Post pictures I've taken

Regrettably this turns out to be a blurry image with suboptimal lighting, but it serves a memento of my visit to Marrakesh. The bazaar to the north of Djemaa el Fna is indeed a maze. Fortunately one can always find a way out by following the crowd. The only problem is that touts and faux guides permeate every corner of the medina, and they gather around unsuspecting tourists like vultures, especially when their preys appear isolated and lost. In my case, I managed to move my feet as fast as I could while constantly scanning my surroundings for any sign of trouble. It was a stressful yet intriguing experience.

Taken while I was spending the night at Dar Nour in Tangier

It’s been a while since my last post. This picture was taken half a year ago when a friend and I were traveling from Meknes to Chefchaouen by grand taxi. In the middle of nowhere came a herd of sheep, blocking the road for some 10-20 minutes. Now that I think about it, the car was pretty wacky, with a cracked windshield and a broken speedometer and everything else that almost made us wonder what in the world we had gotten ourselves into. But the driver was quite a nice person, and we arrived at our destination safe and sound.

The second Narnia movie has greatly renewed my interest in ancient artifacts. This statuette is found in the British Museum, Room 56. Even though more than 4000 years have passed, its glamour is still awe-inspiring. An almost identical twin resides in the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology on the other side of the Atlantic.

On my way to the cathedral, I found myself captivated by this ornament at a home furnishings store. Beautifully crafted — unearthly even — it almost looked like an artifact from a phantasmagoria.

I’ve kinda cheated with this picture since I used PS to change the lighting on the dress and desaturate the background to boost its contrast. The resulting image looks somewhat better than the original shot. Maybe I should explore this technique a bit more in the future.

Spotted this gigantic chair in Georgetown. Certainly more endearing than those government buildings in the capital, it put a smile on my face after walking for a whole day.

As much as I’d like to dismiss it as just another shady bathroom, there was something strange about it. Almost like a surreal mix of fact and fantasy, surely it’s got a character.

Was the mademoiselle summoning her invisible friend? Not sure. But at least she did manage draw a crowd, myself included.

A small beach village on the west coast of the south island. I was most impressed by its pristine beauty, and houses like this were adorable in their own right. I also saw the Milky Way for the first time in my life. Like watching the northern lights, that wonderful experience just blew my mind.

It began as a test to see how far I could go without turning back. But I soon ended up maundering aimlessly for a whole day, stopping every now and then just to admire my surroundings.