Film Killers Taj Mahal and Sossusvlei

Have you ever been to a place that its beauty is more than a “wow” for the first sight? As soon as you see it, you drop your jaw and start to wow. Every single step, you wow again. And you move forward for one more stride. Still you find yourself wow again. You feel like a fool that can't utter something meaningful.

I have.

Years later, when I was reorganizing the slides I took in 1995, India trip, and in 1997, Africa trip. I still felt the pulsations I had at that time. These two astounding sites were Taj Mahal in India, and Sossusvlei in Namibia. I took approximately 50 photos for each of them.





Have you never been there, you would just think it was me being undisciplined. Who would take so many pictures of the same thing? However, the truth is, once you get there, you cannot help raising your camera and starting to shoot. It is wonderful. So you take one or two. Well, maybe more, because you are afraid that the ones you just take aren’t prefect enough. Then you walk forward. Now you begin to wonder if the sunlight is brighter than a second ago. So you think you'd better shoot more. And when you just finish some, you suspect that the sun shines in a different direction now, therefore you don't want to miss better shots. There you go! You come home with over 50 photos of it, only to find that none of them shows the sensation you have at the scene.

(Taj Mahal)


(Sossusvlei in Namibia)

As for Taj Mahal, its gorgeousness attracts your attention, no matter where in the city’s corner you are. Its elegance and sophistication, be it dawn or dusk, bright or dark, are just like highly generated magnet, constantly emitting its glory to catch your eyes. Back that time when people were still using traditional negative films. I asserted that film companies, such as Konica and Fuji, should have sponsored the preservation of these two places for they have been attracting thousands of billions of tourists and killing countless films, which has been of great help to their profit.

Now even afterwards I have traveled to a lot more countries, I still think there are not many places like them. Therefore, Taj Mahal and Sossusvlei are both highly recommended. As for the control of shooting photos, since now people have digital cameras, the cost of the negative films is not an issue any more.

City of Eternity--Varanasi

Ever since I arrived in Varanasi, I had started to get sick. Especially the headache was killing me.



Varanasi’s history could be dated back to thousands of years ago, so it deserves the name “City of Eternity”. It has long been a populated big city. Until now, while talking in the street, it is almost impossible not to bump into someone physically. It was hard for me to imagine which city would be more crowded than it. My friend Nick was so into Varanasi. He stood there and shouted loudly: “Look! This is true India. This is true East.” Not me. Thank you! I am Eastern and I grew up in a packed traditional market in Taiwan. I have been very sick of being in a crammed place. And not only that, here the local people tracked you down and followed you everywhere, which really pushed me to the edge. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown.


However, Varanasi had an undeniable attractive attribute of itself. The distinctive culture was built along the Ganges River. So if you want to see the true spirit of it, of course, the river was the must-visit.

Early morning, when it was still dark, we headed for the riverbank. To our surprise, we were not alone. People, old and young, men and women, also came out with their family and strolled down to the riverside. They had cups or mugs in their hands, some even with some kind of sticks, of which I was told were from a special tree and were used as their toothbrushes. Some people carried bottles or jars in order to take the divine water home, and some brought flowers for their rituals. And we were the very small part of this huge human stream flowing into the riverbank.

We hired a boat, sculling from the middle of the river, so we could see the waterside. Local people with colorful dresses were doing all kinds of activities you could think of. Some were bathing and chatting; others were brushing their teeth and taking care of their kids at the same time; and still the others were practicing a prayer, with drinking the celestial water as their endings. I looked at this brown holy water. Tree branches were floating, and the scullers were spitting into the river once every three seconds. More than that, there were two dead bodies drifting in front of everybody but it seemed no one cared. I thought about sputum and germs and bacteria and viruses; yet, they saw eternity in their eyes.

I dropped my jaw and stared at those devout people from all the castes. In a place that was so close to Gods like this, everyone appeared to be so humble. And the caste system seemed to be out of reach here. I was so touched by the sincerity and devotion of every single face's. Imagine myself to travel through the time and being in the same place two thousand years ago, it must have been the same picture. And in two thousand years from now, will it be still the same sight? No wonder hundreds of millions of people have been obsessed by this exotic country and coming here to seek for the mysterious eastern dreamland. Even for me as an Eastern, I could not help submitting myself to the enchanting sunrise in Varanasi and falling into the ancient sweet charm. Just like what I read in a book, like it or not, once you have been in India, you will never forget it. For it is a place that makes you remember your every day.

