Uncategorized

Hi Everyone Today was a partial rest day and so I thought. Last night skipped dinner and went to bed at 7:30. Woke up at 10:30 to write and then went back to sleep at midnight. Finally woke up at 7 AM. Breakfast is served starting at 7:30 and then it was off for a short day adventure and so I thought. I must say this is the first hotel where the coffee was not great. In this heat, I have been drinking less java, but still need my tank filled each morning. We left then hotel at 9:30 for a short drive. Don’t forget, we are in Kandy. Kandy is almost all buddhist and there are lots of buddhist statues around town. We first went up a large hill for a view of the city. Kandy is built on hills overlooking the center of town. One famous buddhist temple is located here. The temple is the “Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic”. Why is this temple called the “Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic”? In current day India, there are three temples that have three different teeth of Buddha. There used to be four temples. In the fourth century, an Indian king was afraid that the fourth tooth was going to be taken by invaders so he sent the tooth to the then current king of Sri Lanka. Both kings had a close relationship. That tooth was eventually placed in a Temple in Kandy. The Temple is gold roofed. The tooth is located in a small casket within the temple complex. The tooth is not on display, but has been seen by the monks who take care of the Temple and dignitaries throughout the years. The Temple is one of the most sacred sites in Sri Lanka. Many buddhist people come to visit the Temple complex and bring flowers and incense. When we arrived at the gate, I was wearing shorts that were considered to short to enter the complex and was denied entry until I could cover my legs. There were two other men with the same problem. Our tour guide took us to a local merchant where we each bought a sarong to wrap around our waists and cover our legs. We were finally allowed to enter and the rest of the group had a great time laughing and taking pictures of us. Our tour guide showed us a strange looking tree. The tree is now called a “Cannonball Tree”. The fruits are shaped like cannon balls and not edible. We were told that Buddha was born in a field of these type of trees. Of course, there were also lots of monkeys making their presence known. We finally arrived at the Temple entrance and had to take our shoes off before entering. Inside, the Temple was a mass of humanity of men, women and children all in some form of prayer and or meditation. The scene was almost mass chaos as we walked amongst the people praying and waiting to enter the main Temple entrance. There was an interesting buddha that had large elephant tusks on either side. The main Temple entrance was on the second floor where there was a whole floor of people sitting on the floor either praying or meditating. We were told that the crowd is at least double this when a full moon occurs. I could not imagine that scene. We were able to look inside the main Temple area where the tooth casket is housed, but could not see much. I did not try to take a picture out of respect and felt it would be inappropriate. There were lots of buddhas in almost all the corners of rooms where people were praying and meditating. I felt somewhat out of place being there, but was glad I saw this showing of strong belief. We then went into another large room where there was a beautiful buddha setup with lots of flowers and incense all around. The roof was interesting. There were gold busts of elephants on the white ceiling. It was then time to leave. “Africa Hot” had set in and the sarong was making me even hotter. We then went for a walk through Kandy and the local Market. There is an old hotel across from the Temple named the “Queens Hotel”. The hotel looks and feels like it is two hundred years old and you could feel the history. I went inside to get a drink at the bar. The bar is named the “Lord Montbatten Bar” and was established in 1840. I could not describe the traffic and mass chaos as people walked up and down the shop lined streets in “Africa Hot”. We arrived at the local Market, where vendors were selling all sort of leather goods, clothing, sarongs and shoes. Olivia bought some pants. We also sampled some local fruits and finally made our way out into the chaos of people outside. It was then time to walk back to the Temple area for our bus ride back to our hotel. The bus arrived at 2 PM and I was so happy. By this time I was drenched and needed to decompress from the heat, traffic and people. We were told to meet at 6:30 in the lobby for a special dinner. I spent four hours looking and editing my photos. I love doing this and my mind goes into a different process. The dinner was special. We were driven to a local families house for a local dinner with them. We were only served local food. There was an interesting dish of a rice kind of noodle that looked like white pasta made into a large cookie. Quite good. We were also served red rice and various curry and coconut dishes. Some of the dishes were hot and spicy. Not my cup of tea. The family also served us a coconut patty that is made with a special type of wooden instrument that we

