Throwback Thursday: Antelope Canyon Nov 2014

Entering the canyon via a staircase

I can't believe that it has been 3 months since I went to Antelope Canyon. Ever since starting photography in 2008 it has always been on my list of places to see! There are two canyons (lower and upper) and both require tours in order to visit them. There are several tour companies and we went with Ken's tours for the lower canyon.

There were six of us and we had to split up since half of us had "professional" cameras and the other half had "non professional". The regular tour is only an hour and the tour guides are really good at pointing out different features along the canyon. For me, I joined a photographers tour which was two hours and no guide. Even though I didn't have a guide, we met many along the way and they were happy to tell us where and when was the best time/place to take a photo!

Luckily for my friends and I, we ran into another photography tour and they timed it where a light shaft was coming down into the canyon. The light shafts are really hard to time and unless you are in the canyon everyday (like a tour guide) you would have no idea when to go! For now, this has been checked off my bucket list, but I will make it back there one day =)

Lower Canyon from above

Throwback Thursday: Chinese New Year Parade 2009

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!! Rather than post photos from a past trip, I decided to post some photos from the Chinese New Year parade from 2009 in Chinatown, NYC. It was my first time watching the parade with my new DSLR and of course I had to take some pictures =)

If you are in NYC, the firecracker ceremony is today and the annual parade will be held on Sunday! Go check it out if you are interested! Beware, it will be REALLY crowded

Throwback Thursday: Tongariro National Park aka the path to Mount Doom

Located on the north island of New Zealand, Tongariro national park is the road to Mount Doom (Lord of the Rings reference) aka Mount Ngauruhoe. The national park is the oldest park in New Zealand and everyday there are plenty of people who hike the Tongariro Alpine crossing which is 12.1 miles.

We originally wanted to hike the trail but we were late to catch a shuttle bus that took us to the trail head. We drove there ourselves and decided to hike to the highest point of the trail and then back down. The trail is definitely meant for those who are physically fit because it was  physically demanding.

From the highest point, you can see the Emerald lakes and the Blue lake. Too bad we couldn't go closer but that just means we have to go back =)

I highly recommend doing this hike if you are into that kind of stuff and also want to see Mount Doom close up! FYI, Mount Ngauruhoe was a stand in for the famous Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies!!

Throwback Thursday: Penang Hill, Malaysia

One of the places in Malaysia that I recommend people going to is Penang for the food. There are other tourist attractions though and Penang Hill is one of them. One of the ways to get up is to use the Penang Hill Railway which is a tram that runs from the bottom to the top of Flagstaff hill. 

From the top, you can see all of Georgetown and the view is amazing if you go on a clear day. We happened to be there when it was raining but by the time we got up, the first storm had passed so we were able to see below. After about an hour of roaming around, another rain storm passed by and the entire mountain top was covered in fog/clouds so we ended up taking the tram back down.

If you are afraid of heights, you might be a little afraid of the tram since it does ascend at a very steep angle. There are alternate ways of getting up there but would require a lot more effort!!

January 2015 via Instagram

January was a slow month for photos on Instagram. I guess it fits the weather! A lot of days were spent inside due to snow and how cold it was. I should just take more pictures indoors =)

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