Out of Norm Travels

As I wrote this, I had already finished my last bits of  Skyr, Iceland's famous low fat yogurt  and with that last bit, all my lovely memories from a land I had visited in early February 2016 started flooding back.  This land is located some 12,680 km/7,878 miles away from home and took me some 16+ hours over 2 airlines before I finally landed on  Keflavik   International Airport ,  Iceland's international airport located in   Reykjavik, which is also Iceland’s capital. Reaching Iceland has been nothing short of a dream with my travel into extreme cold where "normal" means 0 degrees or less. For me, Iceland is a country of contrasts where Fire meets Ice, Water claps hands with the Earth, Skies says hello to the Earth and the Land where Giants, Trolls and Elves used to roam.  Our travels across this vast land first brought us towards  Kirkjufell  (West Iceland) on the nor...

I had just made an unforgettable trip which took some 8 hours and 1,109 miles (1,784km) for me to reach Palu in Indonesia from Singapore to witness my first Solar Eclipse. Palu is to be the most optimal place to see the total Solar eclipse in 2016 which is only visible along a narrow strip on Earth. This natural phenomenon is rare as totality only happens when the Moon is close enough to Earth to completely cover the Sun when there is a New Moon. The word 'eclipse' comes from a Greek word meaning abandonment which literally is seen as the sun abandoning the earth. In Chinese, this is called 天狗食日 which speaks of a dragon or demon who is devouring the sun. Ancient Chinese would produce great noise and commotion by banging on drums and pots to frighten away the dragon during an eclipse. When I did the set up and test shots, I got slightly worried when I saw a patch of clouds across the Sun (as you can see in the photo below) - this is because cloud cover can easily ruin th...

Ayutthaya, Thailand  (อยุธยา), full name Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (พระนครศรีอยุธยา), is an ancient capital in the Central Thailand, some 85 km north of Bangkok. One of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and historic second capital of Siam after Sukhothai for some 400+ years, it was founded around 1350. Ayutthaya is an island at the confluence of three rivers: the Chao Phraya River, the Lopburi River and the Pa Sak River.In its heyday, The Royal Court of Ayutthaya exchanged ambassadors far and wide, including with the French Court at Versailles and the Mughal Court in Delhi, as well as with imperial courts of Japan and China. Based on UNESCO information, The Historic City of Ayutthaya was chosen as it bore excellent witness to the period of development of a true national Thai art. Here are some of the picturesque temples you can see when you are here:  till the next time, onto the world and beyond!

List of trips taken over the years  2020: 1. Nepal - Kathmandu, Pokhara  http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2020/03/out-of-norm-travels-2020-yoga-retreat.html 2019: 1. Feb  Italy  Venice - Carnival with Ugo Cei and Robin Yong  http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2019/03/out-of-norm-travels-2019-venice.html 2. Feb Italy Florence and Cinque Terre  3. March Indonesia Batam Nikon School Singapore Photo Fiesta 4. April Malaysia Penang  http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2019/04/out-of-norm-travels-2019-penang-food.html 5. May Australia Astrophotography 6. August - Japan Lake Biwa & Okinawa  http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2019/11/out-of-norm-travels-adventures-in-japan_21.html 7. Nov - Japan - Karatsu & Saga http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2019/11/out-of-norm-travels-adventures-in-japan_97.html & http://outofnormtravels-magty.blogspot.com/2019/11/out-of-norm-travels-adventures-in-j...

My photo-adventure tour for 2015 was to this seriously exotic location which is synonymous with Genghis Khan . The Inner Mongolia  (Chinese:  内蒙古 ; pinyin:  Nèi Měnggǔ ), officially  Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region  or  Nei Mongol Autonomous Region , is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Located in the north of the country, it contains most of China's border with Mongolia with a small section of the border with Russia, its capital is Hohhot, with Baotou, Chifeng, and Ordos as its other major cities.  (above info extracted from Wikipedia) Map from  http://www.chinahighlights.com/inner-mongolia/map.htm With almost one-third of China's grasslands stretching some 1,490 miles (2,400 km) across northern China, it has the bucket of r olling hills as far as the eye can see. L arge areas of rich grassland provides pasture for sheep,  goats, cattle, and the famous Mon...

Here's my Out of Norm Travels programme in Thailand titled 'Trio of Market Visits in 1 day and 1 night' which includes 1 Railway Market and 2 Floating Markets namely, Maeklong Railway Market, Damonseduk Floating Market and Amphawa Floating Market. Locally known as the Umbrella Market , the Maeklong or Mae Klong Railway market is a fresh produce market that lies along the last part of the railway that runs for nearly 67 kilometres between Bangkok, and Samut Songkhram in central Thailand. What distinguishes this market from the other markets in Thailand is that not only it is authentic i.e. it is patronised by local Thais who live around the area who come here to get anything from vegetables to fish to fruits, it is also visited by tourists who come from all over the world (most notably by Anthony Boudain). What's so special about this place is that the stalls are all located along the railway tracks and when the train siren sounds, the stall holders proceed to close...

Laghu Samrat Yantra, the Small Equatorial Sundial, Jaipur Observatory (Jantar Mantar), Jaipur Rajasthan, India (all rights reserved) The  Jantar Mantar  monument of  Jaipur, Rajasthan  is a collection of nineteen architectural astronomical instruments, built by the Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh, in the early 18th century.  Combining religion, science and art, the Jantar Mantar is the name given to a series of five, magnificent structures built in Jaipur, New Delhi, Ujjan, Varanasi and Mathura. It features the world's largest stone sundial and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Designed for the observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye, they embody several architectural and instrumental innovations.  I must confess that I did not really appreciate the importance of the visit to this location but upon my return and having gone through my photos, I now understand that this is the MOST significant, comprehensive, and best preserved of India's ...

Here's a combined trip involving 3 farms in 1 day outside of Bangkok that I recently tried out and enjoyed my day out in the countryside: Farm, The Jim Thompson Farm ( http://www.jimthompsonfarm.com/ ) This farm has been in our 'to-do' list for some 2 years as it is only open for a limited time each year. This year, it is only open till 10 Jan 2016 and based on the theme of rice merit making (Mang Moon Boon Khao). Once inside, I was greeted by fields of cosmos blooms as far as the eye can see. A hop onto the bus ride brought me close to the Pumpkin Patch attraction which is surrounded by the  Phayaprab hills  that is filled with Giant pumpkins. An Isan village showcases Isan architectural styles at Jim Thompson Farm including a Korat- styled house that is honored with an Architectural conservation award by the Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage.  The ambiance of this place is enhanced with sounds of Molam, a genre of music quintes...