Description:
Photoblog generally containing pictures of animals and Thailand
Contents:
Lar Gibbon at the Oakland Zoo
Panda Bear at the Chiang Mai Zoo, Thailand
Proboscis Monkey: Lok Kawi Wildlife Park in Borneo, Malaysia
Write text here…
Global Tiger Day: Tiger at Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi, Thailand
I took a quick look at TreeHugger today, one of the blogs I actually have time to read that doesn’t deal with technology (work), and found out that it was Global Tiger Day. I was, as always, saddened by the news that there are only about 3,500 tigers left in the wild right now (there are actually more in America!). Since poaching and habitat loss are two of the biggest risks to these wonderful animals, here’s hoping that people stop shooting them for their skins and for “traditional medicines”.
Buddha Statue at Wat Phanan Choeng in Ayutthaya, Thailand
The Bodhi Tree: Ayutthaya, Thailand
 This image of a Buddha in a tree, also known as the Bodhi Tree in Thailand, is perhaps one of the more iconic images you will find being sold at nearly any shop selling photos in Thailand. The Buddha is actually made out of sandstone & isn’t carved out of the tree as some suspect. If you travel to Ayutthaya one of these days, you should be sure to visit Wat Mahatat to get your own image so you don’t have to pay for one.
Ayutthaya is one of the old kingdoms of Thailand that was sacked by the Burmese. If you visit the main city of Ayutthaya, which is an easy trip of about 1.5-2 hours outside of Bangkok, you will notice that nearly all the Buddha statues in the area had their heads cut off by the invading Burmese forces (kind of odd because both countries were then Buddhist, if I’m not mistaken).
Asiatic Leopard at Safari Park in Kanchanaburi, Thailand
I took this picture of an Asiatic Leopard at the Safari Park in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. While tigers are probably my favorite animal of the big cat family, with a very close second going to the snow leopard, I’ve always admired the strength of leopards and the overall menace in their eyes (many people have commented on how piercing the eyes of a leopard are). Leopards are generally regarded as the strongest member of the big cat family on a pound-for-pound basis, which would make them the Manny Pacquiao of the big cat family, and I have no doubt that this animal would have no problems dispatching me to the netherworld even if I weigh considerably more than they do (leopards generally way about 100-150 pounds or so).
Petronas Twin Towers Panaromic View in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
A panoramic view of Wat Tham Suea in Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Golden Buddha at Wat Tham Suea in Kanchanaburi, Thailand
My wife and I recently made a trip to Kanchanaburi, Thailand because it is one of the few tourist areas we hadn’t been to yet in Thailand. While the initial draw to Kanchanaburi was visiting The Tiger Temple and the River Kwai, we were very surprised to find a lovely temple called Wat Tham Suea in the region as well. The temple had a very impressive Golden Buddha in the temple, and also appeared to have both Chinese (a pagoda) and Burmese influences in the design of the temple.
As an aside: While visiting the Tiger Temple was cool because of all of the tigers present there, I must admit to being a little bit disappointed because it seemed that there was more of a focus on rushing tourists through “Tiger Canyon” to take a photo (and yes, I do contribute to the problem by visiting there). I think I would have been a little happier if the animals were in a more “natural enclosure” and if some of the animals were entirely off-limits to visitors.
A Panoramic View of the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand
As I mentioned in an earlier post about the Bangkok sklyline photos, I’ve been playing around with the new Sony Nex-5 camera to test out the features at a variety of places (this image is from the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand). While I’m still not going to entirely move away from a regular DSLR just yet, I’m slowly becoming attached to the camera for the following reasons:
1. Extremely light.
2. The lenses for the camera are also very light.
3. The built-in features allow you to create things with HDR without having to use use special software.
4. The camera image quality, at least in my opinion, beats out the other Sony DSLR I have. The sensor also seems to be much better and faster.
When I spoke to the representative at Best Buy about the camera, I did mention I would be more inclined to switch entirely over if they had a range of telephoto lenses available for the Nex-5 (he advised me that they are in the works). While there is a adapter available for Sony DSLR lenses available for the camera, I think I would much rather prefer to have the lenses in a much lighter form than the other lenses.
Bangkok Skyline on Sukuhmvit: Panaromic View
Bangkok Skyline Long Exposure on Sukhumvit
I’ve been playing around with the Sony Nex-5 camera I just purchased. While I don’t think I’m ready to give up a regular DSLR just yet, I have been impressed with the abilities of the camera. My only gripe has to do with learning the menu via the wheel, which makes it a little more difficult to make quick changes to what you’re photographing. The camera does have some pretty nifty features, including HDR and a panoramic option.
Koh Libong in Trang, Thailand
Thailand children during Loy Krathong
Koh Tao and Koh Yang Nuan, Thailand
Koh Tao, Thailand
Koh Yang Nuan
Koh Tao and Koh Yang Nuan are islands were you can do some diving and snorkeling in the Gulf of Thailand. If you’re trying to get to these islands, your best option is to take a trip from the island of Koh Samui to get there. Koh Tao is one of the areas in Thailand where you can possibly see whale sharks (and regular ones!), and you will see lots of brightly colored tropical fish in the shallower snorkeling areas.
Given the recent announcement that the Thai government is considering restricting access to Koh Surin and The Similan Islands, it will be interesting to see if similar steps are taken to protect the coral for human development and other environmental pressures in other aquatic marine parks.
Orchid in Singapore: Singapore Botanic Gardens
Young Orangutan at Rasa Ria Nature Reserve (Borneo, Malaysia)
Elephant on the beach in Koh Samui, Thailand
My first trip to Thailand included trips to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Koh Samui. When I was staying at the Amari on Chaweng Beach, I looked out and saw the trainer taking this young elephant out for an afternoon dip at the beach (if you end up going to nearly any of the high-end resorts in Thailand, it is quite likely that the hotel will have a resident elephant to entertain the guests during certain times of the day).
One of the reasons elephants are so involved in the tourist trade in Thailand, for better or worse, is that logging activities in Thailand have been greatly diminished to help preserve the little rainforest that is left. As the elephants and trainers still need to eat and work, you will find numerous places where you can take the elephant out for a jungle trek (the best jungle trek I’ve done has been in Chiang Mai).
The sleepy Binturong
This picture of a Binturong, aka a bearcat, was taken at the San Diego Zoo some time ago. This is probably one of the stranger looking mammals I’ve seen, almost as strange as an echidna or platypus, because it kind of looks like a cat, a raccoon and a sloth at the same time. The animal hits a weight of around 25-30 pounds, which would put in right in the neighborhood of a small dog (probably why some people in
Home
|
|
