My Round the World Trip

[zoossh]

I recuperate for 5 months living in Paris and learning french and have been back in Singapore and the rat race for 7 months now. I was fortunate to get a job almost right after I came back and now satisfy myself with a monthly short trip - so far I went diving, to East java for Bromo, 8 days in Myanmar. Will be heading to Yogyakarta in November and India in February

What's coming up? Next year I hope (depends on my new boss) if I can take 3 months off for Central Asia to continue my dream..

anyone wants to come??:thumbsup:

hahaha.... i only intended two weeks to cover small parts of uzbekistan/turkmenistan... initially intended may-jul period, but now my plans have to be pushed back due to work committment.

by the way, since u r ardent for that interest, u can google the local forum for travellers. i won't be posting any links becos i was previously accused of being an advertiser (omg), and there is no reply when i made a clarification, so.... i'm sure u can sort that out yourself. there are issues that pertained more to travel which u can share over here and over there.

 

[zoossh]

Hi there, I just set up the Flickr account for this clubsnap link so not that many photos there yet. i guess i should pay for a premium and upgrade the account in order to host my photos there.

It is aimes70

i feel that flickr is more meant for fast browsing and short compliments. critiques and discussion tends to be better in forum threads.

 

[pupuce]

Uganda - Queen elizabeth national park, Do lions climb trees?
This is really interesting because before seeing this with my own eyes, i didnt know that Lions can climb tree, although logically they should be able to being a cat species.​

Tanzania - Queen Elizabeth National PArk, Dont be fool by looks !​

 

[zoossh]

Thanks for the tips.
For travel photos, which besides landscapes, is pretty much a fleeting moment.. you either capture it there and then , if not.. it is gone.

For this pic, I dont know any if it is the right exposure, the right shutter speed .. just kinda like it except for the dark areas. do you find it too complicated with the mokoros and boat man in the background?

absolutely not. the background elements is what makes this picture. a good intuitive travel photographer will actively hunt for compatible subjects to match them together. the same intuition is required in various fields, to plan and anticipate. without them, the context will drop.

and of cos, annotations will help to enhance the story, just like for a magazine, pictures without words, and words without pictures, will be no match for good photos and good text. though ppl who like to see pictures may be more visual and have shorter attention span, so the words shouldn't be too long. so if u can write, u write loh.

backlit situation suffers from strong differences in tones. when u increase or decrease exposure, it affects the whole frame including the highlights and the shadows.

say, good midtone is +4, but your shadow is +2, highlight is +7
u overexpose, shadow is +4, highlight is +9, highlight burn out into white.
u underexpose, shadow is +0, highlight is +5, highlight is now good and warm, but too much shadows.

so effectively, changing exposure cannot reduce the differences in light intensity between areas of shadows and highlight.

however, take note that it is not wrong to have a picture with a lot of shadows or a large patch of shadows, likewise for highlights. it is more important where and how the highlights and shadows are distributed, which i'm also in exploration. what i find is that if the blobs of shadows and highlights are interwined in small patches, it becomes erratic and unsoothing. i will prefer the backside of the flower, for example, to be in midtone. and secondly, i find that a very bright top and very dark bottom, makes the picture more mundane, as it is often the case in most daylight shooting, esp in backlit.

in order to alter the tonal differences, you need to do them in a selective manner, altering selective areas and not on the whole frame.

there are many theoretical ways, of which only a few works in travel photography

- wait for the right timing (may not be possible, esp if limited time and public transport)
- plan for the right timing (i google for sunset/sunrise time)
- compose in the right direction (have to alter composition or change subject)
- use flash mounted on camera to fill in (need knowledge of balancing light)
- use off camera flash and reflectors (require assistant, professional equipment/knowledge)
- use graduated filters to block off light on the top (my way of shooting)
- post process (require knowledge and time to work on individual photos).

 

[coffeechee]

Love this sanddune photo!
and kudos & salute you on yoru RTW trip. I wanted to do it when I was jobless then but did not have the courage. good on you!

 

[taohu]

salutes to you although everyone had saluted to you already! i'm planning to do backpacking before 30 years old =p

 

[LowLights]

Botswana - Okanvango Delta, Mokoros (dug out canoes)

Nice .. interesting cloud formation

 

[pupuce]

hey pupuce.
what is your motivation for doing this?
It will be great if you can share and list down clearly in a chronological way the places you been to and how long you stay there..... err... too much work... hope it isn't.

