Mystic Misty Charm of Sapa

The touristy town of Sapa in northern Vietnam is a well-known and popular destination. With cheap travel costs, easy and convenient access via train, beautiful landscapes and interesting ethnic tribes, it's certainly formula for mass tourism.

But it was exactly it's popularity that had somewhat kept me from visiting Sapa for a time. Tales of incessant hassling from the ethnic minorities had put me off, and scamming of independent travelers are common. Nevertheless, I finally made a trip, and it turned out to be quite a pleasant experience, especially photography-wise!!

While the hassling by the local Hmong ladies are indeed a tad annoying, the charm of the place was hard to deny. I love a good landscape opportunity, and I was not disappointed. September was rice harvesting time in Sapa, and the fields are covered in glorious golden green. But surprisingly, what actually fascinated me was the mists!! I had 2 days of complete misty weather and it gave a different feel to the photos.

And the biggest surprise was when Sapa revealed glorious sunlight amidst the mysterious mists within a short window of time. It was exciting and truly spectacular. As shown in the timelapse below, towards the end of the video, the land was again shrouded in mists.

Thus the tip of the day is, whatever the forecast or outlook is, rise early to try to catch a glimpse of the sunrise. You never know when you would be treated to a show!!

Torres del Paine National Park

As posted in my last blog entry, Patagonia had been my dream destination for a long time. Having fulfilled this dream, I found that my favourite part was in Los Glaciares National Park. However, the manner in which I realized my dream was most memorable in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile instead.

I had attempted the 5-day 'W' trek in Torres del Paine National Park with a friend. It was our first multi-day trek on our own, carrying our own camping gear, and we had little training or preparation. So it came as no surprise that it was very challenging for us. Luckily, there were good information and logistics support in the access town of Puerto Natales.

We persevered and stuck to our goal, and the beautiful sceneries along the way pushed us and motivated us right till the end. And the sweetest moment was our final day and our final ascent to view the iconic Torres del Paine massif. It was a glorious morning, and the light was stupendous. Thus, the 'completion' of my dream was doubly memorable!

Again, words do little to describe the place and my feelings. But here's a series of photos that hopefully can show you a glimpse of the beautiful Torres del Paine National Park!

Enjoy!

Hiking along part of the 'W' trek

The amazing Glacier Grey, one of the highlights along the 'W' trek!

One of the buildings of the Refugios - accommodation options in the National Park. These Refugios also offer camping facilities

Torres del Paine National Park consists of many lakes, which are fed by glaciers within the park

Hikers taking a break and enjoying the views along the route to French Valley, a section of the park surrounded by rocky mountains and icy glaciers

Different parts of the trek offers different terrain and views, but all are stupendous!

My friend and trekking companion pushing towards the completion of our trek

Glorious alpenglow on the iconic Torres del Paine massif - the three Towers of Paine

 

El Chaltén - Los Glaciares National Park

Truly one of the most beautiful places I've been, and a dream destination come true for me, is Patagonia. Spanning both Argentina and Chile, the landscapes in the whole region are a photographer's heaven. Several National Parks are defined within each country, and the stunning Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina is a top favourite.

El Chaltén, a village within the park provides convenient access to the wonderful scenery. A very helpful visitor information centre/park ranger station provides excellent information for treks in the park, of which the favourites include 2 separate day treks to the Laguna Torre viewpoint and Laguna de los Tres viewpoint. Here, the famous beautiful peak of Mt Fitz Roy can be easily seen.

But words do little justice to the place, so here's a photo gallery to whet your appetite. But even then, I confess that my pictures also does not convey the feelings you'll get when you are there!

Nevertheless, enjoy!

The village of El Chaltén

Views from El Chaltén

Trekking in Los Glaciares National Park

Some treks go through beautiful ancient forests

Enjoying the views of Mt Fitz Roy and Laguna de los Tres

A lone hiker walking along the beautifu glacier lake Laguna de los Tres

Jagged mountains and snowy glaciers are just part of the landscapes

Alpenglow on Mt Fitz Roy!!

Alpenglow on the elusive Cerro Torre!!

Taquile island, Lake Titicaca

Taquile Island on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca is a gem of a destination. Lake Titicaca, a highland lake in the Andes, covers both Peru and Bolivia. There are several islands on the lake worth a visit, and Taquile is certainly one of them.

 

The islanders, known as Taquileños, have developed a community-based tourism model, offering services such as homestays, restaurants, guides etc. This protected them from losing their heritage and livelihood from mass-tourism from non-islanders. They are well-known for their handwoven textiles, and are supposedly of the highest quality in Peru. A designated shop in the "village square" of sorts sells the islander's textile products, ranging from mantas, to handicrafts to clothings. The islanders are friendly, and there are no hassling to buy stuff etc and almost all of them are still dressed in a semi traditional way. And it's so interesting seeing the men knitting away continuously while walking/talking/resting etc!

