Umm….your fly is open

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This is in Kashgar,  one of my most favourite places I’ve been to. It’s a place of incredible contrasts, it’s technically part of China but culturally and geographically it is closer to Baghdad than it is to Beijing. It is where new China is slowly creeping in to the very old Uyghur parts. It’s been a while since my visit and I wonder how many of the old mud houses have been replaced by the architecture. It was a completely foreign place to me but yet very familiar in a very odd sense.

I like the photo of this man with his dirty clothes and a helmet put comfortably aside as a passenger. I chuckled a bit too when I noticed his fly was open. At first I wasn’t sure if the man was wearing a smile or a frown. Probably neither and just squinting from the wind.

I’ve uploaded a small album of several other photos from Kashgar. Click here!

Umm....your fly is open

Hammocks and the beach

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I’ve finally spent a few hours going through the Mexican photos from over the summer. Given the experiences I’m surprised I haven’t filled my SD cards 100 times over, but I still captured some interesting memories. This probably being the most relaxing. At the time we’ve been working in small communities on the Yucatan Peninsula and with a weekend off my colleague and I decided to take a last minute trip to Tulum in Quintana Roo.

The first photo is from the cabin we stayed during the 1st night. The latter photo is after hours of driving dirt roads in the national park just south of Tulum, which has, no doubt, been a weekend highlight for me. At the end of the park on the coast side is a dead end with a small village of Punta Allen, living off the coast. It’s been a little tiring getting to the village but has been totally worth it.

Along the road to the village there are a bunch of small openings cleared out by machetes. We took a few out of curiosity until we found one that lead to the isolated beach, on the second photo. I set up my orange hammock, got my book out, we put on our swimming attire and played a game where we own a private beach. While the cabin is sure sweet I think I prefer stumbling across a gem like this. Clearly we weren’t the only ‘smart’ ones as there were some ropes laying around left by previous visitors from over the years. What would you prefer?

Hammocks and the beach1

 

Hammocks and the beach2

 

Vancouver Fall

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I’m trying out a new look for the website. There is still a fair bit of work to do, as not much is yet available besides the photo blog. Hopefully that’ll change in the coming days. For now here’s a photo from the English Bay in Vancouver. Fall here is sure colorful. So colorful in fact that the yellows are coming out a little different than on the actual picture file. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Vancouver Fall

Saturday ride

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Thinking about what to do over the weekend I got in touch with an old friend of mine. He tells me he has a 32 year old collector’s bike in his garage. It’s a funny old bike but with a barely touched 500cc engine. He obviously knew what my response would be. It’s been raining nearly everyday since I’ve been back. Luckily for us it was a clear November day so we took the bikes up north into the mountains, to the roads I can ride with my eyes closed. But why would I close them with breathtaking views like these. I forgot how beautiful these mountains are and riding these curves again is truly surreal. I took the photo on the way back almost in Vancouver with a few wider spots with viewpoints to stop and stretch. Perfect time too with the sunset.

Saturdayride

This could be anywhere in the world

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Unlike the title of that rock song this view couldn’t be anywhere else but Vancouver. After several years in Europe and some other places I’m back to British Columbia, the place I know better than any other in the world. I’ve left and come back here many times over the years, this being my longest time away, and it does feel a little weird coming home. Though maybe it’s just the jet lag 😉 There is however always a little nervousness about it, sort of like seeing an old friend. How long will I stay for? I’m not yet sure. For now it’s family, friends and familiar peaks while I decide on my next step. This scene gives me a nostalgic feeling, so I thought it appropriate to post an HDR retroish version of the photo too 🙂

On a side note I’ve been having some technical difficulties with the website. Over the next few weeks I’ll be moving my host and will possibly try some new things. So if the website is down or looks like a 3 year old built it, don’t panic. It’s just me trying to fix things up.

This could be anywhere in the world

This could be anywhere in the world2

Church of St. Francis of Assisi

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This is the Church of St. Francis of Assisi. Apparently there is a church with the same name in India. This one is not quite on the same continent in Hecelchakán, Campeche. Chakan means rest in thhe Mayan language. Though I can’t say that’s exactly what we did, the town did have a calm, stress free vibe about it.

I took these on 2 different occasions, first the black and white version and then the colour version early in the morning. I couldn’t quite decide which one I like more so I’m gonna post both.

Church of St. Francis of Assisi

Church of St. Francis of Assisi2