PS. I wanted to say TS means The Sinner.....but you guys beat me to the gun. :bsmilie:

Hey coolthought,
I think some people around me think i am a sinner for squadering my money on travelling and found an excuse to Bum around for 2 years :devil:
My motivation - I love travelling! (lots) but all those rushed 14-18days holidays always left me with post travel depression. I cant get enough of it. At the same time, being with the company for 10 years with money being the only motivator, I was slowly but surely losing drive for the job I used to love.
I found it hard to let it go , the security of the job and the pleasures a 5 figure income brought me.. but yet I feel i was drying up day by day. I asked for a 12 months sabbatical from company so that I can have the best of both worlds but a asian company usually not in favour of such request - so i have to say goodbye to my job. Its a choice.

Why Did I choose to travel so cheaply? It is a long trip and I have a budget of $40k-45k. I could have splurge and travel lesser but then again , I made the choice. Lastly, I really wanted to explore the different cultures out there, the lives of the another world that we have an inkling of but no idea how it is to live it.
whenever i have the chance, I eat like they do,whatever they serve me or in scary attap restaurants which has locals but no travellers wants to go into I travel around like the locals do- if they take a 3 days boatride to timbuktu,(their home) I will do the same instead of taking a 45 mins flight there. I sleep the same way as them too when I get the chance, in the courtyard with their goats and chickens.

it is not a problem to list down the countries but only an estimated of time spent. Reason being after 2 months, I stopped looking at my watch and no longer keep track of days. In the beginning, I was more "on the ball" but later I simply indulge in the freedom of time. i have never felt so free before. If I like the place, i stay and i staaaay.
If i dont or I am done with the place, I leave

Anyway, here goes

South Africa (Jo'burg, Port Elizabeth, Kruger park, Cape town)
Mozambique ( Maputo, Tofu)
Namibia ( Windhoek, Oranjemund, Swakopmund, Fish canyon)
Botswana (Maun
Zimbabwe
zambia (pass through)- no counted
Tanzania ( Dar es-salaam, Zanzibar)
Uganda
Ethiopia (but forgot to make visa so spent a night in the airport trying to figure out where to go)
Dubai
Jordan (Aaman, Madaba, Jeresh, Petra,Dead Cities)
Syria (Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Palmyra, dead Cities)
Israel (Tel aviv, Jerusalem)
Palestine (rented a car to Bethehelm, jerico , Ramallah)
Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Granada, tarifa)
Morocco (Chefchaouen, Fez, marrakech, Essaoiura, Casablanca, Rabat)
Mauritania (Nouakchott, Kaedi,
Senegal (Dakar)
Mali ( Bamako, Mopti, Dejnnes, Dogon, Timbuktu)
Burkina Faso (Ouguadougou,
Paris
Italy (Milan, Genova, Bologna, Florence, Rome)
Belgium (Brussels,Antwerp, Gent)
Holland (Amsterdam)
London
USA (San francisco, Las Vegas)
Mexico (Campeche, Morelia, Patzcuro,Mexico City, Oaxaca,Chetumal, Cancun)
Cuba
Berlize
Guatemala (Guatemala City,Queltzeltango, Huehuetanego, Atnigua, ) - 1 month
Honduras (
Nicaragua ( Managua, Granada, Esteli, Masaya)
Panama City
Argentina (Buenos Aires, Jujuy, Iguaza, Ushuaia, Mendoza, Bariloche)
Antartica
Chile (Punta Arenas, Puerto Montt, Santiago, Atacama desert,
Bolivia (La paz, Sucre, Puno, Amazon, Potosi, Oruro)
Ecuador (Quito, Guayaquil, Galapagoes)
Peru (Lima, Cuzco,Arequipa,
Colombia (Medellin, Cartegena, Cali, Mompos,
USA - washington , new york City
singapore - THE END

I have forgotten the names of some small small towns unless i check my dairy but this is the gist of it
I cant believe I missed out some countries that I've been too... 7 months and my memories are fading. Thanks for making me write this down.

 

[asterixsg]

Lovely photos, wonderful writeup and fascinating experiences. I am glued to this thread. Ha ha ha.

