This photo was taken in the red-light district in Amsterdam. The term "red-light district" was first recorded in the United States in 1894, in an article in The Sentinel newspaper. Other mentions from the 1890s are numerous, and located all over the United States. Some say the origin of the red light comes from the red lanterns carried by railway workers, which were left outside brothels when the workers entered, so that they could be quickly located for any needed train movement. Others... Read Full Story
This photo was taken on Itaparica, an island in All Saints' Bay (Baia de Todos os Santos), about 10km from the beautiful city of Salvador de Bahia. Read Full Story
This photo was taken around a floating village and water dwellings on Tonlé Sap Lake in Cambodia, the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and an ecological hotspot that was designated as a UNESCO biosphere. The Tonlé Sap is unusual for two reasons: because its flow changes direction twice a year and because the portion that forms the lake expands and shrinks dramatically with the seasons. From November to May, Cambodia's dry season, the Tonlé Sap drains into the Mekong River at Phnom... Read Full Story
Monk in saffron robe, grey sandstone and laterite typical of Khmer architecture as background : an irresistible cliché for everyone, including monks themselves... Smile ! Read Full Story
Above photo shows the mouth of the Daintree River in the Cape Tribulation region of Queensland in northern Australia. The river drains a rainforest, the Daintree Rainforest (see photos below). The Daintree Rainforest contains 30% of frog, marsupial and reptile species in Australia, and 65% of Australia's bat and butterfly species. 20% of bird species in the country can be found in this area. All of this diversity is contained within an area that takes up 0.2% of the landmass of Australia... Read Full Story
This is a photo taken in the streets of Olinda. Olinda, Brazil, is a historic city located on the country's northeastern ocean coast, just north of Recife, and his is one of the best-preserved colonial cities in Brazil. Besides its natural beauty, Olinda is famous for its historic downtown World Heritage Site, Historical and Cultural Patrimony of Humanity by the UNESCO, for being one of the most important Brazil's cultural centres... and Olinda relives the magnificence of the past every year... Read Full Story
A slightly less cliché-view of Santorini (Cyclades, Greece) - with its usual sun, blue sky, blue sea, white houses-, when the region is under the effects of the Sirocco wind, which blows and carries red Sahara dust. This image is from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Project. This image is from the NASA. Read Full Story
This is photo of Wat Nong Sikhunmeuang temple, in Luang Prabang (or Louangphrabang), Laos. There are more than 30 temples in the relatively small town of Luang Prabang (also notable as a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Wat Nong Sikhunmeuang is not the most famous of them (compared to Wat Xieng Thong or Wat Mai) but has a large and richly decorated sim, with fish and naga brackets supporting the roof from red and gold filigree pilasters. The plaster nagas guarding each stairway are a little more... Read Full Story
