Oman – Gem of the Arabian Peninsula
Oman, the gem of the Arabian Peninsula, is full of surprises and contrasts. Its natural scenery includes endless windswept sand dunes whipped up by jagged mountain ranges that cut into the clear blue [MORE...]
Photo-Essays
These are mainly photos taken at a specific location or belonging to a specific theme, accompanied by a short text description.
Albania’s Riviera of the Ionian Sea
Albania has been Europe’s most intriguing enigma while it has been closed to outsiders for much of the 20th century. During this time, the country has been rumoured to have some of the most spectacular mountains, ancient ruins, historic fortress towns, turquoise Mediterranean coves, and long stretches of sandy [MORE...]
Boating Guilin to Yangshou, China
China’s Guangxi autonomous region is known for its landscapes, minority groups, and delicious cuisines. The area around the towns of Guilin and Yangshuo is famous for its peculiarly shaped peaks, the meandering Li River, small tranquil villages of ethnic minority groups, vast rice terraces, and most notably, the local aromatic Guangxi food. Guilin is packed with noteworthy sights including day and night cruises on the Li River, Elephant Trunk Hill, Diecai Hill, Pagoda Hill, Fubo Hill, “Tombs of the Prince” from the Jingjiang Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and several spectacular caves [MORE...]
Sacred Valley of Peru
Located in Peru’s Andean highlands, the sacred valley formed the heart of the Inca empire, along with the town of Cusco and the ancient city of Machu Picchu. The Sacred Valley of the Incas, also known as the Urubamba Valley and Valley of Yucay, is irrigated by the Urubamba River and stretches all the way from Pisac village to Ollantaytambo, a distance of about 60 kilometres (37 mi). The first known occupants of the Sacred Valley were the Chanapata civilization around 800 BC. They were followed by the Qotacalla civilization from 500 to 900 AD and the Killke civilization from 900 AD until [MORE...]
Petra – Jordan’s Ancient Rock City
“The ‘Rose City’ is a honeycomb of hand-hewn caves, temples, and tombs carved from blushing pink sandstone in the high desert of Jordan some 2,000 years ago” (National Geographic Magazine). [MORE...]
Argentina’s Patagonia Glaciers
Argentina’s southern Patagonia region is famous for its Los Glaciares National Park with several massive glaciers fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. Join us as we explore Perito Moreno Glacier and Upsala Glacier. [MORE...]
Japan’s tropical Okinawa Islands
Known in Japan as Okinawa Shotō, Okinawa consists of no less than two dozen islands scattered around the main island, referred to as Okinawa Honto. Located far south of Honshu, Japan’s main island, Okinawa together with the more southern Miyako and Yaeyama Islands form the Prefecture of Okinawa. Okinawa is part of a chain of Japanese islands that stretches north all the way from Kyushu, the third largest island of Japan, to Taiwan to the south. Known as the Ryukyu Islands, of which Okinawa is the largest and most populous, they were ruled by the independent Ryukyu Kingdom from the 15th [MORE...]
Hill Tribes of Sapa, Vietnam (Photo Essay)
Vietnam’s far north, close to the southeastern border of China’s Yunnan Province, is known as the “Land of the Big Skies”. Here, tranquillity prevails over the vast cascading rice terraces and rippled mountains covered in low-hanging fog.The region is home to many indigenous hill tribes, welcoming travellers who go on single or multi-day hikes from the town of Sapa. Sapa was first inhabited by highland minorities such as the Black and Flower Hmong, the Yao, and the Tay and Giay. Today these four minority groups share the region with the Red Dzao and the Zai people. Between treks, [MORE...]
Belarus: Castles, Churches, Singing Ladies (Photo Essay)
In this secretive state under dictatorial rule where the KGB continues to instil fear in its citizens, we found a country with gentle people and fascinating architecture. [MORE...]
Galapagos Islands (Photo Essay)
Islas Galápagos, named after the shells of saddlebacked Galápagos tortoises, is an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator, almost 1,000 kilometres west of continental Ecuador in South America.These islands are famed for their endemic species. Studied by Charles Darwin back in the 1830’s, they contributed to the inception of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwin, aged 26, reached the remote Galapagos Islands in September 1835 on board the HMS Beagle, a three-mast ship, from Devonport (Plymouth) in the United Kingdom. Having left the U.K. [MORE...]