Sunday 30 October 2016

Singapore Stopover


Stopovers are usually pretty annoying, if you have enough time to leave the airport and do some sightseeing then it can be quite fun.



Having 8h to spend in Singapore till the next flight to Da Nang meant there was enough time for some sightseeing.



Singapore is not my favorite place, it's expensive and lacks character but it's ok for a short stay and even better for just a stopover.



This being Sunday the city felt pretty empty and most places were closed but at least Chinatown is always open and bustling, it also offers some cheap places to eat.


Saturday 29 October 2016

Trip to Pantai Nglambor

 Having more time today, I decided to head to Nglambor beach for some snorkeling.



Not content with the fast route, I decided to take the scenic route. Many people go to Vietnam and Laos for motorbike trips but Indonesia has some amazing roads and scenery and is probably better than Laos for a motorbike trip.




After some detours on the scenic route, it got a bit late by the time I finally made it to Nglambor beach but there was enough time for some quick swimming and snorkeling.



The Olympus TG-4 is great to have along to take both photos from my motorbike journeys but also for the occasions when it's either pouring or when I am at a beach.

My underwater photos are not that amazing yet but I need more practice since it's not the same as doing street or landscape photography.


Friday 28 October 2016

Trip to Ketep Pass


NO trip to Indonesia would be complete without seeing a volcano and given how many there are you never have to go to far to see one.



Mount Merapi is the closest volcano to Jogja and a short drive will get you either to the mountain itself where you can hike to the top or you can go to Ketep Pass, where you get a great view of Mont Merapi.



Since I didn't fancy hiking, I decided to drive to the Ketep Pass instead. The views along the way were great but unfortunately rain spoiled a bit the view once I got to the pass.



Lucky the rain stopped and the clouds cleared a bit to give me still a nice and atmospheric view of the surrounding landscape.



I can definitely recommend a drive to Ketep Pass, especially on a nice day you'll get some amazing views from there and the drive itself is not too bad either.


Thursday 27 October 2016

Around Jogja


Jogja is a cool place, in a lot of ways it is very similar to Hue. It is a nice place and I always enjoyed coming here.


The city itself is nice and has enough entertainment but also lots of good places to eat.


What is even better though is to get out of the city and enjoy the countryside with lots of great roads to drive.


In the city, there are some nice places to see, too. Malioboro Road is nice but driving around Kraton with it's narrow roads and around the squares is also a good way to spend the evening.


Sunday 23 October 2016

Jump

X Play, f2.0, 1/741, ISO 50, JPG
Who says you can't take action shots with a phone? While a phone is most often not ideal, it worked well in this case.

Friday 21 October 2016

The Road

GR, f6.3, 1/125, ISO 400, RAW
Another photo in my attempt to change up the perspective of my motorbike photos.

Thursday 20 October 2016

Night Drive

GR, f2.8, 1/125, ISO 25600, RAW
I think this photo illustrates it well why I need new headlights. Never used to drive much at night and even tried to avoid it but now I don't actually mind it. Would still be good to have some better visibility though.

Sunday 16 October 2016

Objects in the Rear View Mirror

TG-4, f11, 1/320, ISO 200, RAW, 43mm

Taking photos while travelling by motorbike is great fun but I'm always looking for new ides to change it up a bit and not always show the same perspective.

Saturday 15 October 2016

To Hue and Back Again in the Rain

TG-4, f8.0, 1/250, ISO 200, RAW, 25mm

It's the rainy season and there are more storms and flooding around Vietnam. Going between Hue and Da Nang regularly means I get caught in the rain quite often so I should probably invest in a better rain coat.

Some storm clouds make for nice photos during the day but driving at night during heavy rain and winds is not as enjoyable.

While I don't like raindrops on the lens, there is no way to prevent them in a rain storm. It also shows well the visibility (or lack thereof) during heavy rain as I didn't see much better.

TG-4, f2.0, 1/60, ISO 800, RAW, 25mm