travel theme: ripples

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Oman, South Korea, travel theme

Monday, June 24:  Ailsa Where’s my backpack? of challenges us this week to come up with Ripples.  Here’s my first choice, from a pond on top of Jebel Akhdar, a pond full of croaking and mating frogs.

ripples in a frog-filled pond on Jebel Akhdar

Wadi Arbiyyin is one of the most peaceful spots I have found in Oman.  I’m sorry I never got to swim in this gently-rippling pond.

ripples in Wadi Arbiyyin

And this was taken on an island in South Korea, Geoje-si, on a windy day at a place called Windy Hill.  I love what a breeze does to a body of water and ornamental grasses.  (Inspired by being mrscarmichael: Travel Theme (Ripples))

ripples of water and ornamental grasses in Geoje-si, South Korea (inspired by mrs. carmichael)

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weekly photo challenge: the sign says

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postaweek2013, weekly photo challenge

Saturday, June 1: This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is The Sign Says.

Signs. Funny, poignant, symbolic, incorrect, informative, foreshadowing…there are so many signs in the world.

Like so many signs translated from another language into English, I can’t help but wonder if this one was done by Google Translator.  This sign is at the entrance to the village of Misfat Al Abriyyen in Oman.

I don’t know who translated this sign into English, but it’s a mess!

cbbh photo challenge: knobs & knockers

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CBBH Photo Challenge, Nepal, Oman

Thursday, May 30: Marianne of East of Málaga …. and more! has given us a challenge for the month of May to find pictures of knobs and knockers.  She writes:

Forget bells and intercoms – this month’s CBBH Photo Challenge is all about decorative door furniture, to make an entrance look perfect.

Of course, the purpose of a door knocker is to let the householder know there is someone at the door, but at some point in history they took on shape and symbolic meaning. I’ve seen protective dogs and lions, honorary wreaths, severed hands, mythological references to Medusa and Cleopatra, as well as elegant and ornate displays of wealth in polished brass.

I’ve taken many pictures of Omani doors in the 20+ months I’ve been here, and I’ve noticed that most of them don’t have knockers at all.  It seems Omani doors are all about safety and security.  Instead of knobs and knockers, they all seem to have metal bars, locks, spikes, and chains.  I could hardly find a knob or knocker anywhere in my collection.  I feel this tells a lot about Omani culture, much like the watchtowers that adorn every hill throughout the country.  It’s all about protection, keeping things under lock and key, keeping intruders out.

metal bar and lock on a metal door in Yanqul, Oman

knockers on a door in the Ibra ruins, Oman

a lock and chain on a door in the ruins of Ibra’s old souq

more locks and bars in Ibra

Lock, bar and spiky deterrents at Nakhal Fort, Oman

Lock, bar and spikes at Nakhal Fort, Oman

Surprisingly, I found the same kinds of bars and locks in Nepal.

locks and bars in Bhaktapur, Nepal

Marianne asks that we introduce two bloggers in this challenge.  I’d like to introduce Heather of artist. hippie. cali chic.  Heather has a serious case of wanderlust.  She’s traveled a lot in the past, but is now trying to save money to pay off her student loans.  So instead of traveling now, she’s doing the responsible thing and saving money.  That doesn’t stop her from dreaming of travel.  She describes herself thus: I am an artist/graphic designer/huge Audrey Hepburn fan and self-proclaimed giant hippie with a hopeless case of wanderlust living in Southern California.

I’d also like to introduce Lynne of On the Go with Lynne and her husband, photographer Ron Mayhew, of Ron Mayhew’s Blog. (All right, I know that’s two more, but they’re a husband and wife, so I want to include them together!)

Lynne writes of herself:

Wherever I am, I have learned to appreciate the moment.
To draw inspiration from the experience.
To write about the journey and not just the destination.

And to have fun…while I can still bend over to pick up a shell
And to cast without tangling my line.

Ron describes himself thus: Having been a professional wood sculptor  for over twenty years he has developed an eye for composition.  It’s  this artistic  background which has helped Ron achieve recognition regionally and internationally in photo competitions.  His photography is beautiful.

I especially love reading about their joint trip to Havana, Cuba.  Ron’s photos and Lynne’s stories are fascinating and capture a culture that few Americans get to experience.

 

travel theme: pathways

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Japan, Nepal, Oman, South Korea, travel theme, Turkey

Sunday, May 26:  Ailsa’s Travel Theme this week is Pathways.  I’ve seen many beautiful pathways in my travels around the world.

