New Year in Valencia

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For nearly a decade, every January, beginning of a new year I make a video to remind me of the year gone by. It’s made of one second clips (1 second per day) I film through the year. I don’t always remember to take them. Especially this year, many of the days under the COVID lockdowns and quarantines have merged into one with whole weeks gone missing. But even with missed days and seconds, it’s been a fantastic way to look back in time. 

Many of us navigate a day through a constant stream of information, the news, updates from friends, meetings, deadlines, shopping lists, reading lists etc. Reducing a whole day to a second can be oddly liberating. Personally, it helps to place a messy year in my head, highlight what I enjoyed and valued, forgotten moments. It also helps to reflect on memorable things left out of the seconds. They say creativity is subtraction. The benefits of subtraction wisely certainly extend to the non-creative parts of our lives, to help organize our thoughts and days. 

For nearly a decade, every January, beginning of every year I make a video to remind me of the year gone by. It’s made of one second clips (1 second per day) I film through the year. I don’t always remember to take them. Especially this year, many of the days under the COVID lockdowns and quarantines have merged into one with whole weeks gone missing. But even with missed days and seconds it’s been a fantastic way to look back in time. 

Many of us navigate a day through a constant stream of information, the news, updates from friends, meetings, deadlines, shopping lists, reading lists etc. Reducing a whole day to a second can be oddly liberating. Personally, it helps to place a messy year in my head, highlight what I enjoyed and valued, forgotten moments. It also helps to reflect on memorable things left out of the the seconds. They say creativity is subtraction. The benefits of subtraction wisely certainly extend to the non-creative parts of our lives, to help organize our thoughts and days. 

Today, that video takes me back a year ago to the new year in Valencia, Spain.

Happy new year everyone! I wish you to make it happier than the one before.

Hong Kong waterway sunset in black and white

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Hong Kong is one of my most favourite places I’ve been to. It’s been coming up on my newsfeed these days for worrying reasons, unfortunately. Although, I’ve only been a few times, each time it has left a sea of impressions. Whether it’s dense city life, food, people, the outdoors, the hills or the sea, the city hits it out of the park with what it has to offer. Living so close, I should really be making my way there more frequently…. once one can easily travel again of course. 

Temples of Bagan

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Bagan is the most known place in Myanmar. Pictures of air balloons towering over the remains of thousands of temples and pagodas have become a standard for the many tourists who visit the ancient city. Even those not in the habit of waking up early will find the experience of catching the sunrise worth it.

The place and the atmosphere are no doubt unique. The never-ending temples open themselves up one after another along the plains. It can make you wonder how much energy and commitment has gone into the construction of over 4,000 sites between the 11th and 13th centuries. Not surprisingly, that energy and where it came from provides a strong sense of pride for many in the country.

Owing to the nascent stage of the country’s tourism industry, one can still find a sense of harmless adventure by zipping around on dusty roads in a rented e-scooter. Several years of living in Myanmar have taken me to Bagan multiple times. But only a few weeks ago was my first visit properly equipped with a camera and an above-average sense of curiosity. This was also the first time I took my new wide camera lens out for some air, which was pretty handy in tighter corners in between temples. (For those interested, the lens used for the wider shots is the 12 mm Rakinon).

Kolkata (Calcutta) – the city of …

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The city of joy is how the locals repeatedly referred to their hometown as I was chatted up by friendly Kolkatans. Some refer to it as the city of firsts, for pioneering a number of achievements in India, or a city of palaces, for its wealth of architectural beauty. Kipling described it as a “city of dreadful night”, “magnificent”, “the many sided”. I can’t remember visiting a city with so much characterization attached to its name. Kolkata is probably all those things to different people.

During the day, its streets are filled with constant hustle and bustle, smells and car roars continuously compete for attention – often against the backdrop of architectural awe, creating a scene rarely replicated elsewhere. Buildings too, compete for attention. While some are nursed to withstand the perils of the city’s humid climate, others – full of history and culture – stand crumbling, waiting for better days. Some streets provide a moment’s rest before spitting you back out. Amidst chaos and the high-paced environment people always found ways to gracefully slow down, eager to strike a conversation – tell a story about a neighbourhood, their job, a cultural event, and of course, no conversation is complete without a mention of cricket. If couple of days is anything to judge by, Kolkata is all those things they call it.

  


Kayin Mountains

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Earlier this week I went on a work trip eastward to Kayin (Karen) State. A significant chunk of it was spent in a car, about 6 hours each way. Apart from being reminded of how big and diverse Myanmar is, traveling on land is also a good reminder of how dangerous roads can be. Myanmar is the only country I can think of where the majority of cars are right-hand drive (steering wheel on the right) driving in a right-hand traffic. So whenever someone attempts a takeover on a 2 lane highway, it isn’t really supported by the driver’s view of the oncoming traffic.

The drive nonetheless was scenic in parts, especially as we got closer to the capital Hpa-An. It’s surrounded by grandiose tall beautifully shaped mountains. We were crossing a bridge during sunset on the approach to the city when a view opened up with great colors and mountains stretching across the river. People weren’t allowed on the bridge, however, so I had to shoot out of a moving vehicle, across the seat through a window with the camera aimed in between window stickers and bridge support columns. To my own surprise a decently framed shot showed on my camera screen as I looked down expecting a picture of a blurry metal columns. Next time I hope for more time on foot.

kayin-mountains

Thadingyut Festival

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Last week celebrations were on for the Thadingyut Festival (သီတင်းကျွတ်ပွဲတော်). It’s a Burmese Lighting Festival that takes place on the full moon of the Burmese Lunar month of Thadingyut. Celebrations are spread over a number of days with a downtown street blocked off from traffic and absorbed by a wave of people every evening. Vendors pay for a spot to set up shop offering all sorts of goods and services; from tattoos to underwear sale to a bucket of insects to munch on just a stall over.

I unfortunately, didn’t have much time out with my camera and would have to limit this post to a few random shots of some of the street vendors hard at work.

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