130421 Europe

About 3 weeks after my return from Bucharest, Romania, I was given another wonderful chance to go back to Europe.  My business plan called for a 4-week trip, including a short break in the middle.  Well before my departure day, the professional people at the travel department of my company got news of a possible strike by the employees of Lufthansa.  Acting on this news, they provided me with alternate flights.  Their professionalism made my journey safe and pleasant.

My flights from Phoenix to Munich, via Washington DC, were routine and uneventful.  The airport in Munich, however, was much quieter than normal, as a great number of passengers were not there due to the strike by the personnel of Lufthansa.  Going through passport control was quicker; the cafes and restaurants and the duty-free shops were emptier than normal.  The courtyard of the airport had more ground workers, enjoying longer breaks due to the lighter traffic.  The alternate air carrier took me from Munich to Düsseldorf then onto Dresden, my final destination.

Courtyard of Munich airport with more ground workers than usual.

The historic city of Dresden welcomed me with thick cloud and rainy weather, as winter fought back the advancement of spring.  Local people were still in their winter gears.  Regardless of the weather condition, Dresden is still a very beautiful city with its historic center rebuilt after a controversial and devastating bombing campaign by the allies.

Central Dresden, Germany.

As in my previous trips to Europe, I spent most of my time in Dresden at the customer.  The thick clouds broke a few times to let the sun shined through.  In spite of the cold evening temperatures, the people of Dresden sat at tables set on the plaza around the Frauenkirche to enjoy drinks and dinners outdoors.

Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Dresden, Germany, at cloudless sunset.

I had hope to visit Königstein and its castle during this trip.  But the weather had its own plan as it shrouded the Festung Königstein in thick fog.  Touring this locale under these conditions would not be good.  So with the hope that I will have another chance later, I returned to Dresden.

The weather of Dresden calmed down enough for a visit to one of its large public park, the Großer Garten.  In spite of the occasional rain drops, the park was full of people, young and old, enjoying all kinds of leisure activities. 

Sommerpalais in Großer Garten (Great Garden), Dresden, Germany.

Sommerpalais in Großer Garten (Great Garden), Dresden, Germany.

The start of Spring in Dresden, Germany.

Dinner in Dresden: half-portion of roasted pork knuckle in beer sauce with sauerkraut and mustard.

After a few more days at work, I had the opportunity to go to Paris, France, to spend time with my aunt and my cousins.  I was joined by my lovely wife.  In spite of the colder than normal temperatures, Paris and its suburbs were filled with beautiful flowers in full bloom.  The charming Jardin du Luxembourg was a joy to visit. We also went to Château de Versailles, but the huge number of visitors discouraged us from going inside.  We opted to enjoy the park around it.  We also visited the Avenue des Champs-Élysées as well as other touristy destinations.  But most delightful was our time spent with my aunt and my cousins.

Tulips at the Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris, France.

Palais du Luxembourg

An elderly couple helping one another to savor a beautiful day at the Parc de Versailles.

Tour Eiffel at night.

Musée du Louvre, with the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in the distance.

With my heart full of delightful memory, I left Paris for work in Bucharest, as my wife returned home.  The capital of Romania welcomed me with warm and pleasant weather.  My first week in Bucharest was used up by work.  Saturday saw me on a tour bus going around the city.  On Sunday, I took the train to the city of Sinaia.  The 1-hour ride was very nice and relaxing.  In Sinaia, my walk from the train station to and my visit of the historic Mănăstirea (Monastery) Sinaia and the Castelul (Castle) Peleș were very enjoyable.  

Biserica (Basilica) Kretzulescu in Bucharest, Romania.

Mănăstirea (Monastery) Sinaia.

Castelul (Castle) Peleș in Sinaia, Romania.

Sărmăluţe cu mămăligă, the national dish of Romania.

My second week in Bucharest, Romania, was spent at work.  As I returned home, I remained thankful for all the hard work of my coworkers to bring about this opportunity.  A few more pictures are available at 
https://picasaweb.google.com/108013863525571472697/130421EuropeScenic.  


As always, I solicit your comments and critiques in hope of improving my photographic and blogging skills.  And thank you for visiting.

Enjoy.
Paul

130316 Romania

In my wildest dreams, I would never envision receiving another chance to revisit Bucharest, Romania.  But my company gave me the wonderful opportunity to spend the last two weeks of March in this beautiful city. 

This trip also brought out another realization, which I began to take for granted.  We lived in an age of remarkable easy access to information.  As the day of departure came closer and closer, I checked the weather of Bucharest from various sources on the Internet.  They all predicted wintery weather.  I packed my suitcase accordingly. 