Hi Everyone’ What a long and tiresome day. The day started at the crack of dawn as we got up for breakfast at 6 AM with a departure time of 7 AM. We were the first ones in the breakfast hall and ate while the staff was setting up for an official opening at 6:30. It was off last 7 AM for a thirty minute drive to the Sigiriya Rock Fortress. The Rock Fortress dates back fifteen hundred years. A former king built his palaces on top of this large and imposing rock so that he could be protected from any people who would want to overthrow his reign. He came to reign when he purposely killed his father, who was the reigning king. He did this to become king since his mother was a concubine and his younger brother was the child of the real queen. The fortress sits on top of this immense rock that sticks out from the landscape. I am trying to describe something that is hard to describe unless you are there. Sort of like a small mesa amongst a lush green vegetated area. The problem is to get to the top you have to climb over twelve hundred steps straight up in the “Africa Hot”. Most of the steps were ancient stone steps that were not wide enough to fit the normal sized feet of today. That means that most of the steps had to be navigated sideways in order to accommodate the size of your feet. Furthermore, I was carrying two cameras mounted onto two lenses. One of the lenses was a telephoto lens that was big and awkward. My feeling was that if I made it all the way up then I needed to have the right gear to take pictures. The steps were built onto near vertical walls. My shirt and shorts started to get drenched with sweat as I worked my way up. There were a few places to rest along the way. As I worked my way up, I hoped that the end would justify the amount of effort needed to reach the summit. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally reach the top. Ten of us had made it. The summit had lots of ruins and old ancient looking terraces and small ponds. The terraces were the remains of old stone structures. The view was a panorama of the surrounding countryside. I had to sit down and wonder how these structures were made on top of such a location and how ancient people had carried all the materials and tools needed up these vertical sides to the top of this immense rock. We spent some time on top enjoying the view and walking amongst the remaining ruins. It was now time for the descent. I have always felt that walking down is harder than walking up. There is more pressure put on your legs as you descend and especially from this place on the ancient stone steps. It seemed that the descent was going on forever and that the pressure on your legs would never end. I was amazed that no one fell and hurt themselves. Was the climb worth it? Probably not, but to have not done it would have always left a question in my mind. I do not think my pictures will justify the effort required too take them. Furthermore, when will I ever return to try it again? After drinking lots of water and thinking of a long ride in the air conditioned bus to our next destination, we finally boarded and left. It was now a thirty minute ride to the Temples of Dambulla. The Temples of Dambulla are five large caves that have lots of buddhas and small stupas inside. The story is that a former king lived there amongst monks to hide himself from invaders from India. He governed while living amongst the monks in these caves and raised an army to chase the invaders away. In gratitude, the king had these buddhas and stupas built inside the five caves for the monks. I have been to lots of buddhist shrines and seen lots of structures, but i can tell you that these caves were very impressive and will rank very high up on my travel list of things you must see. The first cave was the smallest. There was a large reclining buddha and some smaller ones in a very eerie looking place. The second cave started to really step it up. Lots of buddhas lined up along the walls, some small stupas in the middle and a large reclining buddha long one wall. The lack of light created a perfect place to see these imposing structures. There were small lights scattered amongst the structures. There structures created their own shadows on the cave walls. I could not stop taking pictures. The eeriness and shadows created an incredible scene. Each cave got larger and housed more structures. I hope my pictures do this place justice. We also had to take our shoes off before we entered the complex and wear the appropriate clothing. I need to also say that there was over a two hundred steps climb over ancient steps. Climbing sideways was the norm. Monkeys were all over and some of them posed for me. I could have walked through the caves a second time, since every time I changed my position the light created a different way of looking at the scene. We finally left for a hopefully long and quiet ride on the air conditioned bus. It was a ninety minute ride to a spice garden where we would take a tour, be given a cooking class and eat lunch. My mind yearned for a nice cold beer. The local beer here is “Lion Beer”. The beer is purchased in large bottles and costs less than two dollars each. Quite a bargain. I tried to take a nap, but was so tired and exhausted that

