My three-week adventure to Japan took me to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Nara, Gifu, Nagoya, and Lake Kawaguchi (Mount Fuji). 🏯Here are a few photos from Osaka and Cormorant Fishing in Gifu. 🥰
Travel Photography
In case you missed my other travel posts, you can hyperlink to them here:
I checked off a bucket list item with a three-week adventure to Japan. 🏯This was my first solo trip ever! Japan is a fairy tale playing out in real-time. A truly magical place. Here are photos from Kyoto, Nara, and Lake Kawaguchi. 🥰
Travel Photography
In case you missed my other travel posts, you can hyperlink to them here:
Our third major stop in Thailand was in Phetchaburi. This was a bit of an unusual pick, but I wanted my kids and me to experience a bit of the rural countryside outside of Bangkok. I was well worth the risk.
Travel Photography
In case you missed my other travel posts, you can hyperlink to them here:
Our next stop was Amphawa and its beautiful floating market. Most tourists visit Damnoen Saduak floating market but Amphawa is much better, and fewer tourists, This town was a refreshing change from the air and noise pollution of Bangkok.
Travel Photography
In case you missed my other travel posts, you can hyperlink to them here:
This summer I had a magical vacation with my children in Thailand. We visited four major cities and Airbnb’ed the whole trip. Our first seven days were in Bangkok. Then three nights in Amphawa, three in Phetchaburi, and our final leg were seven nights in Chiang Mai.
I managed to get air-conditioned accommodations at all our locations. This is definitely a requirement if you ever travel to Thailand in the summer. We journeyed throughout the country by bus, train, and a few Tuk Tuks for fun. Here are the first ten photos from Bangkok for your viewing pleasure.
Travel Photography
In case you missed my other travel posts, you can hyperlink to them here:
Here is part two of our Italian road trip. This time featuring Barbora and Veronika Žiláková – the talented, congenial, and delightful ladies who accompanied us along our journey.
This summer I accompanied my boys, Matias and Lucas, as well as Mati’s girlfriend, Barbora, and her sister Veronika on a ten-city roadshow across North-East Italy. Check out highlights of our journey through Venice, Padua, Ferrara, Bologna, Ravenna, Florence, Perugia, Assisi, and Spello. Enjoy!
20.Aug.1 – Venice · Gondolier (Ponte della Paglia) 20.Aug.2 – Venice · wolf 20.Aug.10 – Perugia · Spanish dreadlocks girl (Parco di Sant’Anna) 20.Aug.2 – Venice · canal 20.Aug.12 – Spello · street 20.Aug.12 – Perugia · street (Via Appia) 20.Aug.8 – Florence · Hiko Nagahama (Estatua de S. Antonino) 20.Aug.8 – Florence · artist 20.Aug.2 – Venice · Mathilda & friend (cafe) 20.Aug.2 – Venice · dock (fish market) 20.Aug.1 – Venice · Gondoliers (playing cards) 20.Aug.8 – Florence · Veronika, Barbora Žiláková, Gabriel, Lucas & Matias Dusil (Prenze, portrait)
Travel Photography
In case you missed my other travel posts, you can hyperlink to them here:
19.Aug.11 – Fontaine de Vaucluse · artist (market)
19.Aug.14 – Callas · residence (street)
19.Aug.10 – Avignon · girl (street)
At the beginning of August, my boys and I traveled to Provence, France. I wanted them to experience this historical part of Europe. I had visited Valbonne in 2008 on a team-building business trip, and ever since then, I wanted to return to this region and spend some quality time to absorb the French culture and history. Our plan was at least one destination every day. Here was our itinerary:
19.Aug.6 – Nice · customers (street market)
19.Aug.12 – Gordes · nougat (street)
We launched our adventure from Nice, rented a car at the airport, and made our way to an Airbnb in the city center. The plan was to stay at a different apartment every three days so that we could cover as much as Provence as our time allowed. After Nice we drove to Marseille, then Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, and finally Bargemon. Each location offered a unique perspective on Provence and the French Riviera.
