chariekaygonzales

[chariekaygonzales]

One of the must-sees in Bangkok are the temples situated near the river. What I didn’t expect during that visit was seeing a vast number of people dressed in black, carrying white and purple orchids, all lined up to pay their respects to their late king. There were volunteers giving away free food, water, and menthol inhalers. The volunteers didn’t choose whom to give these things to as some tourists were also given these things, including me. (or maybe it was because I was also dressed in black and white during this particular time. I swear it was a coincidence! )  In my first travel to Bangkok, I saw how a kingdom grieves the lost of their king who reigned for 70 years. And in this time, I saw how the Thai, during a great state of grief, were disciplined, united, and caring towards each other. 

[chariekaygonzales]

Un-whiskered.

[chariekaygonzales]

I should probably put more time in editing and uploading photos since I’m somehow finding this therapeutic. More photos from Tokyo. Tokyo was too much of a fast-paced city for me. The people were rushing so much they left their umbrellas inside the train, and fell asleep on the train. The first few are photos from a rainy halloween in the crowded Shinjuku.  But the next photos are from the other side of Tokyo. The calmer side -- parks with eerie looking trees, mid-morning traffic, and a visit to a temple beside Tokyo Tower. 

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Rainy Shibuya crossing. 

This photo is my favourite in this trip, I feel like it was able to somehow what life in Japan is like. Incredibly fast-paced, and a little bit black & white (if you get what I mean). My lens got a little bit wet in this shot but thankfully, my camera is weather (and Charie) -proof! 

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Pre-autumn in Kyoto. Spent hours sifting through photos and I feel like all of my photos weren’t enough to capture the beauty that is Kyoto. 

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Finally pushing myself to edit photos from Kyoto. So far, this has been my favourite because it tells a story. I like photos that tell stories. 

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I love you, so bad.

[chariekaygonzales]

"I learned to make things not matter, to put a seal on my hopes and place them on a high shelf, out of reach. And by telling myself that there was nothing inside those hopes anyway, I avoided the wounds of deep disappointment."

[chariekaygonzales]

I tried writing a more detailed post but I often found myself at a lost for words. I’m really not that much of a writer or story teller. Maybe I can try doing that next time when the memories of the trip are still fresh and I can write something that would possibly contribute something to society but for now, let’s just stick with photos. #VisualDiary.

More photos from our visit to Osaka Castle and of the exterior of Osaka Castle with the clouds cooperating.  It was Halloween when we visited Japan so we saw a lot of outrageous costumes. Most Japanese couples went for couple costumes. A lot went for Harley Quinn and Joker. #RelationshipGoals

Group of friends went for… Where’s Waldo. I would’ve won the game so many times if I was asked to find Waldo in Japan. 

Those are just a few. I saw far too many Waldos during that trip.

Some more photos from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios Japan. I think you can tell that I was really in love with that place. 

The Hogwarts Castle was even more majestic at night. *sigh*

I shall upload photos from Kyoto next.

[chariekaygonzales]

#1 must-eat in Osaka, Japan, TAKOYAKI!

We had this takoyaki at the Takoyaki Museum near USJ. 

The takoyaki in Tokyo never compared to this. 

美味しい!!!

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Osaka October 2016.  I have way too many photos and I try to keep on going through them in Adobe Lightroom for the sake of posting and journaling but … there’s just too many. 

I enjoyed The Wizarding World of Harry Potter too much in USJ. I didn’t really want to leave. 

Some photos were from touring Osaka Castle. It was cloudy the whole day but there was this one magical moment when the sky cleared up – exactly when I was taking a photo of the facade of the castle. I was really happy with how the shots turned out. There’s this other photo where I was able to take a photo of a flying bird but the framing was just terrible! I’ll see what I can do with it.

I’ll post more photos but right now, my iPhone is telling me that it’s past my bedtime. 

おやすみなさい。

[chariekaygonzales]

Guangzhou March 2016

Lucky enough not to be bothered by the smog. I would like to say that I had many cultural visits but no, I just shopped until I dropped.  Would love to go to Guangzhou again to visit Shamian Island, go to the church, and go to the top of the Canton Tower. (Would love to skip the shopping please!)

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A few photos from my trip to Shanghai last year. I don’t why, but for some reason, I felt nostalgic and decided to sift through my old photos (and realised how bad of a photographer I am). It was during this trip that a lot of things changed – and I’m still figuring out if it was for the better or for the worse.