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Terminal 4.

The first segment of my trip, from Phoenix to Newark, was uneventful.  But the flight from Newark to Munich was delayed due to mechanical problem with the air-handling system of the aircraft, followed by a computer glitch which prevented the proper recording of the repair.  Consequently, the flight was late arriving in Munich.  All passengers with connections to their final destinations missed their next flights.  I was lucky.  The staff of Lufthansa in Munich was able to rebook me on the next flight to Bucharest.  So a quick lunch at the airport was a welcome distraction.  The flight to Bucharest from Munich went smoothly. 

Bucharest welcomed me with clear mid-afternoon sky, but with freezing temperature.  My customer waited patiently for me at the airport and drove me to the hotel.  That was very kind of him.  I learned he has a daughter who is pursuing a doctorate degree in geology at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Week 1 was spent at work.  The frigid evening temperature and the occasional rain prevented me from doing much.  Any photographic action had to wait for the weekend.  Amazingly, I found myself the recipient of exceptional generosity from my customer and a member of his team.  On Saturday, they drove a colleague, who joined me a few days before, and me to Castelul Peleș.  The weather was cold, but otherwise perfect.

Castelul Peleș was the castle of Carol I, the first king of an independent Romania.  It was more a palace than a castle. We took a fascinating tour of the chateau.  In addition to an interesting history, the decor of each of its many rooms had a theme.  I just wish I could remember it all.

Castelul (Castle) Peleș.

Castelul Peleș - interior room with Turkish decor.

After the tour, we crossed over the Carpathian Mountain range to Brașov, a medium size town, the birth place of the Romanian national anthem.  This town was also home to the largest Romanian airplane manufacturing plant until the end of World War II.  Its economy is now very diverse.

Biserica Neagrǎ (Black Church) in Brașov, Romania.

After a very delicious lunch of local dishes, we headed back to Bucharest.  The next day, Sunday, my customer took my colleague and me to the Lipscani district and the Muzeul Naţional Cotroceni.  As we drove past the largest civilian building of the World, Palatul Parlamentului (Palace of the Parliament), our host recounted the painful history of how his family was forcefully displaced from their home, during the reign of Nicolae Ceaușescu, to make room for this large structure and many boulevards leading to it.

Caru cu Bere - famous restaurant in the Lipscani district, serving traditional Romanian dishes.

Muzeul Naţional (National Museum) Cotroceni - interior room with the theme of Camelot.

My second week in Bucharest was taken up by work.  It was accentuated by an unusual snow storm.  This abnormal chilly weather made venturing out difficult.  

Backyard of my hotel after an overnight snow storm.

Yet in spite of the unusual wintry weather, my two weeks in Bucharest were wonderful, thanks in great part to the fabulous generosity of my hosts.  I am grateful to all the people who worked very hard to bring about this fantastic opportunity.  A few more pictures from this trip are at https://picasaweb.google.com/108013863525571472697/130316Romania.

As always, thank you for visiting my blog.  I solicit your critiques and comments to improve my photographic and blogging skills. 

Enjoy.

Paul

130225 Boston

After a week at "home" in Phoenix, AZ, I was back on the road .  This time to Marlborough, Massachusetts, a small town 40 miles (63 KM) east of Boston.  Again most of my time in this New England town was taken up by work.

With a late flight out of Boston on a Saturday, I was able to go around Marlborough in my attempt to capture the spirit of this location.  The weather was predicted to turn nasty but was surprisingly pleasant with the temperature slightly above freezing and a light wind .  I hope I captured the essence of this very nice little town.  Being a cold Saturday morning, not many people were out and about.

A church near downtown Marlborough, MA.

Colorful houses in Marlborough, MA.

Marlborough, MA.

By mid-morning, I began my drive to downtown Boston for a quick lunch before my flight home.  Near the waterfront of Boston, there was a building with an interesting mural.

Mural on a building in Boston, MA.

A few more photos are at https://picasaweb.google.com/108013863525571472697/130225BOS.  Your comments and critiques are welcome and valuable to my quest to improve my skills.

Thank you for visiting.
Paul

130211 Austin

Twenty four hours after I landed in Phoenix from my travel to South-East Asia, I was on a plane to Austin, TX, for business.  This trip was a wonderful opportunity to see my brother and his family.  Again, most of my time was at work: arriving at the office fairly early in the morning, and leaving late.  The sun was just up when I was on my way to the office; and it was at the horizon when my workday ended.