I met a lovely couple when I was in the Australian Outback who were halfway across the world (the guy was Brit and his girfriend was Spanish). We spent a couple of hours chatting as it was the first time I had met someone (in person) who was (in this case "were") on a RTW journey. I myself am a very frugal traveller and most of my travels are budget travels, but they gave me some lessons on how travel can be done frugally and intelligently. They were in OZ for 3 months. So, the first thing they bought in Sydney was a used van and used camping equipment. No restaurant meals, No fancy hotels n resorts as they stayed in campsites, cooked their own meals n such. At the end of their trip, they would sell off the van (and then go to NZ, then to the US for a short visit and back to England). Overall, they would've spent as much on the van for 3 months as I spent on renting a 4WD for 8 days. I had no choice as I had planned to go offroad and hence needed the 4WD and I had only 9 days holidays, whereas they stuck to the paved roads and had the luxury of time

Sorry for the aside. But there are people out there who drop everything that they have and travel on an impulse to explore and experience. And as you rightly pointed out, one doesn't need a "lot" of money to do so. All one needs is the courage and faith in this creation. Money is not our saviour, faith is.

I dunno if I'll be able to travel around the world, the way you did. So, I'll just enjoy it vicariously here.

I said it before in that other thread, I say it again. You have the makings of a very good writer. Your photos are quite good too. You should seriously consider writing a travel journal - photos interspersed with narration and, most importantly, your experience. And you should do it sooner rather than later, before your more recent trips and other mundane things start taking over the memories of your RTW journey.

It is so easy to give up when the going gets tough. And I am proud that you stuck it out despite the odds. It takes a lot of inner courage to go through what you did :thumbsup:

 

[zoossh]

I met a lovely couple when I was in the Australian Outback who were halfway across the world (the guy was Brit and his girfriend was Spanish). We spent a couple of hours chatting as it was the first time I had met someone (in person) who was (in this case "were") on a RTW journey. I myself am a very frugal traveller and most of my travels are budget travels, but they gave me some lessons on how travel can be done frugally and intelligently. They were in OZ for 3 months. So, the first thing they bought in Sydney was a used van and used camping equipment. No restaurant meals, No fancy hotels n resorts as they stayed in campsites, cooked their own meals n such. At the end of their trip, they would sell off the van (and then go to NZ, then to the US for a short visit and back to England). Overall, they would've spent as much on the van for 3 months as I spent on renting a 4WD for 8 days. I had no choice as I had planned to go offroad and hence needed the 4WD and I had only 9 days holidays, whereas they stuck to the paved roads and had the luxury of time

there was a guy i met in nepal. he was from hong kong, and travelled through china, southeast asia, india and into nepal via land, no flights whatsoever. when he is in low altitude, he wear shorts, and as he ascend, he buy long pants, and when he descend, he sell off his long pants. when he met other tourists, he will introduce them to stay in a teahouse that he intend to stay later, and when he reach the place, he will chat with the owner, get to know about if his friends had stayed in the same teahouse, and if so, ask for a discount for his recommendation. that is how he rugged out his tour starting off just 1000USD, making his way even more frugally than the above.

even for some of our fellow singaporeans, some of which are doing national services and didn't have much money, but had the time before working/studying, wanted very much to go to japan. some saved their money by eating free food provided as samples in department store, and sometimes get their food from those microwavable bento in the local "7-elevens". i can't remember how they save on accomodation, but overall it does make their japan trip more affordable for their income at that point of time.

 

[azul123]

Uganda - Queen elizabeth national park, Do lions climb trees?
This is really interesting because before seeing this with my own eyes, i didnt know that Lions can climb tree, although logically they should be able to being a cat species.

Yes, they do climb when they are smaller/younger.. as they become larger their weight and their paw grip not designed to carry them up unlike Leopards.

Just saw this thread this morning and it was great that you had gone out to do something so few people have courage to do. :thumbsup:

 

[pupuce]

New Series - MOZAMBIQUE

Mozambique - Tofu, Quiet afternoon at the beach​

Only 2nd week itno my trip and time was passing very slowly for me. I have yet to relax and find myself looking at watch so often. Tofu is 8 hours of squashed van-ride from Maputo, the capital. Diving is fantastic with more than 15metres of viz and saw manta rays and tons of whalesharks during their migrating season. (sorry no pics though except in my memory)

 

[pupuce]

Yes, they do climb when they are smaller/younger.. as they become larger their weight and their paw grip not designed to carry them up unlike Leopards.
Just saw this thread this morning and it was great that you had gone out to do something so few people have courage to do. :thumbsup:

I have never seen any lions did that in any other parts of Africa except in Uganda. Looking at these 2 fat cats, I understand that they are forced to do so because of the rainy season that cause occasional floods.

