Tag Archives: Which Way Photo Challenge

China, Guilin

Rainy Day Walk-about in Guilin

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A solid wood tea table and "chairs" made of sliced tree crosssections beside an elegant Chinese screen and door. This is the lobby of the Aroma Tea House in Guilin, China.
A woman with an umbrella walking on a wet walkway paved with stone being swept by an orange vested worker wearing a broad brimmed woven bamboo hat, in Guilin, China.
A group of people singing in a floating pavilion with a dragon head on Rong Lake in Guilin, China.
A wet pathway of alternating square cut stone and embedded pebbles running along the edge of the lakes in Guilin, China.
Lovely bas-relief art, inspired by the local landscape, adorns this boat and pedestrian underpass, a very busy street runs above it. Guilin, China.
The sun and moon pagodas on Rong Lake in Guilin, China, on a gray, rainy day.
People with umbrellas fishing in the lake in Guilin, China.
An ornate gate along the path around the lakes in Guilin, China.
A large puddle reflects the moon pagoda and a walker with an umbrella, in Guilin, China.
Variety of paths and a boardwalk over a small stream in Guilin, China.

No matter how I try, I can’t seem to be systematic about publishing photos. These are from my May trip to Guilin, in China, during their rainy season. The last full day we were there we wandered around the lakes in the middle of town in the rain. We were wet through and through, but we didn’t want to waste any time in that lovely city.

Some other posts from that trip are: Rainy Season on the Li River, Which Way to the Karst?, Sun and Moon Illuminated and Illuminating, A Few Rainy Days in Guilin China-Day 1, A Few Rainy Days in Guilin China-Day 2, Misty Vistas.

Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge

China, Snapshots from a Happy Life

A wall that connected

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One thing that fascinated me when I researched about the Great Wall of China is that it was used more for communication than for separation. In the days before cell phones, messages could be sent quickly over long distances along the wall using smoke, flares and flags.

These are photos from the reconstructed area called Mutianyu. It is less crowded than Badaling, which is more easily accessed from Beijing. As I mentioned we had a private driver to our hotel as part of Wild Great Wall’s self-guided tour so we did not have to figure out how to get back to the city.

Comparing from the photos I posted last week, Which Way. You can see that the reconstruction and maintenance are a monumental endeavor. The wall is along the crest of the hills and the area is not accessed by roads, the materials are heavy and there is a lot of territory to cover.

Traveling this section there are a lot of stairs, steep and uneven in many places.

For Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge

England, Hadrian's Wall Walk

Back to the Wall

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I never finished the series of posts I intended to write about walking Hadrian’s Wall last June. 

Here is a gallery of pictures from the Hadrian’s Wall National Trail between Housesteads Fort and Chester’s Fort.

In this stretch, while not including the highest point on the walk, it passes something equivalent to the Continental divide in North America, the texture of the clouds changed, and it got way less windy.

Sheep with its fleece being blown by the wind.
The wind blew so hard it was shearing the sheep.

Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge

home, Picture Galleries, Snapshots from a Happy Life

Streets of Downtown Seattle

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Different ages and architecture styles looking up Columbia Street.
Similar view climbing Columbia during the blue hour to catch our bus.
Our favorite watering hole is on Post Alley.
Passage to the waterfront.
Pike Street runs through Washington State Convention Center.
Freeway Park is a pleasant way to cross over I5 which runs through downtown.

I used to go downtown pretty often. Of late I take the whopping 20 minute bus ride two or three times a year. This past weekend I attended a conference downtown so went in twice. That takes me to above my annual average this year.

Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge

China, Picture Galleries, Shouguang, Snapshots from a Happy Life

Beyond the bustle: Shouguang alleyways

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Here is a sampler of pictures from the alleyways just beyond the busy, dusty main streets in the older part of the town, taken on a lazy-ish Monday afternoon.

 

Peeking through into a traditional courtyard home.
A lot of living happens in the alley.
Grape vendor and friend.
Local gathering place.

For Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge