Tag Archives: Picture of the day

26th July picture of the day…

26 Sunday Jul 2020

Posted by in India, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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Today’s picture was taken in Calcutta, India in March 1992. I was staying in Sudder St, the backpacker area of this vibrant city. Sudder St is a bit of an institution as it’s one of those places that become a crossroads for travellers but it’s not to everyone’s taste as the standards of accommodation as are as run-down as the city itself. Even so, it’s a place that I’ve visited several times and really enjoy. Life is lived out on the streets as there’s little incentive to hang around in dark and dinghy hotel rooms. Instead, many travellers  congregate at the street stalls selling food and drinks, where you can sit, chat and watch the world go by. They’re ideal for photographers like me. One one morning I was sitting outside a pavement stall eating curd and honey when I spotted this scene on the opposite side of the narrow street.

T6754. Bathing Man. Calcutta. India 1992.crop

Whilst his washing dried on the line behind him against a wall covered with election posters for the Congress and Communist parties a man was taking a shower from a bucket on the pavement. As always, I had my camera with me, so I quickly grabbed a shot.

I’ve been back to Calcutta several times since, the last time in 2011 and it’d changed little in the intervening two decades. It was still as run-down and gloriously anarchic as ever, but I still think it’s one of my favourite Indian cities as it has a vibrancy and soul that makes it rather special. If you want to see more pictures from Calcutta over the years (including of their incredibly run-down tram network), follow this link. Calcutta (or Kolkata as it’s been renamed) holds a special title amongst Indian cities in that it retains two forms of transport you won’t find anywhere else on the sub-continent – trams and hand pulled rickshaws.

 

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24th July picture of the day…

24 Friday Jul 2020

Posted by in Coronavirus, Malaysia, Picture of the day, Sowerby Bridge, Travel

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Another busy day today that’s seen us out shopping on the first official day of ‘wearing a mask in shops’ day. I’m relieved to report that most people seem to have got the message and are abiding by the instruction. We visited the Tesco in Sowerby Bridge and I only observed one person (a man) not wearing one. Our local Tescos had one or two more backsliders, but not many. Why did we have to go to two branches of Tescos I hear you ask? They’re on a couple of miles apart but the stock they carry is very different. No, I’ve no idea why either!

OK, here’s today’s picture of the day. If you’re squeamish, I suggest that you look away now….

I took this picture on the 8th February 2009 in Georgetown on Penang island, Malaysia during the Hindu festival of Thaipusam.

TD12441. Thaipusam. Penang. Malaysia. 8.2.2009.crop

Yes, those are hooks in the mans back. He was pulling a wheeled cart with them! Although it’s a Hindu festival other religions join in and I’ve seen Muslims and the Chinese community carrying out such acts of devotional sacrifice (which are frowned upon back in India, where the festival was banned). It’s quite an event to witness and the atmosphere’s anything but painful – even if sights like this do make you wince the first time you see them!

 

 

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23rd July picture of the day…

23 Thursday Jul 2020

Posted by in Australia, Picture of the day, Travel

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Today’s been a busy one with too many things to blog about now as it’s late in the evening and I’ve got a lot to do tomorrow, so I’ll restrict myself to the picture of the day.

This is what Melbourne, Australia looks like from a hot air balloon.

TD02571. Balloon flight over Melbourne. Australia. 1.2.07.crop

I took this picture from the basket of the balloon that Lynn and I were travelling in on the 1st February 2007. We were in Oz visiting our friend Alison who was still living there at the time – although she already had plans to move to Bali. It was Alison who organised the balloon trip which was fantastic. Drifting over a city in a balloon is amazing because you get to hear the sounds of the city below you as your transport is totally silent and open to the air. It gives you far more of a connection with the land below rather than being cocooned in a plane or helicopter.

22nd July picture of the day…

22 Wednesday Jul 2020

Posted by in Picture of the day, Sri Lanka, Travel

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Hmm, where to take you in time and space today? In the present it’s been an unexciting day that I won’t bore you with, so let me see what’s in the archives…

I took this picture in March 1992 from the top of Adams Peak in Sri Lanka. It was during my year long solo trip. I hadn’t originally intended to go to Sri Lanka but I met a couple of fellow travellers (who called themselves Pip and Gyppo) in Kerala, India and we ended up travelling together for a while. They’d planned to visit the island and we could get cheap flights from Trivandrum to Colombo, so I thought hell, why not?

We had a fantastic time together for several weeks and one of the highlights was visiting the hills to climb Adams Peak. It’s called that as one of the folklore story’s surrounding it is that it’s where Adam (of Adam and Eve) first stepped down to Earth from Heaven. It’s not just Christians who revere it. Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim pilgrims also ascend the 2243 metre high peak and have different versions of the story and different names for the mountain.