Hi Everyone How is the other side of the world? Have not read a newspaper since Thursday. The day started late today. We all slept in and I needed that. The hot humid “Africa Hot” gets you tired and sluggish by the end of the day. We started our days adventure at 10:30 after a good and relaxing breakfast with lots of Java. Served and enjoyed the old fashioned way. No paper cups and takeout. Drove to a local village named Hiriwadunna Village. Hope it is spelled right, but doubt it. My memory is not as good as it used to be. We all took a long hike with a local guide through a village of farmers. There were some cattle and cows there and the people were friendly. Passed some women doing their laundry the old fashioned way at a local lake. The people appear to be very friendly and have that innocence that I love to find. Life in this local village appeared to be very simple. We finally hiked up to a man made tiny pier where we boarded some catamarans to cross the small river to the other side. The catamarans were made of plastic and not the authentic type that we had previously seen in Negumbo. Once on the other side, we hiked up to some farm where different crops were growing. There were bananas, mango, peas and other assorted vegetables. We were told that some elephants had recently eaten some of the crops and stomped some others. Saw some large elephant prints in the soggy ground. We finally stopped at some benches where we all sat down. There was a stump from a tree sticking out of the ground in front of us and there were a whole bunch of coconuts behind the stump. A local with a machete came over and started to cut the top of the coconuts off on the stump and hand them over to us to drink the juice. The local was wearing a sarong. About half the men in Sri Lanka wear sarongs. We were told that coconut juice is full of electrolytes and will help us stay hydrated. After we all had our fill of the juice, the man then cut up some pieces and asked any of us if we would like to scrape some fiber and juice out. I did and the wet fiber tasted quite good. It was then back to the man made small pier that looked like it was going to topple over any minute. We then all boarded the plastic catamarans for a short ride back to close where we started our hike. Saw a baby crocodile sunning itself on a log. It started to rain. When it rains, it rains buckets and then stops. Everything is so green. We all huddled under umbrellas and finally got off the catamarans. It is now time for a hike to a local family. We arrived and were served lunch. Lunch was served in a lotus leaf. The large leaf was put in a bamboo dish and we all got up to sample some local food. All the food was made from products grown in the village. There was pumpkins, white rice, mung beans and other strange looking vegetables. The also had small pieces of fried fish. We were told the fish were cichlids caught in the local lake that we had just been on. All the food tasted quite good. Sri Lankan food has lots of spices. The people do not crush the spices first and then cook with them. They first cook the spices and then crush them before they are used with their food. We were also given some local tiny bananas. They are called Monkey Bananas here. Sri Lanka has twenty seven different varieties of bananas. Sweet and juicy pineapple was also given to us. We now boarded the bus to visit the ruins of one of the prior provincial capitals. Sri Lanka had eight different provincial capitals. India has constantly tried to invade Sri Lanka throughout its history and the capital was moved many times. The name of this site is Polonnaruwa. The ruins date back close to one thousand years. The site has only been open to the public for the past thirty years. Quite new. We first visited a museum where we saw models of some of the sites we would be seeing to see what the site originally looked like. It was then back into our bus and into the archaeological park. The first stop was not too impressive since most of this site was originally made from wood so the only ruins still standing were some rock columns, but you could make out what the original structure looked like by thinking of the models we were shown. One structure originally had a large stupa in the middle and the area had a wood roof so people can come and pray in any weather. We were also shown what a toilet looked like then. Not too different from the old fashioned hole in the ground used today. It was then back into the bus for the next site. The next site was located deeper in the jungle and there were other stone structures with large stupas located inside them. There was also the remains of a Buddhist structure that was different from the others. We were told that this was a temple built in the Cambodian style. One of the Khmer kings had sent Khmer soldiers to help the Sri Lankan king protect this site from the invading Indians. A Cambodian temple was built for the soldiers to be comfortable when they prayed. There were lots of wild monkeys here. Olivia had a great time making videos of the wild monkeys for our grandchildren to see. It was then onto the third and for my taste, the most impressive site. Of course we got back into the bus and drove. We then parked and walked. We finally

