This is the continuation of images from page one, please enjoy these images. Click the image and it will open in the Light Box viewer for a larger image. There could also be a link which is in green and it is an active link to a web site for more information about the image. Just click the link and another browser window will open.
Different cultures around the world have different methods of taking children when shopping. Some use the western style stroller, others use cloth packs which the child is inserted and is in the parents front or back, however, in this country as this image demonstrates, some use bamboo as carriers for their children. Note the two different styles being utilized by the mothers in this image. Photo: Old Market, Chongqing, China
I recently returned from a tour as guide for an American to this country for his first ever visit. We were in the worlds second largest populated city as measured by the web site
GeoHive. This area is in the central market center of the city where men with carts await their cargo and between loads will take a rest. What was more fun in this image was the dog which seemed to need a rest as well, he must have had a hard day at the office. Photo: Market Center, Old Delhi, India
If you travel enough you will see one of these machines. It is a human powered, rolling Pub for six persons. I have only seen these in a couple of places and to be honest, I have never see any of them with a full passenger load roaming the streets. I wish I had because watching six beer drinking alcoholics on one of these should be a lot of fun. Photo: Prague, Czech Republic
I am not sure exactly what to call this other than a distance wheel. It is in the heart of this cities old quarter and for some reason the city planners decided this would be an interesting thing to have. If you look closely at the image it will have the direction and distance to many cities in other countries around the world. Of course, since this city also has a lot of other brass & bronze sculptures sprinkled around the old city then this apparently fits in with this theme. Photo: Bratislava, Slovakia
Visiting this city during the beginning of Autumn I discovered that a display was being held where local artists had made art pieces constructed from small inlaid tiles. These were all extremely beautiful and intricate works of art but one in particular stood out for me as a photographer. I am not exactly sure of the title of this art piece because I could not read the local language, however, I was struck by the selection of the design and the beautiful coloration's of the tiles used. Please click the image for the Light Box enlargement Photo: Brasov, Romania
This seemingly 3 dimensional image is actually a flat carving which was the work product of miners in a UNESCO Heritage site and the carving was done on the walls of a salt mine which dates back to the 10th Century and was a valuable source of salt for this region. This mine is
Wieliczka Salt Mine which is located about 30 minutes train ride south of Krakow and is of course located in the lovely city of Wieliczka. A visit here which can be extraordinary and you have options of waiting on a tour for foreigners or go with a Polish speaking tour which costs less and is more frequent departing. Photo: Wieliczka Salt Mine, Wieliczka, Poland
The split image you see was photographed at a wedding years ago. The top image is a vehicle which was parked there and was most likely belonging to one of the members of the wedding party. The lower half of this image is what was attached to the rear of this vehicle. It seemed very strange at the time and I believe that this had some symbolic meaning related to the wedding. I have over the years attempted to discover the symbolism of the dolls which are being hanged but this answer is very elusive. If any viewer of this image has knowledge of the symbolism I would like to receive a comment. The bride & groom departed this wedding in a helicopter at the end of the ceremony and reception. Photo:
Les Jardins du Manior d'Eyrignac, Dordogne region, France
It has been my experience that most Asian women are very shy when taking their photographs and the first words from them are "delete,delete". However, these three broke all the rules I knew. They had just exited from an amusement park in this city and apparently the one in the middle, with the tissue paper in her nose had somehow injured herself to the point to heavy bleeding. I am walking past, see the three, start a conversation and ask if I can take their photo. They all seemed very happy and the one in the middle made great efforts to point out the tissue. Photo: Xian, China
I am back to my love of signs again which I do enjoy but I am not sure what ministry or person came up with this sign but believe me, when you get to this city, people smoke. I am sure there is some place in the world where people do not smoke but I have yet to visit there, please let me know of this total non-smoking location so I can go visit. Photo: Vientiane, Laos
Alabaster has been known through history for thousands of years and there are a number of varieties. The image here is what is know as Oriental Alabaster (Calcite Alabaster) and each different type of rough material has its own characteristics when turned into a finished product. The photo shows the rough on the left then an example of the finished product. Photo: Luxor, Egypt
Auto Rickshaws or Tuk-Tuk style transport is usually found concentrated in one very large geographical region of the planet, however, this type of vehicle is also to be found in other parts of the world that we do not generally associate them as being. Can you guess which part of the world this photo was taken? It is fairly simple if you look closely at the image. Give up? Photo: Piura, Northern Peru
