Out of Norm Travels

For 2019 , my Japan adventures kickstarted with Fireworks at  Lake Biwa and Osaka in August (here is the blog entry for my Fireworks trip Osaka trip) and recently in November to Saga (mainly  for the Saga International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta - blog entry here).  This entry is for an unexpected detour to  Karatsu , an hour away from for their Karatsu Festival .  Karatsu (唐津) is where this festival is held and is a coastal city in Saga Prefecture on Kyushu, about 50 kilometers west of Fukuoka. In the past, Karatsu was a major stop for ships making the journey towards Korea and China because it is one of the closest Japanese cities to the Korean Peninsula. Today the city is known for its castle, the annual Karatsu Kunchi festival held in November 2 to 4 every year.  During Karatsu Kunichi, floats are paraded in the order of completion with the oldest being the Red Lion Aka-jishi (made in 1819) and youngest float called 7 Jewel (Shichiho-maru) made in 1876...

I did a short roam over to Saga Japan earlier in November 2019 to witness the famous Saga International Balloon Fiesta, Asia's largest hot-air balloon festival. The 2019 Balloon Fiesta itself ran from October 30th (Wed) to November 5th (Tue) 2019. After landing in Fukuoka on Nov 1, it was an easy 1 hour bus connection direct from Fukuoka airport after purchasing the ticket machine from the ticketing machine. The bus comes at dedicated timing stated on the bus board.  Over the 6 days, SIBF combines three "tournaments" with grand fireworks and light shows put on by the hot-air balloons. The main launch site usually starts sending the hot-air balloons up for the competitions at around 7am. Weather is always a factor as the balloons cannot be put up during bad weather or strong winds. In fact, the afternoon competition flight on Nov 1 was cancelled due to strong winds. For 2019, there were 123 pilots from all over the world, 17 countries including Japan and a t...

I attended the Venice Carnival for a 2nd time in February 2019. Last year's shoot was a blur but I gathered that since I am more experienced last year, this year would be a breeze but I was pleasantly mistaken. I have seen and heard things this year that I totally missed out in last year's visit and have come to appreciate the people who make the Venice Carnival ( Carnevale di Venezia) possible...the Models!  As I don't know if I will make a third visit back to Venice for the Carnival, I thought it is best for me to give my heartfelt thanks to ALL the Models (masked or otherwise) who make Venetian Carnival one of the most special events in my heart! Here's a snapshot of my learning points from models who take part in the Venetian Carnival. Many of the models do not get much appreciation or receive limited feedback from photographers. I was shocked to learn that most do not at least get photos in return. I too was guilty of that when I came last year ...

Part 2 of the Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival:   Throughout the evening of the day before the actual parade, the floats from all over the district make their way down to the main grouping area - driven by tractors/ trucks giving both locals and tourists many chances to take photos with the floats throughout the night. The main grouping area was arranged along some 4-5 streets  of Ubon Ratchathani with  many many floats lining the streets - I have never seen so many floats up close and personal.  The floats came in many shapes and sizes and can be done using the traditional or block work ways. There were also a few intricately decorated smaller floats gently made out of  palm and banana leaves  hammered into places to form  intricate  3d designs in the shapes of  Nagas  (aka  Deity ) and the Lord  Buddha . 1 massive float stood out from the rest as it was made out of aromatic fragrant soaps. As part of the festivi...

One of the most important festivals in the Thai   Calendar and celebrated in a big way at the northern region of   Ubon Ratchathani .  Accessible via air, it took just about 1 hour for me to get away from the Bangkok city set-up to an unforgettable experience of a traditional festival in the thick of things.  I went down to Ubon a day earlier so that I could spend some time to go around town and head to the temples to see the work in progress before seeing all the candles / floats in all their glory. This is my account of Day 1 (day before the Festival).... Imagine you have spent 8 years in apprenticeship and having the honor of creating a 2m-sometimes 4m tall candle sculpture for one of the biggest candle parade of the Buddhist country. This festival celebrates the start of  Buddhist Lent  where the  monks  will mediate for 30 days in the mountains and only to descend from the mountain top at the end of Buddhist lent.  Fro...

A long standing travel wish was fulfilled in November 2012 when I attended Thailand's International Balloon Festival at Chiang Mai , in northern Thailand. I was fortunate enough to be there for the morning flights and evening programmes for 2 out of the 3 days of the Festival as the 3rd day of the festival forced to be cancelled due to a huge thunderstorm. It was a festival like no other that I have attended elsewhere - it was filled with lovely big balloons and a marvelous carnival-like atmosphere in the evenings complete with music and delicious food for picnic on the grounds of one of the oldest golf courses in Thailand. One cannot feel but happiness and joy when seeing the hot air balloons take off into the big blue skies. Truly a beautiful sight!  I managed to get up close with the balloon when it was being filled and it was HOT, HOT, HOT!  I have made a pledge to come down for the 2013 festival as for me, this is the Life that is worth livin...