wide-eyed in wonder in a distant land

 stayed in a nice hotel - the stylish lobby showcases some very interesting artwork

 nothing like a nice room to make a traveler feel at home in a new land

one of the pleasures of traveling - morning coffee on the rooftop restaurant and lounge

 one of the many friendly restaurant staff members posing for a picture

 some of this land is incredibly lush and covered in vegetation

 a small wooden boat beached on the shore of a small lake - motionless except for the occasional ripple made by a water skipper

 raindrops on lily pads catching the sunlight on a hot morning

 an idle cow hanging out along a dirt country road

 wonderful architectures abound in the capital city

 in all colors

 many of the old colonial french buildings, monuments, roads, parks have fallen into disrepair

 artwork at the national museum garden grounds

 a view from the hotel rooftop looking to the east

 view from the same spot - looking to the west

 laundry drying on a middle-class apartment rooftop

 as dusk falls, a nearby market begins to come to life

 fruit vendors setting up for the evening commerce

a food vendor anxious to sell meals to the hungry evening rush

 street vendor with a temporarily flooded scooter drive-through

 the streets get flooded after each and every tropical downpour


a cobra artwork, quiet and seemingly motionless, stalks an unsuspecting passerby

 somewhere downtown, a child follows after his mother

 monks making the morning rounds giving blessings and accepting offerings from shopkeepers

two monks wisely exercising caution while walking for long periods under the hot sun

 in the countryside, clothes are left to dry on wooden fences

nearby, a cow is butchered and every part of it is offered for sale by a woman whom i imagine may have helped raise the cow

 in this part of the world, gasoline is sometimes sold in used pepsi bottles

 a hand-cranked gasoline dispenser at a countryside general store

 a tidy amount of vegetables offered for sale on the roadside

a kitchen staff at a high-end riverside seafood restaurant enjoying their lunchtime break as one fishes for his dinner

 a tugboat pulling along four rescued fishing boats up the mekong river

 a tour boat happily chugging along into an approaching storm front

most children everywhere seem to share a universal happiness

 and a shared sense of curiosity

 even if it means running naked into a dirty pond in pursuit of a small frog to satisfy his curiosity while bringing him happiness

 elsewhere near the center of a large city, children playing far above the ground in an active building construction site

 a little known fact - chasing pigeons creates a huge amount of happiness for everyone involved

 a young girl in the country enjoying swimming in the river and riding her bicycle on her summer vacation

 a cute little girl studying the commotion of village children running around

in stark contrast to the preceding pictures - gruesome remains exhibited to the world at the monument to the multitudes who perished in the killing fields

 sometimes there just are not enough words

a heartfelt memorial to journalists who were killed near this spot during the vietnam war

an old villager stops to describe the events that he witnessed as a young lad on the night the journalists were executed

at the same spot - a small Bodhi tree stands with the engraved stone - now looked after by the grandfather of the young girl in the foreground

 eerily peaceful here now

 morning street scene near the riverside

 from the comfort of a tuk-tuk, saw a lady passenger on a motorcycle holding up her own intravenous feed

 a family outing

 royal palace guard getting their instructions under a hot mid day sun

country market alongside a highway south of the capital city

 another meat vendor in the village market amused at the picture-taking traveler

 wat po under active renovation

 two monks taking a break along the river

i must assume that small crabs are in season for much of the season

village children running to greet visitors to a country temple

vacation of sorts

had a few spare days - visited a familiar island destination near the equator

some people say that the chicken rice here is the best in the world

the skyline view captured from a garden atop a new casino hotel

it is always nice to find a bar with a good view

same city skyline from sea level

a mangrove in the middle of downtown on the waterfront 

another scene from one of the many food courts on this island nation - this scene occurred literally right in front of me

a beach bar on an artificial island

the beach is nice - perhaps except for the proximity to merchant ships

a good place to take a picture of the dredging barge

there is even a universal studio theme park here

and monstrous resort destinations

back in town, dresses for reasonable prices on display in the indian district

one of the many foodcourt stalls

not sure what is going on here in this store under renovation - sleeping on the job ?  overcome by heat exhaustion ?  paint fumes causing loss of conciousness ?  or perhaps something more sinister ? i just took a picture and briskly walked on

a lady waiting on the temple steps

a pair of slippers on a roadside step by the sidewalk - not sure what's going on here .... 

the morning rain comes down like bullets in this part of town 

a view of the straits 

more hiking this weekend

countless stacks of rocks pass the time all across this side of the hill

part of an ancient stone wall

hiking can be quite pleasant at this time of year 

taking walks and sightseeing

afternoon walk in the hills - shadows of trees and rays of sunlight through the light fog and pollution

along the trail a lantern waiting for the coming dusk

looking down on a traditional house from a cable car 

on top of a hill in the most tourist-filled destination in this town i stopped for some pasta and a glass

 

the crowd grows restless for the festivities to begin

it is nice enough to fall in love - just not sure if one should deface public property in the name of love or not

more travel and a walk along a river

looking out over the western expanse of greater toronto from the cn tower observation deck

a place i remember from my earlier travels

after a few too many - a splendid view of the bartop - somewhere on the eastern coast of the americas

not sure what the theme was - but i knew i was going to have nightmares

graffiti in a insadong stairwell

went for a walk along a river near my new accomodations

duck - river - apartment buildings

there are a few convenient places to cross the river

the walkers are out in numbers today - this country is manically obsessed with health

another "natural" river crossing

nothing to do on a holiday - took a random subway to the end of the line and went on a walk

douglas macarthur must have landed here at some point in the past

a tree patiently waiting for the coming spring

street-side cafe with western flair in the heart of a chinatown district

a decorative waterwheel in a quaint town at the edge of the sea

beach - sea - remote yet high-populated town

a somewhat smeagol-ish spelling on this sign - closer inspection reveals this to be just a case of two letters having been misplaced

a small amusement park with a crazy concentration of dangerous rides