On the last workday, I fought traffic to downtown Austin and took a few pictures of its skyline as the sun was setting fast.

Austin, TX.

"Owl" building in downtown Austin, TX.

My brother mentioned there would be a festival to welcome the Lunar New Year at the local "Chinatown" plaza the day I would depart Austin.  The festivity was a very pleasant surprise and a welcome distraction, even though it was about a week late. There were groups and teams performing beautiful traditional dances from Indonesia, Polynesia, India and China.  Most interesting were the lighting of two very long strings of firecrackers with several "lions" dancing along.  Very traditional.  Very fun.  Very enjoyable.

Polynesian dancer.

Dancers from India in colorful traditional dresses.

Young girls performing traditional lantern dance.

"Feeding" the New Year lion.

My time to go to the airport came as the festivity was beginning to wind down.  I would miss the last big dragon dance in front of the grocery store.

More pictures are at https://picasaweb.google.com/108013863525571472697/130211AUS.  As always, your comments and critiques are welcome.  And your visit is appreciated.

Thank you and Enjoy.
Paul

130124 South-East Asia

2013 began with a wonderful opportunity to go to the Philippines.  My company needed me to visit an important customer in Tarlac City, a small town about 120 KM (74 miles) north of Manila, in early February.  This trip would bring me very close to Vietnam during a period of time leading up to the Lunar New Year (Tết), the most important holiday in Vietnamese customs and traditions.  I asked for a week of vacation ahead of my business engagement in the Philippines, in hope of immersing myself in the festive atmosphere of a Vietnamese Tết.  But upon contacting friends in Saigon, I learned my stay there would be too far ahead and the preparation would not yet be underway.  But business commitments were already made and plans started accordingly.

In spite of my best effort, my wife had to take different flights than I, because she used loyalty points while my air fares were paid for by my company. We left Phoenix very early Thursday morning. My spouse would go to LAX, then to Bangkok by way of Seoul. She would spend a night at a transit hotel at the Bangkok airport before continuing to Saigon. I, on the other hand, would go from Phoenix to Seattle, then to Tokyo, before arriving in Saigon.

Phoenix Sky Harbor @ dawn.

Dear friends welcomed us into their homes, and treated us to wonderful and delicious fruits and food.  While my wife went shopping, my friend took me to visit the "Independence Palace", the former resident and office of the president of the Republic of Vietnam.

Home grown Jack Fruit.

Sauteed beef with rice vermicelli and herbs.

An office at the "Independence Palace".

 After a couple days of rest, our dear friends took us on a 3-day / 4-night tour of Kampuchea (Cambodia), traveling by bus from Saigon to Siem Reap, then to the capital Phnom Penh before returning to Saigon.  Our tour began before dawn.  Half way to the Vietnamese - Khmer border, we stopped for breakfast and was treated to a savory pork noodle soup, a local specialty.  We arrived at the border by late morning.  I was immediately taken by the beautiful architecture of the border station of Kampuchea.  This building had golden emblems with curvy roof lines and spire.

Border station on the Kampuchea side.

As we drove deeper into Kampuchea, our Khmer tour guide gave a brief history of his country, with an emphasis on more recent times, the hellish sufferings of the Cambodian people at the hands of and the horrific genocide committed by Pol Pot and his comrades.  As we traveled west on National Road 6, our guide pointed out several killing fields, with stupas dedicated to the victims.

One of the several stops we made along the way to Seam Reap was the Spean Praptos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spean_Praptos), the oldest bridge in South-East Asia.  It was over 700 years old.

Spean Praptos.

We arrived at Siem Reap by evening.  We purchased tickets to "Smile of Angkor", a show over-viewing the history of Angkor dynasty with subtitles in English, French and Vietnamese.  After a restful night, we went to visit the Prasat Bayon temple and the ancient Angkor Thom capital.  What a fascinating site.  While the tour guide dutifully explained the history of this place, I became uncharacteristically impatient.  I started exploring on my own right away, missing out on all this interesting information.

Prasat Bayon Temple.

Ta Prohm Temple, reclaimed by the jungle.

Elephants played a very important role in construction of these ancient temples and palaces in Angkor, as they provided the necessary strength to move and lift these enormous blocks of stone.  The workmanship carving these blocks of stones and putting them together to form these edifices was exquisite.

