. Above is the Basilica Cathedral located on Plaza de Armas, which is the city’s main square. Arequipa is a beautiful city, and is the second most populous in Peru. One sees a level of indigenous wealth here that one doesn’t in say Cusco. There is vibrancy to this town.
One of the most impressive local sites is the Convent of Santa Catalina. There are also some impressive views of volcanic mountains that can be seen from the city.
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DAILY PHOTO: Sapelo Island Lighthouse
Sapelo Island Lighthouse
This lighthouse is located at the southern end of Sapelo Island off the coast of the state of Georgia. Sapelo island can only be accessed by a ferry operated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR.) Tours are available through DNR.
The island is home to the Hog Hammock community (Population 70), a mansion that was once owned by RJ Reynolds (as was the island), and a research facility associated with the University System of Georgia.
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DAILY PHOTO: Cambodian National Museum in Phnom Penh
In the courtyard of the National Museum of Cambodia
The National Museum of Cambodia is picturesque. The collection is small and simple, but impressive in quality. For those of us who run out of “ooh” and “ahh” stamina after a few hundred artifacts, it’s just the right size. It’s also not stuffy in the usual way of museums– large barred windows are unshuttered while the museum is open. (This is probably less than ideal from both the perspective of security and artifact preservation, but it gives the place a certain ambiance, and maybe helped the exodus of the bats that took up residence during the museum’s dormant period)
It’s great to see what they’ve done with the place considering the state of disrepair it was said to be in after the Khmer Rouge period. With respect to my comment about it not being a large collection, it’s a wonder that any collection exists at all after the wave of lootings from the French through Vietnamese soldiers that took place in the country.
Be forewarned, once one is inside, one will be confronted by Buddhists from a monument preservation society seeking donations at about half a dozen different Buddhas around the museum. If you aren’t a Buddhist, this can be a bit of an annoyance. If you are a Buddhist, you may find their approach disconcertingly unBuddhist. They will try to press incense into one’s palm in order to corner one into paying homage to the Buddha so they can make some dough for their cause. However, they don’t follow one around once refused (as similar individuals have been known to do at Angkor.) It may be a great cause, but they’d probably do better if they restricted it to one per museum and not one per gallery, and just let people drop cash rather than insisting on the idol worship first. I’m nondenominationally happy-go-lucky myself, but I can imagine this being troublesome for some visitors. At any rate, it’s symptomatic of the country’s poverty and their inability to support their deity at the level to which he has apparently become accustomed.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 