This is from my second visit to South Korea. The first one about 11 years ago wa quite short. I spent two days in Seoul before traveling on to my final destination. It was my first time in East Asia and the first time I realized that English was not exactly widely spoken in this part of Asia the world. Needless to say, German wasn't either. Communication was a bit difficult. I probably spent the first half day trying to understand the public transportation system and figure out how to buy a ticket for the subway. Buying food was a visual inspection followed by a finger pointing.
Today, a decade later, not much has changed from a language point of view, but at the same time, nothing has really stayed the same. Your cell phone has the translation and the answer to every question imaginable. It's crazy to see how traveling has become so stupidly easy in such a short time. You can travel much more efficiently when all the daily little travel puzzles can be solved instantly. You can focus on the destination and not have to waste time figuring out how to get there. That really is priceless.
Stay tuned for an upcoming post about how Google has made traveling way too easy and kind of ruined it in the process.

Tags:   Grün South Korea Landscape Cityscape Blue Hour Temple Water Sky Wolji Pond Gyeongju National Park Illumination Palace Reflection Gold Stormy Mood Long Exposure Contrast Asia Trees Lake Donggung Historical Mirror Clouds explored

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The chocolate hills on Bohol in the Philippines owe their name, as you may have guessed correctly, to the fact that they are made of chocolate. Strangely enough, this obvious fact is hardly known and most people think the name is made up. The hills are also the natural habitat of the island's most dangerous inhabitant: the tarsier. Tarsiers normally feed exclusively on chocolate, which can easily be recognized by their brown fingers and large eyes that result from the constant sugar rush. However, if the little monsters are denied access to their food source, they gather in groups and prey on small to medium-sized humans. For this reason, the locals cover the chocolate hills with a layer of grass every year to hide them from public view. If companies like Willy Wonka's and the like were to start mining the chocolate, not only would the habitat of the Tarsier be threatened, but also the lives of the islanders.
#mayneedfactchecking

Tags:   Philippines Bohol Island Chocolate Hills Trees Grass Sunrise Sunset Sky Asia Landscape Nature View Twilight Mound Morning

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Is this the most photographed tree in the world? Probably yes. The tree connoisseurs among you can see that this photo was taken before it was vandalized. It's a shame that this happened. It's also a bit funny that so many people flock there to photograph "just a tree". I'm fully aware that I'm one of them, and it's even worse than that. I really love this tree. The first time I saw it in a photo was probably the moment New Zealand appeared on the travel map for me. It's a terrible thing to say with all the incredibly beautiful places this country has to offer, but I can't help it, it is what it is. I love the tree. There are places I feel so connected to that I find it hard to leave after years of wanting to go there. After all, there's hardly any chance of ever coming back here again. And when you turn around one last time, long after blue hour, and see the other photographers crouching over their precious gear in the glow of the moon, you can't help but think: 'and in the darkness bind them'.

Tags:   Wanaka Otago Neuseeland New Zealand Tree Lake Water Reflection Purple Moon Landscape Sky Mountains Snow Sunset Calm Blue Hour Clouds explored

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Alright, one of the new pictures from the latest trip. I travelled Singapore/Malaysia. Over the years, East and Southeast Asia have sort of become my comfort zone. Accordingly, I've become increasingly lazy about planning trips in advance. Still, I normally have at least a rough plan of what I want to do and where I want to go. Not this time. I did not spend a single minute planning anything. I had the first two nights booked in Singapore and that was it. The only thing I knew even without planning though was that I didn't want to go to Langkawi Island because I figured it probably wasn't my thing, tourism-wise (read that in a snooty voice). So, this photo was taken on Langkawi island. It's potentially my favorite photo of the year. The weather forecast kept me on the west coast and so I ended up there. I didn't regret it. I found some beautiful places to shoot, they had some great street food and I had a scooter. What more can you ask for? Okay. Brakes maybe. It would have been kind of cool if my little deathtrap of a scooter actually had working brakes. But well. You can't have it all.

Tags:   Lila Malaysia Langkawi Lighthouse Ocean Water Sunset Seascape Landscape Blue Hour Golden Sea Rocks Trees Clouds Asia Island Yellow YBS23Landscape

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Two posts ago I said I needed to do some serious clicky-clicky work and go through the photos from "recent" trips. So I finally did. It was a bit painful to be reminded of some of the failures. I'm looking at you in particular, Dobongsan. The picture today shows Praia da Marinha in Portugal. Unlike the korean mountain, which I had to hike up four times before sunrise and still came back without a picture, here you are only a short walk away from the shooting location. Nevertheless, I had to return a few times before the light finally gave in.

Tags:   Gelb Portugal Europe Ocean Water Seastacks Rocks Sunrise Seascape Landscape Blue Hour Golden Algarve Long Exposure Beach Sea explored

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