…of the bears and tigers…

Last summer I was visiting Guilin, China. Since my flight was early in the morning I had some spare time and decided to visit Bear and Tiger Mountain Village (Guilin Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Mountain Villa). It is located on the way from the airport to the city. It is not difficult to find it because of its megalomaniac entrance. I was told that this is some kind of a conservation project where they rehabilitate tigers and Asiatic bears. The place is supposed to have more than 80 tigers, 200 bears, lions, snakes and other interesting animals as well. As a nature lover I was quite enthused to visit this place.

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The greatest monument to love

This photo doesn’t tell you much? Ha ha, read on…
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Koi fish soup?

Koi is Japanese word for Carp, a kind of freshwater fish. Koi fish are found in virtually every Chinese and Japanese garden where there is a pond. The gardens themselves are usually quite lifeless; paths, ponds, stones, stones, bridges, pavilions, stones… There are also some plants of course, but not as many as in Western gardens. You will find Bamboos, Magnolias, Gingkos, Lotuses, Pine trees,… To understand the philosophy of the gardens you must know the symbolism in almost every object placed within the garden. My personal opinion - very different, quite interesting, a bit dull. Fortunately there are throngs of Koi fish swimming around and they offer some great photo opportunities. Some of them grow very big, they look like lazy orange submarines. Read more

Sufi dancing in Cairo

Cairo, the capital city of Egypt is one of the most fascinating places I’ve ever been to. Chaos at its best; polluted air, traffic jams, rubbish everywhere, all the smells of the world, street touts - it all adds to the great atmosphere of the city. I really enjoyed Cairo this new year’s holidays and one of the things I liked the most was the Al Taura Troupe and their Sufi dance performance. Actually I’ve seen them couple of times before, but this time I had my camera with me, so I used the opportunity to make some shots.

Read on for more photos and information about the show.
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Photos from Southern Africa

Recently I returned from South Africa. I was leading a group of 22 Slovenian tourists and we visited Republic of South Africa, Swaziland and Victoria Falls from Zimbabwean side. We had a great time together and we were quite lucky with the weather. Since it was quite a long trip I took more than 1500 photos. Editing was hard, but rewarding. Here is just one photo, hope you like it. Some of the best are published in my personal galleries at Pbase. You can find them here: http://www.pbase.com/ratluk/rsa. I will appreciate any comments and if you find the photos beautiful, please share them with your friends. Thanks!

 

Pudong area, Shanghai

Shanghai is one of the most amazing cities I’ve ever been to. One of the things that fascinates me the most is definitely its modern architecture. Especially Pudong is futuristic and in the evening it is even more attractive. The Bund offers good opportunity for photography and there are always numerous photographers trying to capture these magnificent views. But usually the air is so humid and polluted, that it is impossible to see bright sky. This year I was there four times and only once I got lucky with weather conditions. It was a windy evening so it was difficult to get sharp photo, even with a tripod. Here is the photo from that night (it was in mid August): Read more

Istanbul - Charming city of the Orient

I visited Istanbul in the middle of October. It is a great time to experience this bustling city as it is the end of the peak tourist season. The weather is also pleasant with temperatures around 20-22 degrees Celsius. I thought five nights will be more than enough, but Istanbul has so much to offer, that a man could easily stay for two weeks.

Here are the photos and some useful tips what to do in Istanbul. Read more

Baboons, baboons, baboons!

Baboons are one of my favourites subjects to photograph whenever I go for a safari. Always funny, especially young ones, very intelligent and they let you to get close to them. It is quite interesting to observe their behaviour, very social creatures with strict hierarchy in the troop. The best time to watch them is in the morning, soon after they get up, when a day is still fresh. The little ones are playing with each other, adults are grooming or even mating…

Morning grooming. Read more

Short walk through Mostar

Mostar is a number one tourist attraction of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Surprisingly it attracts more visitors than Sarajevo or any other destination in the country. One of the reasons is definitely its location - it lies less than an hour away from Adriatic coast and about two hours driving from Dubrovnik or Sarajevo. Summer is the top season and the old bridge is always packed with tourists impatiently waiting for THE moment - a jump from the bridge to cold Neretva river. The old bridge was demolished during the last war, but it was reconstructed in 2004.

Mostar and its most famous sight - the old bridge! Read more

Sarajevo - The tunnel museum

If you ever venture to Bosnia and Herzegovina and its capital Sarajevo, you should definitely visit the Tunnel museum. It is not a museum as a man would expect, it is just a house where the famous tunnel ended (or started) during the nineties Bosnia war. The tunnel was dug during the siege of the Sarajevo, because people were surrounded by hostile forces and were unable to get food, medicine and ammunition inside the city. The tunnel was the main (and only) way in or out for three years and also the late president of BIH Alija Izetbegovic used to pass through it several times.

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