Hi Guys and Dolls Hope everyone is enjoying my blog on Sri Lanka. There was a party going on all last night above our hotel room. I tried to sleep but finally gave in at 4 AM and dragged my old bones out of a very comfortable bed. We are meeting at 6 AM to go to the local fish market in Negumbo. Made myself some instant coffee and read. Got used to drinking instant coffee in Mongolia. Sorry to disappoint everyone, but instant coffee is pretty good. I know we are all spoiled, but give it a try. Even Starbucks carries instant coffee. Our local guide told us that you will see many of the fish from the Indian Ocean and he was right. There were all sorts of scenes unfolding. There were people cutting fish and of course, many locals were bargaining for their fish. I saw fish that I had seen before, but not that often. There were long bodied gar fish with long noses. Lots of swordfish, huge fish that looked like pompano and even a large sting ray for sale. It seems that a popular fish is a small fish that is caught and then let to dry in the sun. We saw that yesterday and passed by lots of plots set up with the fish drying in the sun. The scene was almost chaos. People were yelling and some had machetes. Fish heads were everywhere and blood and guts were flowing. Reminded me of the fish section of a food market in Southeast Asia. It was then back to the hotel for breakfast and onto our first journey. We left the hotel at around 8:30 and were on our way. There are no highways in Sri Lanka. All the roads are roads that go through towns and villages. We passed many rice patties and coconut farms. The tour guide told us that the people use the coconut for just about everything. Besides eating, they use the bark and shell for all sorts of other products to even candy. Some of the locals also use the bark as roofing for their houses. The island is lush and the vegetation is bright green. Reminded me of Cambodia at the end of the rainy season. I asked the tour guide if they had durian. We all know what durian is. If not google it and find out. One of my favorite fruits. He told us durian is harvested in June/July and the people love it. Just like I do. It was now time for our rest stop. I am not the oldest on the trip, thank god. Frequent rest stops are now a way of life for us old folks. At the rest stop there was a snake charmer playing his flute as the snake danced away. Have never seen one and wondering if snake charming would be well accepted in America. As we drove along the roads, it seemed that we were traveling back in time. The towns and villages became more rustic and local looking. Lots of three wheel tuk tuks. Very few trucks and vehicles. Passed lots of Buddhist sites including Stupas. I have previously visited Stupas in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. Each country has its own unique version of a Stupa. A Stupa is a round structure that is a temple in the Buddhist religion. The Stupas here are quite small compared to the ones in the other countries. By the way, yesterday I asked our guide if we should walk clockwise in a Buddhist temple and leave backing out and not facing forward. He told us that you should always walk around the temple clockwise, but do not have to leave back out. At around 12:30 stopped for lunch. I decided to pass on lunch. Need to be more quick and nimble and besides do not like to eat three meals when I travel. It was now onto the highlight of the day. We arrived in the town of Habarana. Outside of Habarana is the Minneiya National Park. The bus stopped on the main road outside the park and we all got into open air jeeps except it was pouring. The jeeps looked like they were left over from World War II and each one had covers over the top and sides. I had mounted my telephoto lens on my backup camera and was ready to see some wildlife. As we entered the Park, the skies cleared and the driver stopped to take down the covers. We all stood up in the back and entered the Park. The Park is home to herds of wild Sri Lankan Elephants. Sri Lanka Elephants are the largest Asian Elephants in the world. The terrain and weather is perfect for them. There are plains of high grass and lots of small ponds and lakes. When we entered the Park, the skies opened up again and everything seemed pretty calm. I was wondering will I ever catch of glimpse of these wild elephants. Saw wild monkeys, huge bee hives and beautiful birds, but no elephants. The rains stopped again and the driver pulled over to take the tarps back down. We then drove into a large clearing and there they were. Herds and herds of them. These beautiful majestic creatures roaming around with no cages nor bars and free to do and go where they want. My camera started to click away. It was easy taking these pictures. Elephants are slow and they acted as if we were not even there. They went about their business as we were the outsiders looking in to a world that is vanishing. Some of the males even got into a stare down with a slight scuffle at the end. We even saw two elephants mating. Not a care in the world and no regard for us. We were the visitors. This was their world. Olivia was taking a video for our grandchildren when the two elephants started to mate.

Hi Guys What’s happening in Sri Lanka? Currently it is raining and raining hard. We were told November is the start of the dry season. Oh well, life goes on. So I fell asleep like I was in a coma. Why you ask? After flying half way around the world and dragging yourself through various airports and security checks, the mind and body gives out. Woke up around 7 AM by my wife’s cell phone ringing. I wish we were somewhere where cells and the internet did not work. Looked out the terrace window and saw the beautiful and calm Indian Ocean starring back at me. Looks like a large lake with very calm waves. Finally dragged myself out of bed and had to have lots of java. Needed the java to start the engine and get into gear. Always have lots of coffee when I travel and need it to function while away. Who taught me that? My buddy Andy. The only guy I know of who has quadruple shots of coffee in the morning and when he goes to sleep. What a guy. Why drink four cups of coffee when you can pack it all into one cup? Makes sense to me. Think about it. A way to streamline your