You have a way with the women and the egg chef. Keep asking until you get what you want. Excellent. A country rich in history and tradition. Thanks for sharing your adventure.
Portraits I love your portrait photo's! They're quite natural. How did you get people to be comfortable in them when they knew you were taking the pic? Did you ask first?
THANKS STACEY...AND THE PORTRAITS All portraits in my Java blogs were taken with consent...I asked them first. I was moved by Cockle's forum thread "Moral Photography" before our Java trip...so even though I have a love of portraits...and believe the result is better by consent...this trip I felt bad if it would have been a sneak shot and couldn't do it...missed out on heaps of interesting shots as a result...but the results are probably better...especially for clarity. To get a natural shot is the challenge...I take time with the shot to catch the right expression. I am glad you liked the portraits in this blog...next blog will just be portraits...watch this space.
THANKS BOB Nice to hear from you. You are so right...by the time we had to move on I was better...couldn't think of a nicer place to be at while it rained and I recovered...very fortunate how well it worked out.
Christmas Day? Arghhh... if you can believe it we would of been there at the same time! We spent a couple of weeks in Jogja around Christmas time, certainly no in and out for us either :). Could of hooked up!
That's the problem with blogs being written after the event... in my case months later at the moment. Serious blog lag! Only four countries to catch up on!!! :)
Safe travels...
THANKS MICHAELnFAYE Christmas Day at Borobudur...rained all day...tourists to saturation...just ask TB Rich...he had a bummer...we however were lucky...! What day were you there? Would have been nice to hook up...we are always into a good time...as my blogs testify.
Great Blog! Sorry to hear you got sick - feels wierd being the photographers subject doesnt it? I wonder how they will describe us when they share their holiday snaps around....he was 26 feet tall and an AUSTRALIAN!!!
THANKS CINDY Nice to hear from the Littlewing...great name by the way...sounds enlightened to me...illness...can't let it get in the way of a good story..!
THANKS CHRIS & AMY A comment from the intrepid travellers...much appreciated...my illness...helped make a better story...making the most of any situation. Keep well & enthused you guys.
You let the cat out of the bag.... .....and I was going to accuse you of letting the side down, but as it happens, Bintang gave me a dickey stomach for a couple of days and I subsequently went over to the Anker which wasn't a bad drop of stuff. The temple looks absolutely amazing and yet despite it being thousands of miles away I can almost see echoes of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom in your wonderful pictures. I love the peace and serenity that these places always seem to have and even at over touristed sites, I feel that if you close your eyes for a moment you can almost touch and feel the spirituality that reside there....well with the exception of Balinese temples that is, but that is of course another story ;)
CONNECTION TO ANGKOR WAT The extensive material & research at Borobudur included in the Audio Visual that the pilgrim trail from India through Asia included both Angkor Wat and Borobudur as significent destinations...as if there was a spiritual connection. The initial concept of the trip was to be at Borobudur on Christmas Day...to me it has always been a mystical destination...and I can now say it exceeded my expectations. Java I certainly saw with new eyes...and a jolly good time we had...as usual serendipity a plenty.
A really fascinating story and excellent pictures! To travel the world is an endless quest, full of surprises and a steep learning curve. This account of such a mysterious and spiritual place is trully fascinating, to say the least. Very nice blog and BOROBUDUR: Universe on Earth, is well presented and the pictures are great! All of the best! Keep well.
Greetings!
THANKS DINO Great to hear from you. A beautiful spiritual place...beautifully preserved and presented...a place Java can be very proud of. Glad you enjoyed my blog and made the time to comment.
Ugly Tourist Howdy Dave,
I'm a ferenj from South Africa who has spent much of the last 5 years in ET and have had my fair share of run-ins with this type...got my own back on one in Lalibela market by lending my camera to one of my habesha guwadegnas who followed the B...around taking snaps of her....amazing how p....off she got when she was on the other side of the lens.....but I think the penny finally dropped......when my friend offered her 2 birr if she could take another another picture. Great story and really great photos.
THANKS DEREK C Wonderful comment...thanks for that...I'll know what to do in future...hope never to be in that position again though...but if I am...I'll have to take a picture...if I can overcome disgust or indignation. Your method does add a lighter side to counter the Ugly Tourist...I like it..!
Hi !!
Please share the hotel/guide/tour operator/route details with me. We are already into planning the same trip. Your information would be of great help.
Kindly email me on anu.anu@rediffmail.com.
Thanks in advance! & regards...
Anu
Why oh why didn't I go to Java!?!? If your going to hang about in Java then I'll bring a few crates of the amber nectar over and we will get started on that 'mother of all jigsaw puzzles'. I do like a challenge. Seriously though, were would you start? As an ex-engineer, I have nothing but respect for the commitment and dedication of the stone masons who have taken on the task of putting that lot back together.
Why...indeed When do we start..? I had a Meccano set as a kid...but I had no-one to drink Bintang with...so I just marvelled & didn't lend a hand...but if the Cockle had been there...who knows what we could build...I reckon it'd have to be taller than 47m...rock on rock...dream on.
And not a mention of touts and sellers... just friendly people wanting to take pictures with you and no tourists. What a wonderful experience!
Hey, we also may be related. My maternal grandparents came from Carbonear, Newfoundland. My grandfather started out as a Grand Banks fisherman.
HI BOB The only sellers were 2 guys selling booklets on Prambanan...I got the English version. With the portraits...they were as into it as much as me...why the vibe in the portraits catches their characters so well...no basis for being self-conscious...all with consent.
But what got me were they had restored such amazing temples...with the vaste majority of smaller temples...piles of stones ...poignant and stunning...with a guide who brought it all to life.
The Newfoundland connection...that's another story.
How do you do it? Dave has been working his magic again. I saw your blog this morning and inspired, I went out plod hunting. After a while I found a few and enquired as to whether I could take a snap. This was met with stony faces akin to those that are seen outside the temples that abound here, followed by a wave of the hand as the one I asked indicated that I should vanish in a rather rapid fashion. Damn! Foiled yet again! The only upside to all this is that I got to read another of your great blogs. Take care Big Bro :)
NICK...I JUST CAN'T UNDERSTAND IT You read my blog...ignore the advice in the second paragraph "Do not take photos of police, soldiers or Government institutions"...then go out and try taking photographs of police...what were you thinking..?
I'm somewhat relieved they weren't Riot Police...no-one would be silly enough to photograph them...or would they..?
My wife Denise & I like to travel "on paths less travelled" that capture our imagination, inspire my photography & where we mix with locals & remain safe.
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Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
You have a way with the women and the egg chef.
Keep asking until you get what you want. Excellent. A country rich in history and tradition. Thanks for sharing your adventure.