I hope to inspire some people with this thread not only about travelling but also any other passions they have.
If you have a passion and a dream, try to make it happen because life is too short, live it.
There will always be obstacles but we can work around it and we can make a dream happen!:devil:

 

[pchong]

Hi pupuce, what an amazing journey...beautiful pictures...thanks for sharing. Are you considering to write a book or at least a blog to share the travels?

 

[KYFoong]

Pupuce, you remind me of my big boss who traveled round the world on a motor bike upon his posting in Germany after WW2. He documented everything and has a few nice pictures of Singapore (surprising to me his color picture taken with a Kodak camera looks very good). He went back to the US and founded a company that now has more than 60 locations worldwide and more than US$1.2B sales per year. He is still frugal and have no issues at all sucking bones from a curry fish head pot or eating duck rice at the road side stall in Bangkok. He disposes his rubbish by himself and drives a normal car, flies economy (because he enjoys the proximity of the next passenger plus he gets a little thrill out of sneaking into the business class (his take is that at most they would ask him to go back to his seat but never thrown out of the plane!). Now in his late 70s, reluctantly he allowed his diary to be published (very limited copies) by the employees. You will rejoice to read what you have written forever. This is your investment. Time wasted? Never, my boss is rich in experience and deals with people and problem from a very different angle that the professors don't teach. Cheers....

 

[blitzangel]

nice photos pupuce. that was a good trip. hope to do that one day

 

[nsng]

Namibia, Dead Vlei or Dead Marsh
It is surrounded by the tallest sand dunes in the world. The trees are estimated to be around 1000 years old and are scorched to the skin (understatement) and have turned black. They are so dried up that they dont decompose

Hi,


Kudos to you for taking the road less travelled! Many people just dreamed about it. In my case, I just take 3-4 weeks a year to travel to places I intend to photograph. I have passed the age for backpacking, but I enjoyed visiting and photographing new places. This year I went to Namibia. Next year, I might be going to the Altai Mountains.

Yes, Dead Vlei. One of the highlights of my trip to Namibia. I spent 3 weeks driving 4,700 km in Namibia in August this year. I went as far north as Kunene River, near Angola and as far south as the Fish River Canyon. Here are some photos from a previous thread,

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=763802

and the link to my Namibian photos, http://nns555.zenfolio.com/namibia

N.S. Ng

 

[pupuce]

Hi,


Kudos to you for taking the road less travelled! Many people just dreamed about it. In my case, I just take 3-4 weeks a year to travel to places I intend to photograph. I have passed the age for backpacking, but I enjoyed visiting and photographing new places. This year I went to Namibia. Next year, I might be going to the Altai Mountains.

Yes, Dead Vlei. One of the highlights of my trip to Namibia. I spent 3 weeks driving 4,700 km in Namibia in August this year. I went as far north as Kunene River, near Angola and as far south as the Fish River Canyon. Here are some photos from a previous thread,

N.S. Ng

3-4 weeks is a lot more than what people ask for.
I was 38 years old when i embarked on this backpacking trip and thank goodness my old bones survived the 300 different beds and lumpy shitty pillows.:bsmilie:

Your photos are wonderful.. in honest opinion much better than mine.
I was still a stranger with my D80 when I left for my trip. I went to the Fish River Canyon for the sunrise but my photos sucks. My canyon looks so dull and lack definition. I will post some here so the rest can see the ugly pics too :devil:

I went to the Great Canyon in the USA and it was the same.. they just look like a big stone from afar and I just didnt manage to capture the vastness and beauty. Deserve to be shot for that

 

[ManWearPants]

there was a guy i met in nepal. he was from hong kong, and travelled through china, southeast asia, india and into nepal via land, no flights whatsoever. when he is in low altitude, he wear shorts, and as he ascend, he buy long pants, and when he descend, he sell off his long pants. when he met other tourists, he will introduce them to stay in a teahouse that he intend to stay later, and when he reach the place, he will chat with the owner, get to know about if his friends had stayed in the same teahouse, and if so, ask for a discount for his recommendation. that is how he rugged out his tour starting off just 1000USD, making his way even more frugally than the above.

wah. This guy is very forward thinking. Being thrifty is one thing, being calculative can take the joy out of travelling.

 

[pupuce]

reading through the post and viewing your photos, i still cant believe it! you are truly amazing to put down everything and travel around the world for 15mths! :thumbsup: will definitely wait for more coverage photos by you

Thanks for dropping you and giving support to this thread.
You people are giving me a chance to relive those memories.. and its make me happy and a little nostalgic too