Author Archive
Bangkok Taxis and Northern Exposure
By Tony on May 3, 2012 | 7 Comments »
In transition from Indonesia to northern Thailand, we encountered a number of tourists who had been seriously taken in by Bangkok taxi drivers. I, or better yet, Shelly has something to sing to them …
Goodbye Indonesia, Hello Pixlr
By Tony on May 1, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Indonesia has so much to offer, I have no doubt that we will return in the future to explore more of its unique cultures and adventurous offerings. It is truly one of the world’s greatest destinations.
Interestingly, just as I was sitting down to design a graphic to sum up our time in Indonesia, the online service Pixlr and its associated Chrome app came to our attention. Pixlr offers a free, relatively advanced online photo editor, which can be quite useful for travelers – especially those without a laptop – who wish to work with their photos while on the road.
Easily used from Internet cafes, Pixlr works like a pared-down version of Photoshop, enabling travelers to alter photos, resize and crop photos, add interesting filters, and reduce photos for web use. What really distinguishes Pixlr in my mind is the inclusion of layers and layer masks. Nice.
Intrigued by a completely web-based photo editor, I set out to » Continue reading this post »
Kutai NP Educational Campaign Features our Orangutan Content
By Tony on April 26, 2012 | 3 Comments »
We are thrilled to write that our posts on Kutai National Park have caught the attention of national park authorities in Indonesia. We were contacted by representatives from Kutai NP who asked to use our photos in educational materials that they will be distributing to schools and government offices across the country. How exciting!
My post titled The Orangutan Experience was translated into Indonesian and included in a 34-page educational brochure which also includes articles from researchers and political figures concerned about the park. As you can see in the first image above » Continue reading this post »
Bali Pictorial
By Tony on April 23, 2012 | 4 Comments »
Those who know us well – especially fellow nomads – have expressed surprise that we spent so much time in Bali, a destination they associate with package tourism and sprawling resorts. In all honesty, I avoided Bali on my first trip to Indonesia ignorantly dismissing the island as little more than tourist central. But guess what, Bali is beautiful.
While it’s true that portions of Bali have embraced the dark side of tourism and a visit to Kuta can leave you cringing as hordes of drunk Australians stumble their way through the streets, the larger island provides plenty of room for off-the-beaten-track exploration. There is much to discover here: Bali’s unique Hindu culture and architecture is visually stunning; colorful festivals and parades occur throughout the year; the sand runs the spectrum from powder white to glistening gold to charcoal grey to jet black; and the lush tropical center of the island provides for great walks. Perhaps the greatest discovery for us was that the scuba diving is absolutely world-class (and I don’t say that lightly.)
We liked Bali so much that we decided to put together a pictorial to share some of the island’s unique beauty. (I’ll admit the pictorial is a bit culture heavy, but – hey – how many more pictures of rice terraces can we post?) 
Thomas vs. Philip Morrisovich
By Tony on April 18, 2012 | 5 Comments »
Monkeys (and Russians) just want to have fun. But when this unsuspecting Russian tourist graciously offered a Balinese macaque a lit cigarette to clear his primate palette, ultra-radical environmental activist Thomas had to put the kibosh on the poor tourist’s Slavic fun.
Alerted from my perch atop a nearby temple by the booming echoes of Thomas’ enraged voice, I just had time to snap a shot of the exact moment he stamped out the cigarette. You could clearly see the disappointment in the poor monkey’s face… and the Russian’s. (Oh, so sad.)
Let’s just say, I’ve never been prouder.