After a lunch and midday break at a restaurant in town, we proceeded to Angkor Wat, the largest complex of temples in the world.  It is so unique, it is featured the national flag of Kampuchea.  The top floor of the main tower was named "Heaven".  To reach it, one had to climb a steep set of stairs but the effort was well rewarded.  The artwork on the stone walls was admirable; the view of the surrounding superb.  I could spent several days in Angkor.

Stairs to Heaven.

Angkor Wat.

Near the end of our visit, we were ushered to a hill nearby to witness the beauty of Angkor Wat at sunset.  Unfortunately, a large crowed had beaten us there.  I wonder if a better vintage point would be looking west from the east end of Angkor Wat.

The last night in Seam Reap was spent enjoying the downtown area.  What a lively party place this was.  We shared a very enjoyable ride in a tuk-tuk with Roger, a French-Swiss member of our tour group.

Riding a tuk-tuk through Seam Reap.

The next morning, we departed for Phnom Penh, the capital of Kampuchea.  We made 2 stops along the way.  At one of them, there were vendors of fruits and deep-fried insects: from large spiders to crickets to giant water bugs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethocerus_indicus).  Since the future is unpredictable, I felt the urge to do something more memorable than eating "regular" food.  Against the wise advises of friends, I bought and ate a couple of deep-fried crickets and one lethocerus indicus.

Would you eat this large spider?

Giant water bugs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethocerus_indicus).

Tasting a giant water bug.

What did a giant water bug taste like? It had the texture of crumbled paper!  But all I could taste was the very old and very rancid oil it was deep-fried in.  What a tourist trap this was.  And I fell for it.  Soon after consuming half of this lethocerus indicus, my cough started; It would not stop for 3 weeks.  I wanted to shock people; I got shocked.  Any lesson for me to learn here?

Phnom Penh was very busy with its preparation for the funeral of King Norodom Sihanouk.  We had to scrap plan to visit the Royal Palace and other locations.  The few places not directly affected by this solemn event were the central market and the Wat Phnom Temple.

Central market of Phnom Penh.

Wat Phnom Temple.

I would love to have a few days to explore Phnom Penh and learn more about the Khmer people and their culture.  But the tour had to end.  The journey back to Saigon began the next morning.  We arrived back at the home of dear friends by mid afternoon.  The next day, my wife and I traveled to the city of Vung Tau by hydrofoil.  We went to the beach on a rented motor scooter.

Quay of City of Vung Tau, Vietnam.

The weather was perfect; traffic was light; the sea was calm and warm; the sand on the beach was smooth.  We had a long lunch at a restaurant by the shore.  The days before Lunar New Year was a slow season; the restaurant had very few customers.

The following day, I traveled to the Philippines for work while my sweetheart stayed in Vietnam for the Lunar New Year.  From Manila, the uncle and aunt of a colleague took me to my hotel in Angeles City, home of the former Clark Air Force base.  The trip took about an hour by car.  The work days began early and ended late.  I did not have much time to explore the area, but my hosts were very gracious.  I was served wonderful Filipino lunches, including baluts.  Filipino fried chicken had a very crispy skin yet thin, not covered with a heavy coating of batter. The fish was fresh and grilled to perfection.  The pork was marvelously flavorful.  I enjoyed all dishes, especially the local fruits.

Jeepneys in Tarlac City, Philippines.

My last day in the Philippines was spent in Manila.  I took a day tour which included a visit to the American Cemetery and the region south of the capital. The stop at the America Cemetery was solemn; it is hallowed ground.  The meaning of ultimate sacrifice sank deeply in me.  I wanted and hoped my pictorial tribute respectful and appropriate.

American Cemetery in Manila, Philippines.

As the tour progressed on, the guide pointed out various points of interest along the route.  But my mind was still with those who were interred at the American Cemetery.  I wondered what each of their stories would be, how much suffering each one of them went through.

I "rejoined" the tour when we stopped for fuel and lunch.  Along the winding road, there were numerous shacks selling brooms, flowers, kites, furniture and a wide variety of tropical fruits.  Many vendors are farmers with their orchards right behind their shacks.    We stopped at one of those open-air markets.  Merchants gave us samples for their fruits.  They were very sweet, aromatic and delicious.  I wanted all but settled for some wonderful pineapple.

Roadside open-air fruit market.

Homeward bound.

Later that evening began my journey home.  I remained thankful for this wonderful opportunity to visit South-East Asia, which was brought about by the very hard work of colleagues.

More pictures are available at https://picasaweb.google.com/108013863525571472697/130124SouthEastAsia02#.  As always, I welcome your comments and critiques of this blog and pictures as I seek to improve my writing and photographic skills.

Enjoy,
Paul