Sweet little girl. Dong Van. Northern Vietnam. September 2018
How not to get bored of traveling?
My way? Planning for each travel trip is very important to me. If I plan to be at a place for say 14 days, I would plan on my everyday itinerary together with my backup plan if anything doesn’t go according to my plan.
Flexibility help reduces my anxiety.
I travel to do and see things I can’t at home. I hope to learn more about myself and being flexible allow me to be more open to a new self-experience.
My planning reflects my commitment to creating a unique different moment in each place that I visit. So that I could recall how does that place makes me FEEL years after years later.
Sapa. Northern Vietnam. September 2018
I am glad that I am into photography. Morning light and afternoon light is always my favorite hours. So, I would be up very early in the morning and stayed until the last light, hunting and experiencing local festivals, market crowds, treks the hills to have a peek of the enchanting landscape, walking through a strangers village to have a look at how is life on this other side of the world and so on. The moment of learning and experiencing humanity is always a satisfying moment for me.
Wandering is a lot easier if you have a clear direction on where to go. Sharing some photos during my trip to Northern Vietnam last year. Will share more story during this trip on my next post. In Sha Allah
Ban Gioc waterfall. Northern Vietnam. September 2018
And last question … am I lucky? Yes, I feel lucky therefore I am lucky. Have a good day dear reader. Bye.
Sharing tips on how to capture my favourite subject … our little children in NST BOTS/ click!
On the street or in the studio, these 5 essential tips would definitely help create the cultivating ambience for our little subject for us to capture their growing up moment.
After so many places that I have been to, do I not feel bored?
After a while every place would look the same, she claimed. She travels a lot too. Covering common touristy places that normal tourist would go but yes, I think she has a good point there.
We tend to overdo things.
And when we overdo things, we’ll get numb and bored.
A farmer.Dong Van. Northern Vietnam.September 2018
I call it the “touch and go” kind of traveling … get to your next stop, the Instagram famous spot, then click here click there in 30 minutes run to the bus to the next stop, click here click there in 20 minutes back to the bus again and repeating that for 7 days while covering for 6 continents (I am exaggerating here yah).
After a few trips like this … places will look the same, there is not enough time to FEEL. The reason we travel is to experience the FEEL. Every place offered a different opportunity for us to FEEL but we need more than 30 minutes to explore the new surrounding and experiencing FEEL.
Hmong people. Dong Van. Northern Vietnam. September 2019
How not to get bored while constantly traveling? Create a unique moment for each place that you visited. To do that … you need to do slow traveling.
Take more time at each place. Breath the air. Wander along the street. Explore local markets. Stay at the local’s home. Trek the mountain. Cycle around the town. Hangout at the local restaurant. Join the local festival.
Time for bed. It is 11:25pm on 03.01.2019. Will continue my rant on my next post. Goodnight.
Feeling obnoxious. Adding up another year to my age. 2018 was not a very productive year and the mental exhaustion sometimes makes me want to quit from being the nicer me. Maybe this is maturity.
Overthinking. Fear that something might go wrong if I choose a different path. People of my age prefer to just choose the most comfortable path. But I always have that rebellious voice aka conscious voice that I want to listen to.
It seems like maturity took a heavy toll of my childish inner self. I am still not sure how to deal with it. Give it time … maybe Allah will show me the right path.
In the meantime … life goes on.
Kashmir. India. October.2018
Happy new year to y’all who dropped by here reading my online journal.
Resolution? Naaahhh … no new resolution for me this year. I will always do what I always do … giving my best effort in everything that I do. I am not brave nor I am strong. If pushing myself to survive is this adventurous, damn …I would do this, again and again, for a million time.
Time for bed. It’s 12:04 AM now. A new year. A new day. A new challenge. Have faith.
A man from Uttar Pradesh that I met in Kashmir. He works at a brick factory outside Srinagar
I wanted to visit Kashmir. Heard so much about the beauty of this place but I could not find the right time.
I want to visit Kashmir in autumn.
Autumn this year, I was in New Delhi waiting for my connecting flight to Srinagar, Kashmir. I happened to read the local newspaper on the latest news about the current unrest and unsettled situation in Kashmir. The struggle has been going on for years … I heard.
As I landed at Srinagar airport, I have to fill in pages of immigration and security forms. Full armed police and military personnel are seen everywhere in the town. Yes … I mean it, everywhere.
Nomad shepherds preparing their cattle for winter
There has been a fresh attack recently killing a few people from the public. You can feel the tension rising in the air and shops around the Srinagar town choose to remain closed for a few more days.
But despite the unrest situation tourist still continuously flock here, undeterred by the chaos. Just like me and my friends …
A brick factory located outside Srinagar
Kashmiris knows that their main economic source of income comes from the tourist . Rest assure that tourists and travelers are well taken care of despite the unrest situation, my local guide said.
I wonder … why is it so many unrest or chaos places in our world?
I played “the tourist” this time around. Instead of wandering freely around the streets … I hesitantly followed the group leader. Yes, my heart struggled to tame down my curiosity and my feet were itchy to just walk around and explore my surrounding, the way that I always did whenever I am in a strange land. But if you decided to be in a group, it is best to just stick to the group’s tempo.
Me sitting in front of our shikara enjoying the view of Dal Lake
But … honestly, playing “the tourist” sometimes is relaxing, just pure vacation. No waking up early in the morning or staying at secluded location hunting for sunrises or sunsets. No walking aimlessly around villagers hanging around with what they said the ‘unpredictable’ locals.
Food is well served … on time, no hunger, no gastric acid like always, lol. Well pampered accommodation. I even get my own hot water warmer beg, sweet.
Not complaining though … I love it.
View from the peak of Apharwat Mountain (3,950meters)Another side of Dal Lake, SrinagarKashmir applesDashing view of Sonamarg
I am not gonna continue ranting about how beautiful this place is but I would come here again in autumn of whenever years … just to spend more time walking on the streets and wandering around the villages here in Kashmir, enjoying human to human moment … In Sha Allah. I have all sort of plan now in my head on where should I wander and what should I do here.
Just a friendly reminder for photographers who plan to visit Kashmir. Staying light with your camera load is highly recommended as entering and existing Srinagar airport is quite a nuisance due to the tight security check.
I wrote an article about Dal Lake of Srinagar for NST Bots. Sharing it here together with my timelapse video of Kashmir landscape.
MATSUDA MASHIMARU 