The following is a gallery of alleys in Taiwan. While Europe is famous for its cobblestone alleys and ancient architecture, Asia, and Taiwan specifically has a wealth of back alleys off main streets. Often down these alleys are housing and food stands. They represent a quick reprieve from the busy streets and some interesting exploration in their maze like structure.

One area of notice in the town small seaside town of Negombo is its old fishing industry. Fisherman live in small seaside shantys and use patched up nets to bring in some survival money. The plastic tarps in the gallery are used to cover the fish on the beach as they dry out and thus also to protect them being a buffet for local birds.

Gallery of Sri Lankan elephants bathing in the Maha Oya River.

In 2004 you remember seeing the massive tsunami that ravaged much of the Sri Lankan coast. Fast forward to today and life has returned to some resemblance of normalcy. Galle (pronounced gawl in English and garr-le in Sinhala) is a small seaport hamlet that dots the southwestern part of the island.

Salty winds rise up from the waves that pound the old Dutch fort. Behind the walls are a vast array of narrow streets and Dutch colonial architecture. The fort was constructed in the 1600′s and served as the main port for Sri Lanka for the next 200 years. Many travelers between Europe and Asia walked the streets of Galle as their ship re-stocked supplies.

Today Galle is a haven for writers, photographers, painters and poets. If you are looking for a place to stay and eat some spicy curry for several days in Sri Lanka this is it.

It is not easy to try and pick ten of my snaps from 2011 but this will have to do. Have a healthy and happy new year, cheers!

A series of terraced gardens became realized when archaeologists began excavating the area on top of the rock fortress. Major Jonathan Forbes of the British army came across the area in 1831 on horseback, by then the summit had long been covered with natural growth. It was not until around 1982 that more extensive research and excavation was done on Sigiriya.

Today the ancient rock in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka seems as hidden as it always was. A long bumpy, dirt, road leads into the area. From there, a hike and climb is required through several stages to get to the Machu Picchu-esque summit.

The top of the rock used to be covered with structures but today only the foundations remain. It can be debated that it was a fortress or monastery but one thing that cannot be argued, it has unbelievable views. While exploring the windy summit, time management was a tough endeavor. I was constantly admiring the misty panorama of distant mountains over the jungle below, at other times, examining the grounds and pool that was most likely used for water storage.

According to ancient stories, the entire complex was built by King Kashyapa in the late 5th century AD, and after the king’s death, it was supposedly used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century.

If you visit Sri Lanka this is a must see. It is not the most accessible area but that is what makes it that much more exciting. If there was a paved road that let to a ticket counter and cable car to the top, the luster would be gone.

Located just outside Siem Reap, Cambodia is one of the most fascinating areas on earth. Angkor means “Capital City or “Holy City”. Khmer is the main ethnic group in Cambodia, and the empire that ruled from the 9th to 12 centuries AD. These temples represent the best of ancient Khmer architecture and civilization.

It is possible to fly into Siem Reap but we took a five hour van ride from Phnom Penh. This ride was pretty wild, it consist of scooters, animals, and local peasants all on the same, small, unmarked two lane road. Our driver was excellent though, he didn’t take too many chances.

The temples themselves are spread out over several miles so we spent our time at just a couple of them. During the time of ancient Khmer, kings constructed vast aqueducts, huge temples, and used their military to control modern Cambodia, as well as present neighboring countries, Vietnam, and Laos.

Although the temperature was 38 Celsius, and very humid, I was able to get some of the shots that I wanted.

When it comes to backpacking Chiang Mai you don’t have to kid yourself that you are the first explorer in the jungle. In fact, close to one million visitors head to the former capital of the Kingdom of Lanna each year. Situated in the northwest mountains of Thailand…this is a favorite vacation destination for those wanting a weekend break from hot and humid Bangkok.

As for firing off a few shots, it isn’t too hard to line up a couple decent captures within the friendly confines of Chiang Mai proper.

The International Review of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design has used Daily Propaganda photos and information on Kijŏng-dong, North Korea in their latest article on DPRK architecture following the passing of Kim Jong-il.

Topos Article Link

On October 15, 2011 we had the opportunity to see game 1 of the Taiwan Series. The game unfolded into a tapestry of majestic sac bunts, infield choppers, and at least a six pack of double plays.

In terms of overall baseball, the Taiwan pro league is similar to high end ‘AA baseball in the US. On this night the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions won the opening game against the Lamingo Monkeys. At times I thought I was watching the 1991 classic World Series between the Twins and Braves. At others, it resembled a church league softball battle.

Pitching duel you ask? Well, the final was 3-2 in nine innings. The reason the game took four hours…there were a ton of pitching changes, with that, it seemed like 75% of the batters worked a 3-2 count and then fouled off six pitches.

In case you haven’t heard by now…the Lions won the series 4-1.