Unusual heavy rains in July combined with high tides of the ocean triggered massive flooding in Thailand. Approximately one third of all provinces are affected. Locals say last flooding this magnitude was 60-70 years ago. Most of my pictures captures smiling Thai people, truth is the flooding has already killed 356, over 8 million people are affected. Survivors of this devastating event will need help in the days, weeks and months to come. Read more...

South of India, Tamil Nadu history dates back to several thousand years. This state is rich in monuments and temples that are ancient and each has its own story of religious, artistic and cultural accomplishment. It is a land where traditions and culture blend and continue to live. Month of April is full of ceremonies and that’s when I went to witness them. Three cities got on my list, Trichy, Madurai, and most south-est point – Kanyakumari. It is known for amazing sunsets and sunrises which draws western and local travelers. For local people it looks like has more meaning than just beauty of nature, every morning crowds come to worship sunrise while bathing in waters where Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal meet.
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Bali is a place with a lot of rice fields, temples, ceremonies and tourists. After some years I came back just to realize that It is truly one of most beautiful islands I ever visited. Tourism is in full swing here and locals quickly cashing in. Prices are up and most temples now requires entrance fee. Still, scenery around you makes up for it  and friendly Bali people contributes for a pleasant stay on this island. It is easy to get around on motorbike so after few weeks of driving I got some pictures to share.
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It is said there is never a day in Bali without a ceremony of some kind and if you include all the life cycle rites (baby ceremonies, puberty rites, weddings, cremations, Temple festivals), then this saying is probably true. Some ceremonies usually lasts day or two, but larger ones (which occur every 5, 10, 30 or 100 years) can last for 11 days or longer. During ceremonies many offerings are made which consists of fruits, rice cakes and flowers these are brought in on women’s heads, placed around the temple and then are blessed with holy water by the temple Pemangku or priest. The pilgrims then pray, after blessings, drinking holy water is complete offerings are taken home to share with their families. The gods have taken the sari or essence of the offerings, leaving the “leftovers” for the humans to consume.  Most of ceremonies involves spectacular performances of music and dance by local groups and gamelan music. Here is some pictures from around Bali and it’s ceremonies.
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Countless temples anywhere you go in Bali and probably people have seen many postcards and pictures of them so to make something a little more interesting I did shoot most of them in HDR.
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More ceremonies to attend more beaches to explore, another week on motorbike driving around this beautiful island brings this set of pictures.
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