Like most people, we stayed at the base of the peak, then rose early in the morning to begin the climb so that we could arrive at the top just before dawn. It’s not an easy climb, even though there’s steps cut into much of the mountain. But, it is worth it – as this picture shows. The views as the sun rises are sublime.

T3194. Adams Peak. Sri Lanka. 1992.

I’ve never got around to scanning all my pictures from that particular trip, but if you want to see pictures from more recent trips to Sri Lanka, follow this link.

 

 

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21st July picture of the day…

21 Tuesday Jul 2020

Posted by in Picture of the day, Politics, Travel

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Today’s not been the most exciting of times, exactly the opposite. Seeing the Governments reaction to the released Russia report makes me realise that I now live in a Banana republic where the security services have been thrown under a bus. Look into Russian involvement and manipulation of the Brexit referendum? Absolutely not – we might find something…

As it’s late I’ll resist the spleen venting (for now) and move on to the picture of the day. Here’s what’s probably the most famous political rail crash ever. Well, when I say that – I mean literally, not figuratively. I took this on the 12th January 2006 in Santa Clara, Cuba.

FDG2810. Armoured train museum. Santa Clara. Cuba. 12.1.06.crop

This is one of the wrecked freight cars of the famous ‘armored train’ that was attacked by Cuban revolutionaries under the command of ‘Che’ Guevara  on the 29th December 1958. It was a seminal event in the Cuban revolution and it’s a fascinating place to visit – even if most of the explanations are only in Spanish.

 

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20th July picture of the day…

20 Monday Jul 2020

Posted by in Indonesia, Picture of the day, Travel

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I’ve been busy at home all day bashing keys on my computer to forge a blog on HS2 into an article for RAIL magazine. I did manage to nip out in between my efforts to get my daily exercise and catch up with the world, but otherwise I’ve very much been office based. Still, it’s been a productive day. I’ve also written an earlier blog but it’s a stand-alone piece about HS2, so here’s a pure picture of the day.

Today’s was taken on a 2 month solo trip that I had to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. This particular picture was taken in Pejeng, near Ubud in Bali (Indonesia) on the 7th February 2017 when I was spending a few weeks staying with an old friend who now lives on the island. Alison and I first met in India back in 1998 and we’ve remained friends ever since although we don’t get chance to see each other as often as we used to. Anyway, vegetarians – look away now…

DG264524. Babi Guling. Pejeng. Ubud. Bali. Indonesia. 7.2.17crop

This is the famous Babi Guling (Roast suckling pig). Although Indonesia is predominantly Muslim the Balinese are Hindus and suckling pig is a delicacy on the island. This local market stall sold one of the best in the area so it was always busy with locals (and a few knowledgeable tourists) turning up to tuck in. For me, one of the delights of travelling is the ability to try different cuisines and Indonesia has a fantastic array of regional dishes due to the rich variety of produce the islands produce and the historical influences of the cultures that have passed through.

If you want to see the rest of the pictures from my trip you can find them on my Zenfolio website in this gallery.

 

 

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Escaped!

18 Saturday Jul 2020

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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For the first time since lockdown began the pair of us made it out of West Yorkshire today – albeit only for a drive of a few hours. Having done various chores and some shopping we decided to see where the roads took us and went exploring to places we’d never been. Having headed over to Wainstalls, Mount Tabor and Ogden we found ourselves out on Ovenden Moor before ending up in Oxenhope. Another throw of the dice found us passing through Stanbury before crossing the border into Lancashire and skirting the edge of Colne. The weather was miserable, with low cloud and lots of showers. Even so, it was lovely to be out exploring places we never knew existed, like Trawden and Widdop, before we re-entered Calderdale and familiar names like Hebden Bridge. I was amazed by how little you have to travel from urban areas before you’re out in the middle of nowhere. It makes me realise that the folks who complain that the UK is becoming increasingly urban and built on really do need to get out more.

Once back home we settled in for the evening as the weather wasn’t going to play ball and be conducive to evening strolls. Whilst Dawn practiced her culinary magic I spent a couple of hours in the office sorting out a glitch on my Zenfolio website that meant people couldn’t buy prints of pictures, then fulfilled more eBay purchases to get them off to buyers before settling down to eat. Dawn had baked a quiche for us to take on a picnic tomorrow whilst also preparing tonight’s repast – Mushrooms risoniotto, made with Orzo pasta. It’s gorgeous!

thumbnail_20200718_200633

Right, it’s time to knock off for the evening and spend some quality time together, so here’s the picture of the day, which I took at sunset on the 16th January 2004 from Eriyadoo Island in the Maldives. I don’t want to knock West Yorkshire, but it certainly puts what we’re seeing here tonight into perspective!