But what I like is that the children on the island do not swarm to you asking for money or anything. They go about their normal life, but children being children, they are still curious about tourists, and they would often glance in our direction for a glimpse of three Asian faces (I was with two other friends).

The island also has some Inca ruins, but unfortunately are situated at the top of the island, which stands at above 4000m! So climbing up may be a little breathless, but the views are great, and so coming up during sunrise/sunset would be awesome. Overnight stay would be recommended, and as most tourists seemed to be day-trippers, you would likely get the place mostly to yourself!

From Puno, ferries ply the various islands on the lake daily. Note that the journey from Puno to Taquile takes 3-4 hours. Once you land on the island, there will be locals offering homestays, and while the accommodation is pretty basic, the experience would be certainly memorable!

Tarabuco Sunday Market

Local markets are always an attraction for me in my travels, and in South America, the local Andean markets make wonderful photographic (and shopping) excursions since they're typically very lively and colourful.

Just 1-2 hrs away by bus from Sucre Bolivia, Tarabuco hosts such a market. Every Sunday, tourists and locals alike would converge into this small Bolivian town. Aside from the permanent shops in town, locals from nearby villages also arrive to set up stalls. The town is home to the Yampara culture, one of the ethnic groups around the region, and so designs belonging to the Yampara on textiles, handicrafts etc can be found aplenty in the market.

In fact, Yampara attire, and especially their headgear, are apparent everywhere, being worn and sold by the locals. While textiles, weavings and handicrafts dominate the market square, more mundane stuff can be found as you move further away from the square - food produce, safety pins, kettles etc, the daily livelihood of the community.

Besides getting photos of indigenous people in their traditional attire, the Sunday market is a great place to get your souvenirs as well! There is relatively little harassing on tourists, and if you're looking to get ponchos or similar textiles, the designs in the market are beautiful! And perhaps you may even get an authentic handwoven one from the village! 

Life in the Atacama Desert

The Atacama Desert is the driest desert on Earth, and so claimed many sources, including the National Geographic. And so, when I visited it, I was just expecting fantastic and memorable landscapes. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much more Nature provided.

The access town to the Atacama Desert in Chile is San Pedro de Atacama. From there, there are tons of agencies that provide various tours to see the sights around the region. There are also information both in town, and online, that caters to the independent traveler.

I took one of the day tours that visit the 'Altiplanicas' lagoons as well as a salt flat. And at the very first stop (Chaxas Lagoon), I got my first wildlife in the Atacama - pink flamingoes amidst a surreal lagoon. It was indeed a photographic heaven, as these beautiful creatures not only make wonderful subjects themselves, they also add additional interest to the already wonderful landscape and backdrop behind!

As I go further into the Atacama, I soon realized that the inhospitable looking landscape holds many more creatures. And as I mentioned earlier, they can certainly make your images stronger if you can manage to spot them and include them! Guanacos and vicunas are aplenty, and should be easy, but the eagles and the rodents that I manage to see, are alot more difficult to capture, let alone on a shared vehicle day tour! For those on a photographic quest should hire a private vehicle!

Or sometimes,  you could just get lucky, like me. We spotted a South American gray fox who stopped to pose for us! Wonderful indeed. But nevertheless, wildlife or not, the Atacama desert is certainly one of the highlights of Chile and South America even!

Supertrees, Gardens by the Bay

The landscapes of Singapore have been evolving so fast, with new buildings and landmarks appearing at breakneck speed. And so, when I came back from a year-long backpacking trip, I realized I have become essentially a tourist as well!

Now, just barely a month ago, Singapore unveiled yet another new icon and landmark - Gardens by the Bay. A 'superpark' comprising of 3 gardens covering over 100 hectares, it is giving Singapore a well-earned name of 'Garden City'. With 2 conservatories simulating different climates at other parts of the world, over a quarter million different plants can be found in the Gardens. It is indeed set to be one of the major attractions and icons of Singapore.

However, ironically, it is one of the man-made features in the Gardens that had become somewhat of a highight and icon for me (and many others). The Supertrees are huge tree-like structures that dominate large parts of the Gardens. These structures are modern wonders that supposedly provide various functions - from collection of rainwater to harnessing solar-power; from providing shade to providing lighting (shows). Indeed, when the skies darken, a music and lights show would provide the entertainment for the evening. And the beautifully lighted Supertrees does give a surreal ambience to the whole place! It also complemented the beautiful night scene around Marina Bay wonderfully. A worthy addition indeed!

So for those going to Gardens by the Bay, you may want to do so in the late afternoon and then finish off with a beautiful night view of the Gardens and Marina Bay!

And finally, a Happy 47th Birthday to Singapore!!!