19.Aug.4 – Nice · restaurant (street)
19.Aug.12 – Gordes · girl (street)
19.Aug.6 – Valbonne · coon (street)
19.Aug.7 – Marseille · L’Ombrière de Norman Foster (dock)
19.Aug.11 – L’Isle sur la Sorgue · grandmother (street)
On our way to Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, we stopped at Avignon where we met artist, Mustafa Mramezani. Since my youth I wanted an artist to capture my caricature. What was intriguing to all three of us was to see which features he would choose to exaggerate. I was gifted by the opportunity to do this with my boys ❤ Here is Mustafa’s creation:
19.Aug.10 – Avignon · Matias, Gabriel & Lucas Dusil (caricature sketch by Mostafa Mramezani)
19.Aug.12 – Gordes · Bollard chess pawn (street)
19.Aug.12 – Gordes · panorama
In hindsight, I enjoyed central Provence more than the coast. Both have their strengths, but the breathtaking ambiance of Biot, Gordes, Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, and Moustiers-Sainte-Marie were much more impressive and I recommend all of them as must-see destinations.
19.Aug.5 – Monaco · panorama
In particular, Monaco and Cannes weren’t as spectacular as anticipated. The showcase of expensive yachts, cars, and premium brands has never impressed me, but ‘to-each-their-own’. For travelers and photographers interested in an immersive cultural experience, I would recommend flying to Marseille as a base, since this is more central to the most captivating villages of Southern France.
19.Aug.15 – Comps on Artuby · Jean Paul (Av de Chamay)
19.Aug.6 – Biot · door knocker (market)
19.Aug.13 – Bargemon · residence (street)
Travel Photography
In case you missed my other travel posts, you can hyperlink to them here:
Marrakesh was one of the best trips of my life, and a destination I will certainly revisit. The city is striking for many reasons – beautiful colors, the souk markets, and stunning restaurants.
18.Jun.9 – Marrakesh · Madina (souq)
The main issue I had was with the vendors. Around every corner was someone wanting to give you a guided tour, sell you overpriced goods, or establish a rapport in order to execute their scam on unsuspecting virgin tourists. Throughout my travels, I am hypersensitive to scams. In all the sixty-plus countries I have visited, Morocco was at an expert level.
Looking at a map was like having a fish hook in your mouth. A local would walk in front of you for a while, pretending like they are taking you somewhere. Then demand money when you reach your destination.
18.Jun.8 – Telouet · panorama (highway)
Looking at a map on the edge of the souk will immediately prompt a “the souk is closed” from multiple loiterers along the streets. ” But I can take you on a tour of the tannery. They come down from the mountains just once a month and are closing in a few hours, so we don’t have much time” – This means that they want you to avoid the souk at all costs so that you don’t get an idea of the local pricing. Even when you say, “no thanks”, there is a chain of others waiting down the road to convince you otherwise – as if they are communicating by mobile to hook you on a second or third try. If successful they will take you to their private store to sell you the same item at ten to twenty times the cost.
Along the way, you’ll hear how the Berbers are the honorable vendors and do not trust the Arab vendors. They go to great lengths to tell you that the Arabs have no integrity. My experience was quite the opposite. Romans used “barbarian” as a term to reference tribal non-Romans, of which the Berbers were one of them.
18.Jun.6 – Marrakesh · Medina (cafe)
My impression is that the Berbers don’t consider this a scam. If they convince a foreigner to pay for an item at Western prices, that’s business.
18.Jun.6 – Marrakesh · Medina (Jemaa el Fna)
Needless to say, nearly every vendor who spoke to me throughout my two-week stay had lied in one capacity or another. Typical inquiries began as, “Do you know where this place is located” with me pointing at the map, and the vendor saying, “That place is no longer there (or that it’s closed), but I can take you to a better place”, And they try to coax you to their store. I became allergic to the outright lies, and it served to prevent any dialog with the local culture. It’s quite sad because this mistrust does not help fuel tourism. But somehow it’s all worked out for thousands of years.
18.Jun.8 – Telouet · panorama (castle)
Regardless, if you managed to navigate past all these challenges, the souk, restaurants, and city ambiance is over-the-top. Often a narrow street lined with orange clay and sandy streets had an oasis of trees, fountains, and tranquility behind them.
Travel Photography
In case you missed my other travel posts, you can hyperlink to them here:
Gabriel Dusil • Time Is Relentless 