Levada Bridge One of the top reasons I'm liking Madeira so much is that I can walk along the ocean one day and then hike up in the forests the next. All without a car or a long commute. I had planned on redoing this walk along the Levada dos Tournos today.
Ocean Seems like hardly anything went to plan today, but it was all good in the end. Will retry a hike up in the hills tomorrow, but for today here's a photo from the oceanfront path that's just a block or so from my apartment.
Flowers Today's highlight are these flowers on a big tree I passed walking into downtown Funchal. It must have been flowering for a while, since some of the flowers have turned into "fruit" the size of an olive. I believe these will grow to be about the size of a tennis ball, if I'm remembering correctly.
Balcony View I just arrived back in Madeira, so it's start of my new Madeira-a-day challenge. I'm going to post a picture every day I'm here, for the next 30 days before I leave. The first picture is easy. I just checked in to the apartment I'm renting and this is the view from the balcony off the bedroom.
Candi Sewu Candi Sewu is a charming Buddhist temple that's well over 1,200 years old. It's very close to the more well-known Prambanan complex in central Java, but seldom visited. One of the chubby stone guardians of Candi Sewu
Khoo Kongsi The Khoo Kongsi (Khoo clan house) is one of the largests clan and congregation houses in Georgetown, Penang. Unlike some of the more well-known clan houses, this one is somewhat hidden down a small alley that opens up into a huge courtyard.
Birch Trail One of my favorite close-in hikes in up Holman lane and down Birch Trail. You can extend it if you want with several different options to get back to your starting point. In late summer, the light in the afternoon is always very beautiful.
Flower & Bee It's been a rather emphatic end of summer this Labor Day with drizzle a good part of the day. I did take a short walk thorugh Washington Park and found these pretty trumpet shapped blossoms near the Rose Garden, along with one bee still working hard.
Mae Hong Son Mae hong Son province in Thaiuland's far north is a unique destination. It was settled mostly by people from the Shan state so it retains a distinctly Burmese flavor. A pair of the city's oldest temples reflected in the lake between thunderstorms.
Wat Ratchabophit Window Wat Ratchabophit is one of many under-the-rader temples in Bangkok. It's very close to the Grand Palace and Wat Po but is much less visited. In addition to the uniquely styled temple compound, there's an adjoining graveyard housing the columbariums of many minor royals.