time. If you drink two cups of coffee in the morning, have the same cup with an extra shot. Saves time and effort. One problem with this way of drinking coffee. The drinking of coffee is supposed to be a way that you relax and ponder your thoughts and possibly read the daily papers. Almost every morning I sit in our local Starbucks and watch the insanity unfold as people rush in for their coffees that they had preordered in their take out containers. Just watching the scene gets me uptight and upset about facing my day. In Slovenia, coffee is never served in take outs. They use real china and you sit and either read the paper or watch the world go by. Why can’t we go back to this simple and basic way of coffee drinking? I challenge everyone to do this for one week and see if this way of drinking coffee makes the quality of their life better. Went down to breakfast and had my java with some interesting breakfast items. Sat next to a couple from San Francisco, who have been traveling for six weeks and was leaving today for Singapore. Told us that Sri Lanka is an interesting and appealing country with lots of beautiful things to see. Did you ever have curry for breakfast? Did not sound appealing to me and as you know, I have had sheep head. I had a sunny side egg made in a light dough type of pouch that was very good. Olivia and myself love breakfast in other countries since there are usually some interesting items on the menu that are characteristic of that country. Curry, chicken and rice were all offered at breakfast. It was now time for our walk on the beach. We walked for miles and miles. Passed some locals bathing and some strange looking sailboats and catamarans. Most of the catamarans I have ever seen and been on have all been made of either fiberglass or metal. Not these. They were all made of wood and the sailboats had one big sail. I have seen a few movies shot on the Nile and these sailboats looked like those with only one large sail. It seemed like we were in a time warp and seeing boats that had been never seen in America. We passed local fishermen who were dragging their nets out the water with large catches of small fish. They laid the small fish on the ground to dry in the sun. Lets speak a little of the sun. The sun here seems to be “Africa Hot”. For all of the new comers, “Africa Hot” is a phrase that my wife, Olivia, coined on describing the weather in Cambodia. The sun is intense and got more intense as the day wore on. The humidity also fell into the “Africa Hot” terminology. When I took my camera out, the lens immediately fogged up like my glasses. The Indian Ocean was so warm and comforting. it appeared to be saying to me, “Come and let me comfort you from your long journey”. We walked by lots of interesting sites and took some great pictures of the scenes around us. I love to take pictures of people living their lives and especially in different cultures. I try to have the pictures tell a story of these people and how they lead their lives. The area we are staying in is called “Negombo Beach”. It is on the west coast of Sri Lanka. One of the guests told us that there is no land mass south of here until you get to Antartica. Maybe I should stay here. But that’s another story for my last day. Once we walked far down the beach, Olivia decided that she wanted to visit a Mosque that she saw in the distance and got onto the road or what the locals call a road. The Tuk Tuks are interesting here. I have been on Tuk Tuks that are pulled by bicycles, motor bikes and paddled by people. How about three wheeled Tuk Tuks with a tiny engine and a small back seat for the passengers? I saw one that said Corvette on it. Please, a corvette dressed up as a three wheel Tuk Tuk. No way. Walked to the Mosque and looked inside. Looked pretty barren to me and then it was time to walk back to the hotel on the local road. Saw people living in the conditions that they live in. I have seen much worse and many of the conditions looked similar to some of the countries of Southeast Asia. Got asked many times if we wanted a Tuk Tuk ride but decided to gut it

Hi Everyone Long time no hear from anyone. Where am I and what am I doing here? Olivia and myself have finally arrived in Sri Lanka. We both go on a trip together each fall and take turns picking the country where we want to go  on a yearly basis. This year was my year to pick. After Olivia was angry at me for going to Mongolia, but finally understood, I passed the baton to her for this year. We both looked at Cuba, but decided that most of the tourist trips there now are all about the same. Looked pretty boring. It is getting harder and harder to find places that have not been saturated by tourists yet. We then found a tour of Sri Lanka through Gate 1 travel. This is the first year they have offered this trip on a small group basis. Both of us like to explore countries and go places that have not been saturated by tourists yet, so we decided to sign up and go. Where is Sri Lanka? Sri Lanka was a former British colony that gained its independence in 1948. The former name was Ceylon. Sri Lanka is a large island in the Indian Ocean south of India. To the left is the Indian Ocean and to the right, the Andaman Sea. I had previously swan in the Andaman Sea when I visited Myanmar about 6-7 years ago. The major religion is Buddhist. I have been to many buddhist countries and always like seeing the differences in how each buddhist country practices the religion. We left JFK on Qatar Airways for Doha. Doha is the capital of Qatar. A 14 hour nonstop flight and seven hour time difference. Got there at 6 AM their time and left at 9 AM for Columbo. Columbo is the capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is 2 and one half hours ahead of Qatar. So we are 9 and one half hours ahead of NY. Myanmar is 10 and one half hours ahead of NY. Why the half hour? Do not understand? Maybe someone can explain that to me. How can a time difference fall in the half hour? It was dark when we finally got out of the airport and went to our hotel. The hotel is five star and appears to be on the ocean. Will find out in the morning. The currency in Sri Lanka is rupies. 150 rupies for one US dollar. Got 30,000 rupies for $200 dollars. Am just about ready to fall over and go to sleep. Talk to everyone soon   Love Larry      