Path of Bamboo in Arashiyama, near Kyoto, Japan

path through Ihlara Canyon in Cappadocia, Turkey

path through Suncheon Bay Ecological Park in South Korea

snow-covered path through Gongju, South Korea

Many people use the aflaj in Oman as pathways. This one is at Wadi Bani Khalid in Oman.

Pathway of enlightenment ~ leading to a Buddhist temple in Pokhara, Nepal

a pathway along a farmer’s field in Pokhara, Nepal

pathway through Little Petra in Jordan

weekly photo challenge: in the background

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Oman, postaweek2013, United States of America, weekly photo challenge

Saturday, May 25:  Friday’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is In the Background: The places that we pass through day after day, or even once in a lifetime, leave in their small way, echoes and traces of themselves upon us. But so often when taking self portraits or pictures of friends, the places themselves become a soft blurred mush of indistinct semi-nothingness, the limelight stolen by our smiling faces. In today’s challenge, let’s turn the tables. Take a picture of yourself or someone else as a shadow, a reflection, or a lesser part of a scene, making the background, or — as in the example above — the foreground, the center of attention.

I’m not sure I really “get this” challenge, but here are a couple of attempts.  Adam, with his mouth watering, is the blurry background with the tofu sandwich as the center of attention.

there’s Adam, all blurry in the background, mouth watering over his vegan sandwich

In this one, taken at the Sahab Hotel on Jebel Akhdar, the blurry background of the Sahab is shown upside down and in the foreground, in the glass of wine.

The Sahab Hotel in the background, and again in the foreground, upside down in the glass of beer

Alex is in the background, covered completely by the glass, but you can see his face in the foreground in the glass of beer

And finally, in this picture of a vintage shop window in Carytown, Richmond, Virginia, it’s hard to tell the background from the foreground.

Vintage Shop window in Richmond, Virginia

And finally, in Dubai, UAE, the Burj al Arab in a mirror, though we’re still in the foreground!

Us in the mirror with the Burj Al Arab in the background

travel theme: the four elements

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travel theme

Sunday, May 19: Ailsa of Where’s my backpack? challenges us this week to come up with “an homage to earth, air, water and fire.”

For earth, what else can I post but the mountains of Oman?  Because they’re usually vegetation-free, they’re considered a geologist’s heaven.  Here are the mountains that make up the sides of Wadi Ghul.

the rock-solid earth at Wadi Ghul

One evening, at Dana Nature Reserve in Jordan, the air looked quite unstable and threatening.

Air at Dana Nature Reserve in Jordan

Water filled Santorini’s caldera after the volcano erupted some 3600 years ago at the height of the Minoan civilization.  This was the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history.   Now it is one of the most peaceful and serene places you can imagine, except for the tourists.

water ~ the Mediterranean at Santorini’s caldera

And fire has destructive power, but also provides much-needed warmth on a cold night in Kathmandu, Nepal.

fire at New Orleans Cafe in Kathmandu, Nepal

weekly photo challenge: escape

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Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, postaweek2013, United States of America, weekly photo challenge

Sunday, May 19: The WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is Escape:  Depending on your current mood and headspace, or time in your life, this word can evoke different emotions and conjure a variety of images. Maybe the end of your semester is near, and you yearn for vacation and release: the desire to disappear and run away, the need to unplug and shut off. Or perhaps you imagine quite the opposite: Lost in a maze. Stuck in a room, feeling boxed in, with the worst company. Frustrated in your own thoughts, wondering what to do next.

This week is final exams and then the spring semester is over at the University of Nizwa.  I still have 39 days left until my last day of work, and I’m not sure what the university will give me to do to keep me busy.  All I know is that I’m waiting to escape my job here in Oman and return home to the USA for good.  On the way, I plan to make a month-long stop in Spain and Portugal.

Here are some pictures of the good old U.S.A., taken last summer at Deep Creek Lake in Maryland.  We won’t be going to Deep Creek this summer, but it does represent the quintessential escape for me.  Lots of green, cool weather, a beautiful lake, boating, swimming and kayaking.  Hanging out with my family playing games and just general relaxing.  Oh, how I yearn to escape!

