100 Travel Stories
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Mystery and Awe: Navaratri Hindu Festival
Navaratri Hindu Festival, Bangkok
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Adventures in the Kabukicho RED Light District of Tokyo
An exploration of Tokyo’s love hotels, host clubs and more.
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High up in the clouds: Aiguille du Midi
Spectacular cable car trip from Chamonix to Aiguille du Midi 3,842 m
Navaratri is a festival dedicated to the worship of the Hindu deity Durga. The word Navaratri means ‘nine nights’ in Sanskrit, nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Devi are worshipped. (Wikipedia)
In Bangkok the Navaratri Hindu Festival is celebrated every year during the ninth month of the lunar calendar mainly around the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple on Silom Road.
The roads around the temple are closed, making space for thousands of worshippers to pray and make offerings alongside hundreds of makeshift altars and stalls with flowers, food and souvenirs.
Initially posted during pandemic.
High Park and humans in lockdown. But Nature is untouched by the pandemic and flourish into beauty, every Spring, year after year. Humans can only watch and hope for better times.
Welcome to High Park, Toronto! Second year of pandemic. A big chunk of the park is surrounded by metal fences to avoid people crowding to watch the cherry blossoms. But there are a few lonely cherry trees that escaped the “lockdown”. And getting closer with a camera, can bring out the beauty and delicacy of the fragile cherry blossom flowers.
Hua Lamphong, also known as Bangkok Railway Station, was the main railway station in Bangkok, Thailand. Now the station was relocated to the Bang Sue area. The station was opened in 1916 and has since become a major transportation hub, connecting Bangkok with other parts of Thailand and neighboring countries like Malaysia, Cambodia, and Laos. Hua Lamphong is operated by the State Railway of Thailand and served both local and long-distance trains. It is an important landmark and historical site in Bangkok, attracting many tourists and locals alike. There are still some trains running from this station.
Street Photography by Ash Shinya Kawaoto
Getting closer to his subjects – and sometimes too close to be safe – is part of Ash Shinya Kawaoto’s photography style. Strolling the streets of Tokyo for hours, Shinya captures the expressions and emotions of his subjects – young and old, poor and rich – in this dynamic and changing metropolis that looks like a “huge living creature that continues to grow”.
Toronto Islands Winter
I don’t trust any country that looks around a continent and says, “Hey, I’ll take the frozen part.” – Jon Stewart
It may be -30 degrees Celsius with the windchill and half a meter snow. Welcome to the Canadian winter!
One day in February, a winter storm hit Toronto. The perfect timing to go out and confront the nature with a camera.
Fresh snow covered the city, and amazingly, for a metropolis such as Toronto, there is a oasis of peacefulness: the Toronto Islands. A 15 minutes ferry ride from Downtown Toronto and you are in the wilderness, well just during a winter storm!
The “Sleepless Town” (眠らない街)
“Tokyo’s hidden erotic wonderland is open for business.” – National Geographic
When I arrived first time at the Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, I was lost. 3.64 million passengers pass through the world’s busiest transport hub each day, more than the population of Toronto! Once you find your way out (from over 200 exits), you may head to the famous red light district of Tokyo, Kabukichō – the “Sleepless Town”.
Kabukichō (歌舞伎町)
Your first clue that you are in the area is when you are seeing well dressed young Japanese men with very long hair. You will find them at the main entrances to the Kabukichō red light district, every day and night.