Dear friends, It is wonderful to be back home…..please enjoy my photos by clicking on the covers in each album…. Hope you enjoy the adventure.   Love, Larry   Album 1 [envira-album id=”2351″] Album 2 [envira-album id=”2394″] Album 3 [envira-album id=”2416″] Album 4 [envira-album id=”2439″] Click here to visit my complete photo gallery

Hi Everyone It’s me again and for the last time until the next time. Hope everyone is well, beautiful and happy. I writing this last blog on Mongolia and the Gobi with mixed emotions. Have been away since September 26 and greatly miss the people who receive this blog and of course, especially my beautiful wife, great children and super great grandchildren. Onto today The Waldorf Astoria Ger Camp was great. Stayed up until around 1 AM editing my photos for Olivia’s review. Final count 10,667 images. That’s right 10,667 images. I need a life. Why did I take so many images and who cares? I have been shooting in burst or continuous shooting mode. If a subject is constantly moving, such as Eagle Hunters, Horses, Camels etc. you want to start shooting from the point you pick and keep on shooting until the image is complete. When you see photographers shooting on the sidelines of sporting events, they are shooting in continuous mode. Someone then reviews the pictures and picks out the best from that sequence. It is like shooting a machine gun and sounds that way. Don ‘t tell me that you are going to post 10,667 images. I promise I will not. I plan on presenting to Olivia around 200 and she will probably fiddle it down to 50-75 for your review. Andy took over 11,500 images. So I am not crazy. Just following the master. By the way, I won the best picture contest. Kevin said he was standing next to me when I took it. I saw it. One of my subscribers and close friend and client has commented about too much potty talk. One more potty talk and then that’s it. Being 68, I wake up a few times a night to do you know what. Last night I woke up and went outside to find the Mongolian toilet. Don’t forget my Ger had a private toilet and shower. When I came back I realized my mistake. I hope I can correct this new trait soon or leave Mongolia on the next flight out. Now no more potty talk. Breakfast was great. The Waldorf did not disappoint. Lot’s of great food and coffee. We also talked how the next workshop could be situated here. Kip suggested that we bring 70 Eagle Hunters, the Camel and Horse herders and about 100 million tons of sand over from the other side of the Gobi. Andy promises he will be working on that plan. We left at around 8:30 for our long ride back to UB. Drove over flat desert terrain for as far as the eye could see. Andy saw a large herd of sheep and we pulled over. Kip launched his drone to take videos over the herd. One problem, when the sheep heard the drone, they immediately took off and I mean not just one sheep but the whole herd. We decided that the Gobi herders should all get drones to herd their livestock. No more motorbikes and horses for them. We finally got to a paved road and off we went or so we thought. At about 11:30 one of the vehicles, not mine, decided to not behave and we all pulled over. Bear in mind we are still in the Gobi. The vehicle had developed some kind of axel problem after the drivers took one wheel off and told us that they needed a part in the next town wherever that is. We all are amazed by the two drivers. They are mechanics as well as drivers. They can fix vehicles on the road better and faster than anyone I have ever seen. Zaya had bought some Camel milk for me to try. I can tell you, without any question, it is not for everyone. Sour and creamy.  As we all realized that this will be a lengthy delay, I decided to say my goodbyes to the beautiful Gobi in the only way I know how. I laid down on the Gobi and fell asleep while the Gobi sun and sand embraced me in a final farewell. Kevin has told me I will be finding sand in my clothes and on my body for the next few weeks. Andy brought a bag full of the sand back for his wife. I slept for over two hours and had probably my most relaxing sleep in three weeks. The Gobi gave me this farewell gift as a remembrance and thanks for falling in love with her. Another vehicle arrived at around 2:30 and we were all off to UB. What a long journey. Over more desert with horses, sheep and camels grazing and wandering over the road. At about 4 PM we finally left the Gobi and arrived in UB at around 9 PM. Back to our original hotel and farewell dinner. One odd occurrence right outside UB. The police were stopping each vehicle coming into the city. The vehicle was then sprayed by two men wearing hazmat suits. The tires and under the vehicles were sprayed. I asked Kevin why. He said there have been a few cases of hoof and mouth disease and this is protection against the disease. A new one for me. I hope everyone is thinking what will this guy have for his final dinner in Mongolia. What do you eat your last night here? Sheep Head. That’s right Sheep head. Zaya and myself shared a sheep head and she instructed me I which parts are good, such as the eyes, and how to eat each part. I dug in and enjoyed. My final comments and thoughts. I have been to many countries and the only two countries I would and will revisit are New Zealand and Mongolia. Hopefully, the revisit will be with my great wife. Yes I am tired and drained. Photo workshops are not easy. I need some serious time moping. Andy has corrected my spelling. Mongolia was always a sort of mystical place that was