1997 While Hong Kong Was Being Handed Over

Recently the press has been raising the issue of the 10th Anniversary of Hong Kong Hanover here in Taiwan. And I suddenly realized that it was 10 years ago that I was in Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia, witnessing this important historic moment.

Alas! The older you get, the faster time seems to pass by. While I was little, a day seemed a year. Young children enjoyed holidays and festivals. I always felt it took forever for the next festival to come. And then when I got older, a day passed by and the next. Later, time passed one week after another. Now for me, it is one month after another. Well, one year is over following its previous. Yeah? Hong Kong was handed over to China in 1997. What? That was 10 years ago?

OK. Enough. You don't want to listen to a middle-aged woman complaining about the lose of her youth. Now I am going to tell you about that day, July 1 of 1997, when I was at a guest house in Windhoeak, Namibia.

Namibia, previous a colony of South Africa, gained its independency in 1990. It was once controlled by Germany so that most travelers we met on the road were German. Here German was also its official language, along with English and Afrikaans. We ran into a lot of elderly people taking long trips, mostly German, too.

Of course, they were not alone. You could see young active travelers everywhere. There was this crazy German guy driving his 500c.c. vehicle, running around all over this beautiful country.

So, the guests in the house we were staying were European, mostly from Germany. Here there was a kitchen for us to buy and cook our own food. The leftover could be stored in the fridge but required the owner’s name on it. Every night after dinner, guests in the living room would go through channels to see what was on on TV. Nothing could really please EVERYBODY. Therefore, we decided to watch the video tapes that were neatly put beside the TV set. Approximately 30 different videos. All about African wildlife. Very professionally shot, exactly like nowadays the ones you can see on Animal Planet channel. (Basically travelers who would choose Africa as their destinations are very interested in wildlife.)

Nick and I now became their consultants. These Europeans had no idea about what was going on in the other side of world, Asia. Thus questions started to be thrown out. For example, why suddenly Hong Kong is now being handed over to China? And the historical background, etc..

As for Taiwan, it was Liang-zhang or who that was interviewed live. Therefore people asked, “ Now who is this guy?” and “Why does this have something to do with Taiwan?”

Alas! Nick was the one who did all the talking. (Having lived in Taiwan for eight years, he always thought he understood my country than I do.) Anyway, I listened carefully. While there was something I needed to add or I disagreed, I interrupted him and made some comments. (I was quite sure people wanted to ask me, not him.)

It was a precious lesson. For we were in a very young country Namibia, which was only 7 years old by then and with a group of Europeans, we witnessed the important moment together. Of course, I seized the opportunity and introduced my lovely and opulent country—free democratic Taiwan. Acer, Giant, these international brands made people all hear the name of Taiwan. As for China, that was another country that was far different from our culture. And it actually was a big bully that did not need me to say anything and no one liked it.

I remembered that I joked around saying Hong Kong Handover as Hong Kong HANGOVER. Now Hong Kong did have a terrible hangover since its freedom of speech was doomed to be cut down. Who would be happy to be taken away these basic human rights, especially when you already knew how wonderful it was to be able to say what you wanted to say?

July 1st, 1997. Hong Kong was being handed over to China. And I was far away from home, in Namibia, southern Africa, viewing this significant instant with a group of young European who really cared about the world. On top of that, I was young, as well.

Traffic in Asia's Big Cities

I met this retired Swedish lady on the bus from the Stockholm airport to Stockholm Central. The bus ride was about one hour and twenty minutes. It was surprising that she knew Taiwan.

She asked carefully, “Is there some kind of problem between you Taiwan and China?” I wanted to avoid unpleasant topics and talk about something fun, so I changed the subject to her tourist trip to China.

"Oh, what scared me the most was the traffic there. When I was in Bejing, I didn't even know how to cross the road," she said.

How come that doesn't surprise me? The traffic in most of the Asian cities are chaotic like that. Traffic in Taipei, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur, it is all the same, classically frantic. You know how my foreigner friends in Taiwan put it? One of them put it this way, "Whenever I try to cross the road, people try to run me over."I told her the story and assured her that she was not alone. She burst into laugh, saying that it is so to the point. I have been telling this joke to people I met in Canada or travelers I met on the road, and so far haven't met anyone who doesn't like it.

