Photographic trip experience sharing and collection.

[zoossh]

A suggestion from asterixsg, i will start the ball rolling and see how far it goes.

Anyone can use their own template or description, but i shall put up a general template, which would be helpful if everyone standardise.

1. Country, Area, Places you visited (optional: when did you visit?)
2. Photo opportunities (best views, sunrise, sunset)
3. Recommended period of visit (if you know)
4. Travel tips and warnings (accomodation, transport, safety, socket types, weather)
5. Link to your gallery, whether it is in cs or outside.

you guys can quote from my template and fill in your stuff, if you like the formatting and color/font sizes to be the same, and otherwise prefered also ok. if i see that there is some sort of organisation that can be done and is beneficial, i may intercept at a later stage to do some organisation....

India (1)
East Turkmenistan aka Xinjiang (1)

 

[asterixsg]

Thanks bro.
I realized that in our clubsnap community, many of us travel often. When I saw some of the responses from folks (eg. the post from redoxsim on Turkey was really informative), the idea came to me. If we can centralize this info somehow, it would be of great help to everyone in the future.
There are several places that one can dig up travel information from, but if you are planning a trip with the main objective of photography (like we clubsnappers do), no better place to get it than from our fellow brethren

 

[zoossh]

1. Country, Area, Places you visited
India, north-central, Delhi & Uttar Pradesh Province (Agra, Allahabad, Varanasi), 2007 Jan


2. Photo opportunities (best views, sunrise, sunset)
people, streets animals, old buildings, river, ghats (waterways)
colors is the god given photographic opportunity, despite of earthy historical buildings. but varanasi have plenty of colors even for the buildings, with many gems hidden in the narrow streets. also check out on festivals. join happy occasions if there is any, such as weddings and childbirth celebration, if you are outside of urbanised cities like new delhi


3. Recommended period of visit (if you know)
october to march, and if you dun mind the heat, apr to july.


4. Travel tips and warnings (accomodation, transport, safety, socket types, weather)
In my travel thread
recommended accomodation: prayag & yatrik in allahabad, alka and fuji ganga in varanasi, sheela in agra
quick tips: beware of touting and cheating, read up from lonely planet on precautions for respective places.


5. Link to your gallery, whether it is in cs or outside.
(horizontal series), (vertical series)


.

 

[zoossh]

lotusfairy have some tips for india, as my pm is too loaded, i will unload them here directly....

lotusfairy and asterixsg, sorry for not replying thru pm.

1. do not totally trust tuk tuk, and shops
2. beware of Locker service that is looked after by people, not locked by yourself. watch carefully own properties
3. toilet rolls, bring more more
4. Bring own alkaline batteries, cannot find. and very expensive if there is in agra and delhi

 

[asterixsg]

1. Country, Area, Places you visited
China, Xinjiang in July 2006
Urumuqi, Wuchaicheng (also called Multi-colored bay), Buerjin, Kanas, Baihaba, Hemu, Wu'erhe (demon city), Sailimu Hu, Bayunbulukh Lake, Nalati grasslands...
Xinjiang is quite a big province. You need a minimum of 2 weeks just to cover the northern part of Xinjiang. Kanas is almost at the northern tip of Xinjiang. (Baihaba is the village bordering Kazakhstan)
Duration of trip : 2 weeks (including travel from/to Singapore)

2. Photo opportunities (best views, sunrise, sunset)
Beautiful Landscapes, snow clad mountains, rivers, lakes, grasslands, glaciers
Sunset at Wuchaicheng (sorry for the spelling...)
Sunset at Buerjin by the river
Sunset at Sailimu Hu
Trek/Horse ride from Kanas to Hemu - the trek is a 2 day, horse ride is approx 10-12 hrs
The Kanas - Hemu trek is considered one of the top ten treks in China.
Extremely scenic. The best time to go is in Aug/Sep to capture the colors of autumn. It is said that a lot of Chinese photographers descend there toting their white lenses during that period. If you have time, you can still do the 2 day trek at a slower pace on horseback. Highly recommended.
In Kanas county itself, walk along the Kanas river on the boardwalk. Very nice.
Interesting rock formations in Wuerhe - the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was filmed here.
Stay overnight in the tents (called Yurts) in Sailimu Hu after all the day tourists leave.
If into birding, plan to spend a day at Bayunbulukh lake - lots of migratory birds there (me ignorant).

3. Recommended period of visit
late Aug/early Sep to capture the colors of autumn
June when the whole area of Kanas/Hemu is enveloped in blue flowers (dunno the name)

4. Travel tips and warnings (accomodation, transport, safety, socket types, weather)

Stayed mostly in backpackers accomodation. Max we paid was like RMB 80 for a night for a twin bedded room. Except in Kanas where its like a resort - paid something like RMB 200-250 per room (because not peak season). In high season, rates can go much higher.

Food - quite cheap. Only in Kanas county, food can be expensive (its a restricted area). If you are on a budget, suggest you carry cup noodles, 3-in-1 coffee, biscuits, chocolates etc. (you can buy them in the nearest town from where you approach Kanas. In our case, it was Buerjin) Pork not available in most of the restaurants. Roast lamb is the speciality there.

Felt quite safe in Xinjiang - though usual precaution to be exercised.

Some places can be quite dusty. Try not to change lenses in the open - dust can get in. Weather can change suddenly too. Take care of your equipment. When not in use, wrap in double layers of ziploc bags. Preferably carry an all-weather camera bag.

Best is to go in a group of 4-6 photographers. Get a van/car with a driver from Urumqi. Then you can plan your route and stop wherever you feel like. Excellent motorable roads.
Xinjiang is a big state and distances are substantial. Plan to spend a lot of time on the road.