Gobi Day 5 Hi Everyone So lets get back to last night after writing my blog in Hemingway style. What is Hemingway style? Hemingway always wrote standing up and never sat down. Imagine writing one of his books standing up. I stood up and wrote Gobi Day 4. At 10 PM I opened my Ger tent and was met with a rush of cold air. The Gobi is the windiest part of Mongolia. The wind was making a great raucous. I then went back to the main house and asked the people to start my Ger stove to heat the Ger. They did not speak English and I, of course, did not speak Mongolian. By the way, Zaya told me that Mongolian is totally different than Chinese. The writing looks similar, but she assures me its not even close. I then spoke to them through creating a picture using my hands. They finally understood. About fifteen minutes later, they met me in my Ger and put in some wood and gray looking bricks and then started the stove. About thirty minutes later, the Ger had not warmed up. I looked inside the stove and the fire had gone out. I then put on layers and used three wool blankets and tried to fall asleep. It was so cold that I read almost all night. Finished the new Dan Brown book “Origins”. Pass on it. Finally fell asleep around 4 AM and then got up and went to the reliable Mongolian toilet and fell back to sleep until 6:30 AM. Remember I told you that there is an opening at the top of the Ger where the chimney exists. That opening is usually closed at night. Mine was open. Said to myself, its time to get up, get dressed and find some coffee. We all met at 8:00 AM for breakfast and left at 8:30 AM. I want to point out that if you want to see the sand dunes and do what we did in this part of the Gobi, we were staying in the best facilities money could buy. Most tour groups do not come to this part of the Gobi. I was glad I did, but the facilities are not for everyone. Furthermore, to back track a little. The two days that we spent in the Ger tents in Western Mongolia were with a local family. Those Ger tents are now taken down. When and if tour groups want to see any Eagle Hunters, they would have to stay in Olgii, preferably at the “Eagles;es Nest” and try to hook up with a local family to see the Eagle Hunters. We had a very unique and once in a lifetime experience. This experience was mainly set up by Kevin. He has made nine trips to Mongolia and knows everyone. Back to day 5 in the Gobi. We then drove through miles and miles of flat open desert with snow capped mountains on the side of us. We went through a mountain pass and when we arrived on the other side, saw flat and open desert all the way to the horizon. When I asked Gambo where we were going, he pointed straight ahead. I have been to some very remote and desolate places in my travels, but nothing like this. We were the only two vehicles for as far as you can see. No paved road. Only flat sagebrush type of desert to the horizon. How weird is that. I figured who could live in this type of environment and why. We began to pass scattered Ger tents and finally saw camels, horses, sheep and cattle herds. We saw black and white colored gazelle type of animals racing over the desert. They were too fast to photograph, but a site to behold. We finally passed a watering hole. You can tell it is a watering hole since lot’s of camels and horses were all gathered together drinking. Hope some of these photos are worthy for you to see. We finally arrived at a local town in the middle of this barren and I thought, lifeless area. Zaya told me that the town is well known for vegetables and that there are many local greenhouses . How weird is that. Growing vegetables here. We stopped for gas and for Andy and Kevin to get their ice cream fix. It was now onto the Flaming Cliffs and our last Ger Camp. I am now dreaming of a hot shower and toilet seat. Kip said we all need “A Shower”. How appropriate. We first stopped at the flaming Cliffs to scout out the location for our evening sunset shoot. Andy and Kevin both walked around and studied the location. The Flaming Cliffs look much like parts of Sedona and New Mexico. The deep rock and clay type mixture that is so beautiful. It was then off to our Ger Camp. I said to myself, “Oh no another night of sleeping in my clothes, freezing, no shower, no electricity and using the Mongolian toilet. We pulled up and when we got into our Gers, I was pleasantly surprised. A Ger with heat, electricity, shower and toilet. I felt like locking myself in the Ger and staying there until we leave tomorrow morning. This is the Ger Camp that almost all tourists go to. All the modern day conveniences. These groups never see what we saw and experienced. Was it worth the no electricity, no internet, no shower and using the now famous Mongolian toilet? You decide. I Say an affirmative YES with no doubt about it. I am the oldest one in the group by eleven years and I survived and really experienced the real Mongolia and Gobi. No fake tourist stuff for me. We then had lunch. Great pumpkin soup and local chicken dish. We then rested and took long hot showers and got reintroduced to our toilets. While I was enjoying myself, I looked outside and saw a long

