Views from El Alto, Bolivia

La Paz, the administrative capital of Bolivia, is one of the highest capitals in the world. Sitting in a 'bowl' surrounded by high mountains, including the beautiful imposing peak Illimani (the 'guardian of La Paz'), the city should be viewed from afar. And one of the best places to see La Paz in its environment is in the neighbouring city of El Alto.

El Alto is one of the highest cities in the world at 4150m (La Paz is about 3650m). Thus from El Alto, there are commanding views over La Paz, which provide an excellent photographic setting. Aside from shooting during the day, stay till night where the city lights light up the valley, and the scene is easily one of the best city night scene you can find. Moreover, with Illimani as a backdrop, it was almost picture perfect. To complete the "perfectness", wait till a full moon day. When the full moon rises behind Illimani, it is really quite a beautiful sight!!

So here's sharing a gallery of photos of the views from El Alto!

Illimani, watching over La Paz

The city expanded up the hill and mountainside

Shadows and Light in La Paz

Moonrise over Illimani - Beautiful!

City lights at night, with moon over Illimani - picture perfect!

Gokteik Viaduct, Myanmar

Northern Myanmar is one of the lesser visited parts of Myanmar, and I barely scratched the southern tip, but scratched I did, and one of the highlights was the journey through the Gokteik Viaduct.

The Gokteik Viaduct is a railway bridge/trestle about 100km north of Mandalay, and at the time of its completed construction (1901), the highest/biggest in the world. It is currently still Myanmar's biggest/highest at over 100m high and almost 700m long. Creaking slowly and loudly over this metallic wonder is the train plying between Mandalay and Lashio.

However, I didn't venture till Lashio (from where you could then go further north into China), but visited Hsipaw instead, which is a delightfully laidback Shan state town. The north-bound train from Mandalay starts at 4am, so I took the bus instead to Hsipaw (and enjoyed a couple of days there) and experienced the viaduct via the south-bound train, which was scheduled to roll into Hsipaw at 9am. Trains in Myanmar are notoriously slow and unpunctual, though, and mine arrived nonchalantly at 11am. It was also the bounciest and rockiest train ride I had in my life. The sway and bounce were of such magnitudes, it would probably register a 9 on the Richter scale.

And it would be another 4+ hours before reaching the Gokteik Viaduct. The stationmaster at Hsipaw station was certainly familiar with our tourists needs, and had assigned seats for tourists on the right side of the train for better viewing as we cross the viaduct (remember this is the southbound train). And there were no worries about missing the views - as the train nears the crossing, there would a certain bustle in the carriage as the train conductor, if not the locals, would arouse us into position. The train would rumble straight into a tunnel right into the mountain, and slowly emerge onto the metal monstrosity. Then, slowly and laboriously, with curioius heads all sticking out of the train windows, the train crawled across the bridge. The bridge looked solid enough, but the sprawling lush green gorge below does quicken your heart rate a notch or two. But savour the views and spectable, for after the crossing, it would be another 3-4 hours to the next stop of interest - Pyin Oo Lwin.

Train going into a tunnel through a mountain before crossing the Viaduct

The tunnel in the mountain!

Crossing the Gokteik Viaduct!

The Gokteik Viaduct

While the train eventually does get into Mandalay, it also makes a ridiculously long stop at Pyin Oo Lwin, a hill resort town that many would recommend a night or two. So the wise would often alight at Pyin Oo Lwin where there would be many pickups going to Mandalay. The difference would be reaching Mandalay at 7-8pm vs midnight if continuing on the train.

From Hsipaw to Pyin Oo Lwin, an ordinary class seat (a wooden bench) costs US$3 while a upper class seat (cushioned seat) costs US$6. The train looked as if it had not had any maintenance since it started operating, but this is easily forgotten once you get to the bridge (I hope!). If you want to experience only one train ride in Myanmar, this would be the best bet!

Local activity at one of the station stops

Apparently, the train is also the mail train and he is the mail man!!

The Southern Ridges

Singapore is well known as an urban city, with tall buildings and modern shopping malls. But visitors to Singapore can also look out for some nice green outdoor activities in nature as well - one which is The Southern Ridges.



These Ridges stretch through three parks, covering Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park, and Kent Ridge Park. You can take walks through many of its trails, cycle along its paths, or just relax in various sections of the park, eg. HortPark, a gardening paradise for horticulture enthusiasts. Besides HortPark, other attractions include Alexandra Arch and Henderson Waves, two bridges that links many of the walks from the various sections. These bridges are architecturally unique and in the evening, they're beautifully lighted to accentuate its form. The lights on Alexandra Arch actually changes colours through the night!



My favourite would be Henderson Waves though. It is Singapore's highest pedestrian bridge (36m) that connects Mount Faber Park to Telok Blangah Hill Park. It's structure is truly unique - constructed to follow the form of a mathematical function, its curves or "waves" is quite an achitecture wonder. The views atop the bridge is wonderful and it's no wonder that it's becoming a favourite outing for families and tourists alike.

National Parks Singapore provides more details, including maps and walking routes. Check out the Southern Ridges to see another side of Singapore!

Litang 理塘

Litang (理塘) is a county in the Sichuan province of China. It's town, of the same name, is known as one of the highest towns in the world. At 4014m, it is actually higher than Lhasa, but since it is not served by airport, getting into Litang is usually by bus or private transport, and you'll be less likely hit by altitude sickness.


Litang is the birthplace for several Dalai Lamas, and so, one of the things to do here is to visit the monasteries, the main one being Chang-qing-chun-ke'er. During our visit, the monks were having some sort of exam, and it was interesting to see that it was pretty much similar in many aspects to our exam taking scenes! Litang used to be part of the Tibetan Kham province, and the Khampa Tibetans still form the majority of the population here. In town itself, many of the residents are still in their traditional garb, and every evening, there would be Tibetan dances in one of the squares in the town!



Litang also hosts its annual horse racing festival in August. It is a well-known major event, and many travellers would come here to witness the festival. If you do intend to catch this, you'll have to plan ahead and book your accommodations in advance. Too bad I didn't catch this event, as it would provide fantastic photography opportunities! So, no photos of the festival here... Hopefully next time! :)