Summers can be very long. Sunrise at 5 AM and sunset at 9:30 to 10:00 PM.
Sleep less, shoot more. Or catch up on sleep while travelling in the van/car.

Night markets in Urumuqi and Buerjin - quite interesting, cheap (and at times exotic) food.

Not much information available on the internet in English. This website just gives you a little overview.
http://www.xinjiang.gov.cn/1$002/1$002$002/354.jsp?articleid=2005-6-16-0012
Not many books in our libraries that cover the northern park of Xinjiang. Most books focus on the Silk Route.
Got a small book in English about Xinjiang, at the Urumuqi airport on my way back (yeah, on my way back). If someone wants to borrow, lemme know.

5. Link to your gallery, whether it is in cs or outside.
<will provide link later - haven't uploaded photos onto the internet...>

6. How to get there ?
Two options :
1. Fly Singapore to Chengdu and from Chengdu to Urumuqi
Flights were in the morning from Singapore, reach Chengdu in the afternoon. Leave Chengdu in the late evening, arrive at night in Urumuqi.
Spend the whole day in travel. Not my preference.

2. Fly Air China - Singapore to Beijing and from Beijing to Urumuqi
Take the night flight from Singapore. Arrive Beijing early morning. Morning flight from Beijing to Urumuqi. Arrive Urumuqi by noon. Saves time. Preferred.

Other alternatives are to fly via Shanghai and Guangzhou - but not too convenient timings when I travelled.

7. Cost
Airfare - Singapore to Urumuqi via Beijing (by Air China) : S$1100
Food & Transport and accomodation costs : S$700
(sorry, don't have a breakup of these as we just pooled money and one person kept track of the expenditure)

 

[zoossh]

asterixsg, as expected. no further inputs.

i'm bringing everything into my travel thread. if there are subsequent inputs, then i will just bring over there unless there is enough information in this thread to hold on its own.

 

[tan131]

zoossh.. if u don't mind, can include u include costs? i'm sure it would be helpful to anyone who's planning his/her trip

 

[zoossh]

zoossh.. if u don't mind, can include u include costs? i'm sure it would be helpful to anyone who's planning his/her trip

click on the links, you will find it.

 

[redoxsim]

I remember the days of the simple point & shoot autofocus cameras with rolls of 35mm film (and all the talk of how airport x-ray machines would screw up your photos). Back then I was really stingy with my photos and would probably only have 2 rolls of 36 photos taken for a 2 weeks trip. This worked out to about 4 or 5 photos a day only. Photography was not to fulfill any aesthetic aspiration, but merely a pictorial record of the places I'd traveled to.

Looking back now, I regret having missed all the opportunities for photography on the various destinations I've been to. But I would like to share some of these destinations that I consider having great potential for wonderful photography (even if I didn't indulge when I was there). I will also try to include some of my old P&S photos (if I can find them and scan them) just so that a flavour of the place can be brought across.

Hopefully many others will also share some off-the-beaten-track destinations as I'm always on the lookout for new places to visit


1. Country, Area, Places you visited
Lombok, Indonesia
Gunung Rinjani.

2. Photo opportunities
Many have described Lombok as a more laidback and less crowded Bali, with opportunities for portrait photography. Deserted beaches with coconut trees lining the beaches all over the island. Fishermen at work.

To me, the real gem is Gunung Rinjani (Mount Rinjani). Besides Mount Kinabalu (which you have to share with hundreds of other climbers every day), I can't think of another mountain that is so near to Singapore, yet offers such spectacularly dramatic views. It has a recently formed (in geological terms) mini-volcano within the main volcano crater lake.

En route up to the summit of the mountain (actually a still active volcano), the jungle is occasionally shrouded in mist, making for interesting photos.


3. Recommended period of visit (if you know)
My Lonely Planet recommended the dry season (June - October) if you would like to climb the volcano. I would suggest considering making use of National Day hols.


4. Travel tips and warnings (accomodation, transport, safety, socket types, weather)
As it's not as well known as Bali, Lombok can offer beach resorts accomodation at rather bargain prices. Do some research.

Climbing Rinjani requires a certain level of fitness. If you are able to summit Kinabalu, Rinjani should be alright. You will need at least two days to trek up to the summit and back down again. If you want to go all the way and climb into the crater lake, it will require four days at least (recommended if you can spare the time).

5. How to get there
Silkair flies direct to Lombok.


6. Link to your gallery, whether it is in cs or outside.

I regret not having a camera with a wide angle lens. Wasn't able to capture the grandeur of the entire crater. Also wasn't aware of photostitch technology then. Doubt I will ever climb all the way up again. As you can see from the photo, the mini-volcano is still partially shrouded in shadow as the climb to the top of the volcano is typically timed for early morning (to catch the sunrise). It will be a challenge to snap the mini-volcano at a good time from a good vantage view (considering you will be rather fatigued from the climb and extremely cold from the high altitude).

 

[asterixsg]

Great. I am also on the lookout for off the beaten track places. This is indeed cool stuff. Might make use of the National Day holiday as suggested.
Bro,
if you don't mind, can you also put one section on "How to get there ?". Of course, a google search will invariably lead one to that answer, but the post would be kinda more complete with this info. Not sure when you travelled to this place, so costs may not be too relevant. Thanks.

 

[redoxsim]

if you don't mind, can you also put one section on "How to get there ?". Of course, a google search will invariably lead one to that answer, but the post would be kinda more complete with this info. Not sure when you travelled to this place, so costs may not be too relevant. Thanks.

ok, I've included the info of how I got there.
Don't really want to include costs as these things fluctuate. Besides, I think these experience sharing are meant to be starters, to highlight the existence of these destinations. If anyone is interested, then he/she should go on to do more research.