The thurth is, I also drive. Here I have a confession to make. Every time when I am behind the steering wheel, I lose my patience just like others. This is embarrassing. But I have to say, there is some kind of chemical that makes drivers crazy. I remember that when I just started to drive, I was too polite. I always gave ways to others. But then I realized I would never go anywhere if I was not aggressive enough.

Now her complaints turned into an understanding to cultural differences after me joking around. Isn't that the reason why we need to travel around and talk to people from different cultures?

Villagers in Aus, Namibia

Aus, a small place in Namibia. There were less than 50 people in the village. But it had an unsmall location mark on Namibia's map, which deserved some place as big as Dan-shie on Taiwan's map.

Unable to get to our destination named Luderitz, so we might as well to stay in the little village for one night. There was still several hours of sunlight. After finding a lodge to stay, we went out to take a wander. Surprisingly I realized that there was a family living in the first house. Well, I didn't know if we could call it a house. There were just walls, no roof, which made me think it was deserted. The kids and the dog were running around happily. But seeing us approaching, the dog stopped playing and started to bark at us, just like any other dog which was very determined to protect his host family. The whole family members all walked out. Nick smiled and explained that we had no bad intention, we were from Taiwan, he is American and I am Taiwanese, and we wanted to take some pictures of them. We would send them the pictures after developing them.



As we could see they didn't speak English at all. But after using body languages to communicate, eventually they understood us. As soon as we raised our cameras, the vicious dog put away his mean attitude and started to posture. It seemed that he didn't want to look bad in the pictures. Funny, wasn't it? I looked at the family and it reminded me of a Chinese idiom “Jia-tu-si-bi”, which means the family is so poor that the only thing they have is four pieces of walls. As I looked over, there was only a bedquilt, not even a bed. Their smiles made me feel sad. This might be their only chance to take pictures in their lives.

Visiting Hawaii Again

The reason I went to Hawaii for the second time was mostly for visiting my friend Hannah. I had only ten days for vacation. It was not enough time for real travel, anyway. So I decided to go to Hawaii for five days and other five for Fit Resort Club in the Fuji Mountain to enjoy being rich.

Oh, annoying Hawaii. The weather was always so perfect. Hannah said that it was so ideal that it made her bored. “Oh, come on. What are you talking about? Do you know how many people are saving money for this paradise?” I laughed.

Yes. A paradise like this should fit all the criteria: white sandy beaches, blue clear skies, and forever bright sunshine, but with some breezes blowing and floating in the air. Cool and comfortable!

More important than that, there was a rainbow hanging up in the sky all the time. Or two, or three……

Although I was going there to visit my friend, I only stayed in her place for two nights. I booked three other nights in a hotel. And the view was quite nice. At the swimming pool of the hotel, I met an elder American lady and heard a touching story. And the narrative has been sitting in my computer for years and hasn't been published. I guess I just haven't figured out how I could put the words together to present the true love behind it.

Since being in such a special spot, of course I had to go to the Pearl Harbor again, and once more, mourned for the soldiers who were buried in the sea with their mother ship.

I also bought what most tourists would buy, the souvenir newspapers of the next day Pearl Harbor was attacked. (Please forgive my amateurism. I only have one inexpensive scanner that can only take the size not more than A 4. Here goes the whole headline: War! Oahu Bombed by Japanese Planes.)

Well, Hawaii was not famous for its sorrow. Let’s change the mood. Waikiki was really……

Alas, crowded and packed. Forget it!

Good thing Hannah rented snorkeling equipment for me. So this trip finally was pretty rewarding. The first time I went to Hawaii was with my roommates from university, so basically all the attractions I visited this time was nothing new but the snorkeling part. As for snorkeling, it was the highlight of the whole trip. Too bad I did not bring my camera because I had to get down to the ocean and had no idea about something called blog back then. So the wonderful memories were all in my mind. Besides, the undersea world was so breathtaking and spectacular that there was nothing my camera could have done, anyway.

The five days in Hawaii was relaxing and fun. I went there and here and waited for Hannah to finish her work so that I would tell her what I had done that day. Then, I flew to Tokyo, Japan to be one of the rich people. And of course, that was another story.