17285. Sunset. Eriyadoo Island. Maldives. 16.1.2004.crop

 

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14th July picture of the day…

14 Tuesday Jul 2020

Posted by in Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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Today’s activities at Bigland Towers have been confined to the odd walk to take a break from staring at computer screens and spreadsheets as I sift through and mark the 46 entries to the ‘It’s your station’ category of this years Community Rail Awards. To be honest, there’s some wonderful entries and inspiring work there but Covid has made the process a little dry and distant this year.

So, without further ado I’m going straight to the picture of the day. Today’s was was taken In Nungwi, Zanzibar on the 30th May 2001.

T11229. Dhows on the beach. Nungwi. Zanzibar. Tanzania. Africa. 30.05.01crop

I was out in Africa with Lynn, who was attending Actionaid’s Africa regional conference . After the conference we headed out from Dar-es-Salaam to visit Actionaid projects in the villages for a week. It was an amazing experience which gave me a real insight into the fantastic work the charity is doing with communities there. Afterwards, the pair of us had arranged to take a holiday and Zanzibar was the obvious destination. These dhows were pulled up on the beach just down from where we were staying and I loved the contrast between their sails and the sky. If you want to see more pictures from the trip you can find them here.

 

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13th July picture of the day…

13 Monday Jul 2020

Posted by in Musings, Picture of the day, Railways, Sowerby Bridge, Travel

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For various reasons I took the weekend off from blogging, but now I’m back in a busy week with a heck of a lot going on, despite me staying away from the railway. Well, almost…

Although I’ve not been on a train since the end of March I did pop down to our local station in Sowerby Bridge on Saturday just to get a railway fix and remind myself what the modern railway looks like. It was quite eerie. As it’s the height of the summer season you’d expect the trains to be packed along with the station car-parks. Instead, this was the sight that greeted me.

DG342505crop

This is despite the latest update from the Department of Transport that says cars on the roads have already returned to 83% of pre-Covid levels. Government policy is still to discourage rail travel even though rail operators (now directly managed by the Government) have increased the frequency of trains to 80% plus of normal service levels – yet passenger numbers have actually declined in the past week to around 15% of pre-Covid levels! It’s madness, but typical of the confused and mixed messages this Government has been sending out.

Ok, on to the main reason for this blog – the picture of the day. Today’s comes from my travels in Laos. It was taken in the town of Luang Prabang in the 9th January 2009.

TD09205. Old bomb new use. Luang Prabang. Laos. 9.1.09.crop

The detritus of conflict in Laos is commonplace. During the Vietnam war the USA secretly bombed the hell out of the place. It’s estimated that eight bombs a minute were dropped on average during the Vietnam war between 1964 and 1973 – more than the amount used during the whole of World War Two. Unexploded ordnance is still killing Laotians today. In the finest tradition of swords into ploughshares, here’s a family that’s found a new use for the tailfin of one of the millions of bombs dropped during the war.

 

 

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10th July picture of the day…

10 Friday Jul 2020

Posted by in Nepal, Picture of the day, Travel

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I won’t bore you with the minutiae of my day today, instead I’ll go straight to the chosen (random) picture from my archive.

This was taken in Kathmandu, Nepal in 1992. The event was ‘Holi’ the Hindu ‘festival of colours’. Looking back via the internet I’m told this was the 19th March so I’d already been travelling solo for nearly five months. I was staying in the Thamel district of Kathmandu at the time which got a bit riotous out on the streets. So much so that some Westerners who were unused to Asia didn’t want to venture out. Myself and the young lady I’m posing with – whose name completely escapes me now – did – and we had a ball! Ok, we came back looking like this – but what the hell. You never wear your ‘bezzies’ to go out at Holi anyway…

The photo was taken on the roof of the hotel where we continued the festivities as we had battles with all the surrounding buildings as they threw coloured powders at us and we throw ours at them – and woe betide anyone walking past in the street as it was ‘bombs away’! As usual – there’s slides of those days that I’ve yet to get around to scanning. One day…

It was whilst I was staying here that I heard an album being played that’s defined that time ever since. Every time I hear it it transports me straight back to that that rooftop and those times in Kathmandu. The album? Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Full Moon Fever. When I got to Bangkok I bought a (bootleg) tape of it to go with my Sony Walkman (remember those?) in the Khao San Rd and it’s an album that’s become the soundtrack to my life and travels ever since. Thank you Tom – your music’s meant so much to me for many, many years.