For anyone that has visited this city and not taken a ride on one of these boats, you should have. This city with its many canals called
Khlongs, was once know as The
Venice of the East but most of the canals have been filled in over the years yet some still remain and are an integral part of daily the commute for the locals. These boats are about 15+ meters long with crossing wooden benches for seating. One thing is if you ride this boat, try to get a seat in the middle of the bench. Photo: Bangkok, Thailand
There are sprinkled around Europe,
Jewish Cemeteries, but I believe this one is the largest to be found. It is very unique in that it is separated into to sections, one new, the other old. Walking through this vast area of graves going from the new to the old section is an experience which can not be described to another, it is a very personal one. The image you see is but one example of the old section with the grave markers so close together and falling over. There are no relatives to come to these sometime unmarked graves, yet the new section is very well kept compared to the old section. Photo: Warsaw, Poland, Old Section
Jewish Cemetery
Chuck Norris is an American actor who stared in many action movies as well as his own television series called, Walker Texas Ranger. In Egypt a local heard me mention Texas as I was speaking to a tourist and he comes up and says, "Oh, Walker Texas Ranger", which totally surprised me so I asked how he knew of this and I was told that the television series was very popular in Egypt. Ask a European about Chuck Norris and they will begin telling "Chuck Norris"
jokes. However, in Poland Mr. Norris has become somewhat of an icon and is now proudly displayed in advertisement campaigns. His brand and image is truly one of world renown. Photo: Torun, Poland
Here is an image of bags of charcoal along side the motorway. Not all that interesting unless you understand the significance of this image. One problem in this country is
deforestation and one of the main products of this activity is for making charcoal. Another issue with deforestation in this country is the effect it has had on the glacial top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. A climatology report stated that the deforestation at the base of the mountain had a direct impact on the amount of moisture in the atmosphere above the mountain which would produce the needed snowfall to prevent the glacial melt. Photo: Motorway, Tanzania headed to Dar es Salaam.
Automobiles, I love them, super cars, muscle cars, off road vehicles, cars with air conditioning of course in hot and humid areas but there is something about this vehicle which I also enjoy. First is the fact it is three wheeled plus a nice paint job of yellow colour (color) but the best part for me was the seating which seemed to be some sort of lawn chair made from wicker or bamboo. I am sure that the top speed for this vehicle is not much better than walking but it does beat walking. Photo: Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma)
The great masters created sculptures of wonderful works of art with great details of the human form (body), yet, in the view of the Church, these great works of art were seen as too graphic and the church as the saviors of the morals of mankind, decided to mutilate these pieces of art by removing any body part which offended the sensibilities and doctrines of their mindset. This statue is one which seemed amusing in this context as we see a young boy lifting his garment and looking down only to find that his wee penis had been chopped off by the church authorities. The statue was constructed as a piece for a water fountain and was on display at one of the world's best galleries which is known as the
Bode Museum. Photo: Berlin, Germany
I do enjoy finding little bits like this as I explore our planet. This sign clearly states an obvious idea, if you do not care where you are, then you will never be lost. So many travels are lost as they go from place to place not knowing or understanding the nature of where they are. For them it is all about the next "must see" temple, museum or natural wonder but never about any understanding of the culture, people or true nature of the places they visit.
It is obvious that this image was taken in Egypt and the ancient Egyptians were obsessed with fertility, however, does this image show that these ancient Egyptians had discovered their own version of Viagra thousands of years ago? Photo:
Luxor Temple, Luxor, Egypt
Arr Matey. There is nothing like taking a tour on a cool pirate sailing ship, especially when the ship has such a characteristic image of swashbuckling pirates or a tie-in to a popular movie set in the Caribbean Sea where pirates roamed and plundered. However, someone forgot to tell the boat operators where this photo was taken that the pirates depicted on most of the tour boats are not found in this part of the world. Photo: Antalya, Turkey on the Mediterranean coast.
You will always see graffiti no matter where in the world you might go. I always dislike seeing how travelers will deface a beautiful place just to have their name on a wall or in this case, bamboo stalks. Why do these people believe that their bit of art work will enhance the ancient ruins or other structures they will mark up with their "I have been here" writings? Come on people, your name is not that beautiful. Photo: Bamboo gardens, Yves Saint Laurent home,
Majorelle Garden, Marrakesh, Morocco