Affectionate Calls From Mexico

In Taiwan, from time to time you see tempting travel commercials: clear oceans, white beaches, hearty seafood, and bright sunshine (Here I have to say, though, this is the least selling point to Taiwanese. We in Taiwan have unbearable heat already. ), and then wow, Australia is beckoning.

In Canada, when it had been snowing for ages, you were watching TV, an entertainment that you didn't really have much choice, and suddenly wow, clear oceans, white beaches, hearty seafood, and bright sunshine(Now this is all too exciting.), and then here came the exotic happy music. You heard Spanish pronouncing Me-hi-go(Mexico). "Wow! I want to go! I want to go!" You heard your heart yelling.

And on top of that, you found going to this romantic country was going to cost much less than going to Vancouver, the other side of the same country. So why wait?

Mexico City, accommodating approximately 19.4 million people by the year 2005, is the third biggest city in the world, following Tokyo and Soul. As you can imagine, the population in mere Mexico City is close to the population in the whole Taiwan.

Zocalo is a massive constitution square with a lot going on here. A lot of the buildings were constructed by Spanish people. So while walking in the streets, you can't help keeping taking photos.

I was very lucky to meet Sylviane, who was actually from France but has lived in London for years. Her Spanish was fantastic. We were roommates for three days.

The day we went to take the metro, she asked me how much Spanish I could speak. I proudly said, “Gracias.” And she waited. I kept smiling. So she asked, “Then?” This time I diffidently answered, “That’s it.” She almost fainted, wondering why I dared to come to Mexico with only one Spanish word.

Therefore she decided to teach me some more Spanish words since we were waiting for the metro. She said “uno” is the Spanish word for one, and dos is two. I mimicked and repeated. Then the metro came. After we got on the train and found ourselves seats, she asked if I still remembered what she had taught. I said out very loudly, “uno, dos.” She seemed satisfied so she continued, “And the number three in Spanish is ….” I interrupted, “That's enough for today.” And it made her laugh. She considered me humorous. However, I really meant it. Just trying to learn those two words made me soaked. (Or it was because of the packed train? )

Thanked her so I got to know that there was an annual celebration at the Basilica de Guadalupe (Church or Our Lady) on December 12. And hence I saw the vital traditional Mexican dances and listened to the vigorous typical Mexican music.

Mexico. Affectionate and romantic country!!!

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_areas_by_population

In Love With Guanajuato

Among all the cities in Mexico, the beauty of colonial Guanajuato is disputable.

It would have been nice to have a cup of coffee at one of the outdoors cafes if it was sunny. However, the day I took the photo, it was quite overcast. After I walked around for a while, it started to get populated, and vendors also came out.

I wandered down the streets and alleys. The charms of the town kept showing and shining at every single turn of the next corner.

Without anticipation, I came to a splendid building and realized that around the corner was the most famous plaza in town.

It was Teatro Juarez. I looked at it, checked out this side and then went back to the other. Wow! Astonishing! I strolled back to the corner and found a bootblack booth under a tree, with local people gathering and chatting.

Enjoying the peace of the relaxing noon, I looked at them. Now the sun showed its face. I smelled the warmth and listened to their Spanish conversation, which I did not understand, not even a word. But I could sense their happiness. The tranquil exotic afternoon soothed me and gave me serenity. I would not mind staying in here for one year if I could. Actually, the guest house I was staying provided several language courses that seemed all nice and the tuitions were quite reasonable. It was just that I had only one month from my winter vacation and I wanted to see the country as much as I could.

The aroma of Guanajuato , the cheerfulness of its townspeople, the characteristics of the buildings, and the music in the air all made me unwilling to leave. I have always wanted to go back since the day I left.

Shopping Malls vs. Traditional Markets & Bazaars

The shopping malls in Singapore are as clean and bright as the ones I see in Canada. Nice environment. Polite attendants. Somehow something is missing.

I find that after the photos are developed, I have a hard time distinguishing which shopping mall is at which metro station. Just like I can never remember which shopping mall my friends and I went together last time. They have the same stores such as Fair Weather, Chapter, etc.. So after living in Ottawa for a while, I got really bored with them. I don't think there is any difference among those beautiful and orderly stores.
When visiting Europe, the outdoors shopping areas are also dazzling. Plus the architectures all over are so amazing. Somehow, I prefer traditional markets. Here you can see the local vitality and features, just like this one in Barcelona, Spain.