Life jackets and kayak paddles ready to go

these feet are ready for an escape

kayaks at Deep Creek Lake

Deep Creek Lake

an escape into a nice relaxing hot tub on the deck of the cabin

perfect escape, a drink, smoke and computer on the deck at Deep Creek Lake

sunday post: mother’s day

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Life, Sunday Post

Sunday, May 12:  Today is Mother’s Day in the USA, and Jake has given us a challenge to post something in honor of mothers everywhere (Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post: Mother’s Day).  He writes: Mother’s Day is a celebration honoring mothers and motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in March or May.

Here are some mothers I’ve encountered in my travels.

a mother and her son in Pokhara, Nepal

A mother bathes her child in Bhaktapur, Nepal

a mother and her children at the Lalibela Saturday market in Ethiopia

Indian mothers at the Lotus Temple in Delhi, India

my Korean friend Julie and her two children

And finally, in honor of my mother, who died over 10 years ago: Happy Mother’s Day!

My father and mother and their four children (one was still to come!)

travel theme: beaches

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travel theme

Saturday, May 11: Ailsa’s Travel Theme for this week is Beaches. Here are some beaches I’ve encountered in my travels.

Let’s start at the beginning.  Here is the beach of my childhood, on the York River in Yorktown, Virginia.  I spent many of my teenage years hanging out with my friends on this beach.

Yorktown Beach with the York River Bridge in the background. This is my hometown.

In general, I prefer deserted, quiet, peaceful and unpopulated beaches, NOT beaches packed with people and umbrellas and chairs and tents and inner tubes like Guryongpo Beach near Pohang, South Korea or Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand.  Most beaches in South Korea are crowded, as Korea is a tiny country with a huge population of 48 million people.  Haeundae Beach in Busan is nice enough in early April, when this picture was taken, but it’s usually quite crowded.

the crowded Guryongpo Beach near Pohang, South Korea

another crowded beach in Phuket, Thailand

Haeundae Beach in Busan, South Korea

It’s not so bad if the beach is set up with mostly EMPTY beach chairs and umbrellas, like this beach in Plakias, Crete, Greece.  At least it’s on the Mediterranean, and what could be better than that?

Plakias Beach, Crete, Greece

Plakias Beach in Crete, Greece

Sometimes it’s nice to hang out at a hotel beach, like this beach at Shangri-La Resort near Muscat, Oman. It has a huge pool and a lazy river, so you can dip in the fresh water and wash off the salt and sand from time to time.

Beach at the Shangri-la Resort near Muscat, Oman

Beach at the Shangri-la Resort near Muscat, Oman

Some beaches in Oman are quite deserted or are used mainly by fishermen.  Every time I’ve been to these beaches, they’ve been so extremely hot, I don’t find them enjoyable.  Some of the beaches are so deserted they’re used only by campers.

As Sifah Beach near Muscat, Oman

Omani fisherman at Al Musanaah Beach, Oman

Seashells on the beach at Al Musanaah in Oman

a deserted beach where people camp on the east coast of Oman

This beach on the Dead Sea in Jordan is quite small, and it’s really impossible to swim in the water because of the high salt content.  No matter what you do, you end up in a position like you are sitting in an armchair, with your arms, legs and head floating on the water’s surface.  Only your rear end sinks in the water.

beach at the Dead Sea in Jordan

Some beaches are just little strips of sand situated on a lake shore, like this beach at Lake Langano, Ethiopia.

a small beach at Lake Langano, Ethiopia

Luckily, there are some picture-perfect beaches like Sangju “Silver Sand” Beach in South Korea.

Sangju “Silver Sand” Beach in South Korea

Sangju “Silver Sand” Beach, South Korea

To see more beaches, check out Where’s my backpack? Travel Theme: Beaches.

weekly photo challenge: pattern

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Oman, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, weekly photo challenge

Friday, May 10:  This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is Pattern. Patterns are everywhere. Patterns are sometimes intentional and sometimes accidental. They can be decorative or merely a result of repetition, and often patterns can be in the eye of the beholder to discover them.

Sometimes man makes patterns out of nature, as in these tea farms in Boseong, South Korea.

Boseong Tea Plantations in South Korea

And sometimes nature makes its own patterns, as in these wetlands in Suncheon Bay Ecological Park in South Korea.

Suncheon Bay Ecological Park in South Korea

At other times, man makes patterns to show reverence at places of worship, such as this Buddhist temple in Maisan, South Korea.

a temple in Maisan, South Korea

Or to show reverence to Allah, as in the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE or the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman.

Mosque in Abu Dhabi

Mosaic at Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman

And sometimes, man makes patterns to show his own ability to create opulence, as at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.

Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi

dome at Emirates Palace