Gobi Day 3 Hi Everyone Am currently writing this blog via candle light in a Ger in the middle of the Gobi, but more on that later. So how did our day start? We all met for breakfast and then brought all of our stuff to the lobby at 9 AM. Loaded our stuff in the two Land Cruisers and off we went. Of course, we first went to a local supermarket for Andy and Kevin to load up on their junk food and beverages. Andy and Kevin told me that I have not been drinking enough water and it shows. They gave me two large pills of electrolyte to help me get some of my energy back and told me to start drinking lots of water. There was a coffee shop next door and Kip and myself went in to buy cappuccino take out. Would you believe they only had one take out container. Imagine running a business like this in New York. It was then onto the road. We started driving on a very smooth paved road and I was so thankful. My back hurts from the bumping and going up and down on the off road. Zaya told me that this road will eventually being finished and end at the Chinese border. There were beautiful snow capped mountains as we passed herds of sheep and horses. We finally made a right and started our long journey through the Gobi to our Ger Camp. The start of the journey was flat terrain. Suddenly the Land Cruiser that Andy, Kevin and Kip was in stopped and the driver got out. We also stopped. The driver bent down at the back of the Land Cruiser and both drivers started to talk. There was a pipe or piece of the suspension loose and they needed to fix it. You could not call Triple A here. Our driver went to the back, took out some luggage and opened up a large drawer that was filled with tools and all sorts of screws, nuts and bolts. It seemed like he had Home Depot there. After lots of talking in Mongolian and spending time under the vehicle, the job was fixed and on we went. Suddenly we saw camels. Camels are great subjects to shoot. They are not afraid and I believe like people and are very inquisitive. Of course, we all stopped and the clicking went on. My right hand is suffering from carpel tunnel and the volume of photos I have taken as forced me to wear a brace that I brought with me. I was sitting in the front seat as we drove on and could not stop taking pictures. We stopped a few more times for more camels and beautiful landscapes. On our last stop, Kevin said that we are on the verge of starting to see the sand dunes. The Gobi sand dunes are so picturesque. Couple that with a background of snow capped mountains and the sight was truly awe inspiring. The mountains just received snow and the contrast between the snow and sand dunes could not be described. I kept on thinking how many people have seen this setting and landscape and have had the opportunity to take pictures of it. Andy told me that we are the first photo workshop or small group to go to the Gobi. There have been professional photographers before, but no photo travel company offers a trip to the Gobi yet. We finally arrived at our Ger Camp. We are the only ones here and will probably be here for two nights.. We were first served lunch. Lunch was Mongolian dumplings with Gobi beef. The taste could not be described. The Ger tents do not have electricity and candles will be set up inside. It was now time to unpack for five minutes and go to a camel herders home. The camel herders home was about 2 to 3 miles from our Ger Camp and they also lived in Ger tents and had a herd of camels. The husband and wife dressed up in traditional Mongolian clothing and one of our drivers did likewise. The wife has a great face to photograph. We will be going back there tomorrow morning to photograph her. Her face tells a story and way of life. They took five camels and we met them at some large sand dunes. The sand dunes can only be described as sand dunes that you would see in a movie where the movie was filmed in the Sahara. Waving and large sand dunes. I could not believe my eyes. I had never seen sand dunes like this and to see them in the Gobi was special. The camels and locals finally arrived and Andy and Kevin set them up for a photo shoot. Andy and Kevin told them what they wanted them to do, through Zaya, and we took various shots of them leading, walking, galloping and posing up and down the sand dunes. A photo shoot is hard work for the photographer and I was amazed by how Andy and Kevin were telling them what to do and when to do it as the sun set behind us. When it was almost dark, we packed up and headed back to the Ger Camp for dinner. The Ger Camp had a generator running only in the dining area so we were able to do our downloads and recharge our batteries. Dinner was of course Gobi beef. I asked Kevin where they get their beef from and how hard it must be for them to bring it out here. He said all the food is obtained on the Gobi. We are meeting sat 6 AM for coffee and then its off to shoot the sunrise. I am loosing track of days and dates. It seems I have been away for a long time. My journey started on September 26 but it seems longer. Love Larry