Marseille is one place that I never expected to visit. But going to Arles means arriving in Marseille airport before taking the train to Arles. But I did enjoy Marseille. The balcony from the hotel room was a perfect spot to wait for the sunset and the city lights.

One lovely late afternoon was spent in Iles du Frioul.

Taking the boat at the pier located infront of the hotel and a climb on the hill, presented a beautiful glimpse of the sunset. There was no one there, except for the seagulls.

If you knew Marrakesh, then you are familiar with its narrow, well-trodden, intricate network of alleys which seem to be leading to nowhere while some that just stop right in front of you. It was something of an amazement to me. Although walking through these alleys the first time felt very strange, as the days went by it became the common thing to do to get to places.

But there was this thing about the locals asking you to see the Berber leather market. Everyone (not really but it felt like) would like to lead you to the Berber leather market. It’s because today is either the last day, the only day, the Berber King is there or these people just happen to be on their way anyway so why not go with! I never fell trap to this trick. First of all, I know if ever there was a Berber leather market it would smell very awful. And I have no plans to buy any leather products at the moment either.

I can’t deny it. I love the evenings in the Medina. I have to confess. I have dined at almost every restaurant around the Souk. Waiting for the sunset felt so magical. Then lingered longer for the night market to come to life and to witness people pouring from every direction.  I can’t remember seeing so huge market in my entire life, especially that I don’t really like markets. But it was fun to watch the evenings in Marrakesh on the rooftop terraces. Not to mention, the food. Heavenly!

You know what they say. When visiting a country, you have to try the local delicacies. So you can imagine how many dishes of Tangine I have consumed over the last few days. And of course, not to mention the many pieces of Baklava!

So here I was, sat at this beautiful and peaceful place to try the Moroccan coffee. This time with Moroccan herbs. And so I gathered all my courage to order a cup. If you know me, you know how particular I am with my coffee. Can’t drink instant coffee. Can’t drink airplane coffee. Can’t drink hotel breakfast coffee. Can’t drink from a paper cup. Can’t drink from a tiny cup. Can only drink from a mug. And must drink my coffee sat. So this was a brave thing for me to do.

I also took all my strength to taste it. The coffee was very bitter. It left a strange sting at the tip of my tongue. I was suspecting black pepper. There was also a hint of cinnamon and probably, cardamon. It was a bit minty too. So the bottomline, it tasted weird. I was not able to locate the taste of coffee at all!

Will I drink Moroccan coffee with Moroccan herbs again? I bet you know the answer.

If you think that riding a camel is the same as riding an elephant in Thailand and Cambodia, think again. Though I felt the camels were very sweet and gentle, like this one. Notice its friendly face!

Taking the shorter desert trip was the better option. It was such a drama to hear how the long trip was too hard. People were crying as they plunged in, camel head first, into the dunes. People can blog about this moment in a very emotionally romantic way. But hearing it firsthand is not the same. They’ve lost their sunglasses and scarves. They came back with aching bodies and the need to finish a full bottle of shampoo to remove the sand off their hair. They said if they had to do it all over again, they will surely not do it again! They are not even buying any souvenirs that will remind them of any camels. That’s how bad their experience was. I did get sand inside my camera on this short trip so the long trip could be really worst. Probably even losing the whole camera!

Arriving at the campsite, there was tea, music and a dinner of traditional Berber meal. But it was the breathtaking sunset that got me. Won’t you?

And of course, there was that majestic sunrise. Such an amazing feeling waking up to this, I tell you…

Have you ever heard someone say to skip the Eiffel Tower because it is overrated and a total waste of time? That is true, I tell you. Skip the tower! What is there anyway?

But I also tell you, the Eiffel Tower was all around me. The more I walked further from it, the more I saw it. It is such a magnificent and domineering structure too hard to avoid. A structure so old yet too modern. It was hard to comprehend its arrogance.

And you won’t really like going up the tower and to see the magnitude of Paris and all its city lights. That would be too boring. For me, it was only about standing at the same place where John Taylor stood many, many years ago for the View to a Kill music video. So yes, skip it! Because really, there is nothing romantic about it.

And while you are at it, skip Musée d’Orsay too…

I find taking night shots a challenge especially when the camera is handheld and it is windy but I really enjoy this challenge. Paris is one of the best places to take night shots. These photos were taken on top and around Eiffel Tower and at the Montparnasse Tower. It felt so amazing taking these photos and one of the reasons why I wanted to visit Paris in Winter. And of course, I love Paris and there is really not much to say about it.

I found it interesting that I haven’t written about Cambodia, a country that I call my first country love and where I’ve lived for almost 9 years. Cambodia has never been a place for holiday for me. It was always about work – meeting, workshops, consultancies. But let me get over it and share a bit of my after workshop and before meetings visit to Angkor Wat.

I’ve been to Angkot Wat many times before. Those times when you can actually climb the stone steps and you can wander around. I even remember driving the truck inside. It was that Tom Rider like kind of feeling which is not there anymore.

It was a long day after the workshop. But I didn’t really mind arriving in Angkor Wat a little bit just before the sunset. It was already closed but the sunset is always there to experience.

So this was the plan. On Saturday before heading to Phnom Penh was the time to go inside. I had to wake up at 04:30. But guess what, my alarm don’t go off on a Saturday! Happy for friends who knocked my door. Arriving in Angkor Wat, I saw this many people. Here you would never feel alone! If you can count how many people there were, then you are a counting expert. If you can count how many cameras, then you are a super counting expert with super sharp eyesight! People were waiting for the sun to rise behind Angkor Wat.

Even this pig was taking its chance!

But what can I say, the sunrise is beautiful!

This girl is my favourite model.

And a trip is never complete without the roadside shopping.

There was no other way but to stay at the Van Gogh Hotel. Of course, where else? This hotel is located, where else, but across the Van Gogh Museum! The wall has the Red Vineyards near Arles 1888. I saw the real one in March at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.

But no, that was not the most important for the first evening in Amsterdam. It was the 10 kilometres walk in the rain, looking for Jaime’s Fifteen. The entrée was so worth the walk. So you can imagine how the main course and the dessert went. It was glorious. Jaime, you never fail to deliver! But it was not cheap. And no, it was not this meal. This is a painting of a photo I took at Rijksmuseum, painted by Willem Claesz Heda.

And guess if I didn’t gasp for air at Rijksmuseum? I didn’t know that The Night Watch by Rembrandt is huge.

There were many things I loved about Amsterdam. I did lots of sketching and lettering by the canals and at the park. The houses by the canals are pretty.  I had a try at sketching them. Now I know that I don’t have to draw them straight because they are not. Some are worst than the others like in the verge of collapse. But not really. They are just a bit too tilted. One time, an old man politely approached me and asked if he can see my drawings. Well…

And of course, there was Van Gogh. I love his Japanese inspired paintings.

Here are some of the night shots that I love to take.

And lastly, I met Super Dog. Of course, I have to meet Super Dog. probably his name is Cal!