In the market, there is a cafe with Gaudi's touch. It is fascinating. Who wouldn't rememer this is in Spain?

And if you are longing for hustling and bustling, or yelling and haggling, this definitely is THE place. Guarantee exhilarating.

This is the Central Market of Budapest. They have gotten everything here.



Don't think markets are just markets. As you can see, they have made a great effort to make it a splandid one.
And some bazaars for some special holidays or events. If you are lucky enough, you'll fall into medieval Europe and see something like this. (Photographed in Toledo, Spain)

While traveling, those wonderful memories do not totally come from those tourist attractions of world class, such as the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty. My favorites are actually these markets and bazaars, for they are much closer to our daily life. On top of that, they keep me thinking back again and again. And I could still smell the joy in the air.

New York Adventure

The reason why I decided to visit my friend Hannah in New York was because the flight from Ottawa to New York was only one hour. And I was moving back to Taiwan in April. So if I hadn't gone there, it would have been even much more efforts for me to go from Asia. On top of that, Hannah offered me free accommodation, so I would have made a huge mistake if I had just passed it.

Being an experienced traveler, I didn't need too much of their attention. So every day the couple just went to work, and I had my own schedule for the city adventure. And the first stop? Times Square, of course.

Wow! The moment I came out of the underground, dazzling neons and TV walls jumped in front of me. How striking!!! Even though I had seen so much New York on TV in sitcoms or movies therefore I knew how it was supposed to be like, it was still astounding while I was standing there in person. Despite that I had been to about twenty different countries, at this point all I could say was “wow, wow, wow” to praise and congratulate the beauty of tech. I was just like an ordinary rube walking into a huge city. My mouth was so widely open so I didn't get any chance to meet attractive guys.

Anyway, I wanted to find brochures of any kind to see what I could do in this city. However, there were about one hundred policemen on duty in the street all over, giving a serious atmosphere here. (It was April of 2003.) I walked over, admiring their looks of being professional and skilled, which gave us an impression that they are capable of catching any bad buys. (Sorry about saying this. I mean, they now looked seriously skillful than some other time or their kinds in some other countries.) And I cleared my throat and asked, “Excuse me. I am a tourist here. Is there a tourism office near by?”

The police seemed to be carrying out some kind of red alarming work. Although the two policemen I asked looked serious, they were actually quite funny. They teased, “You are a terrorist? And you are looking for a terrorism office in thei neighbourhood?”

Haha. Very funny!! I laughed and answered, “Do I look like a terrorist? I don't think I am capable of doing anything close.”

So, basically I have had a great memory due to these New York police. Since I had a cheerful beginning, I bought the city pass and did what tourists should do:

Went through the scrupulous security and board the observatory of Empire State Building……..

and overlooked the New York City


















Visited Guggenheim Museum

Had a great time in Metropolitan Museum.

Oh, and see the splendid Grand Central Station. (Just as later on Marty the zebra in the movie Madagascar said, it's grand, and it's central. That made me laugh.)














And I paid a visit to the headquarter of the United Nations. Here's the outside.


Anyways. Even little corners of the city were so distinctive that I could smell the artistic spirit everywhere. Usually I don't like big cities. But I did enjoy New York a lot!

Then I realized that I was making myself too happy too early. As if I hadn't had enough in Ottawa, an alarm of a huge blizzard was broadcast. The weather report said that it was the biggest for the past seven years.


You must be kidding me! What blizzard? The car outside Hannah's house was just like this. Come on! It wasn't that bad!

So basically the last two days, I was watching outside the window and listening to the news telling us that the John F. Kennedy International Airport was closed due to the storm. I disagreed. It would be just a normal day in Ottawa. I couldn't see why they have to close the airport.

Luckily my flight was in the afternoon, and that morning the airport reopened again. I went back to Ottawa, full of wonderful memories. Thinking about experiencing the biggest blizzard in the past seven years, I thought it was cool. So I was showing off in front of my dear classmates. Somehow, I seemed to have chosen wrong people. My Canadian classmates and professors did not take it. They sniffed, “Oh, come on. It would have been just a normal snowy day in Ottawa. Don't be such a wuss!”

Me: ...............................
...............................

Alas!