Neonomadic » Things

Graffiti de Valparaíso

socki — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 11:35:38 +0000

The city of Valparaíso is an old city located near the shores of eastern Chile. Being an old city, built along steep hills, there are a number of things that make it special, and a great place to walk around, with personal property kept close and secure (theft is common around here). One of my favorite aspects of the city was the Graffiti.

Balinese dance

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 06:01:55 +0000

barong

legong dancer

An ancient tradition in Bali is the dance. The dance is based upon Hindu teaching, telling a story of a battle between the mythical characters Rangda, the witch representing evil, and Barong, the lion or dragon, representing good.

The dancers, often learning as early as the age of 4 the movements, which are closely associated with the rhythms produced by the gamelan, a musical ensemble from Indonesia.

The show was quite beautiful, not to mention extremely colorful. The show that I attended was obviously geared to tourist as it was in near the center of the city of Kuta, and frequented by several buses and taxis. Despite this, as in an area such as this it would probably be rather difficult to enjoy this type of show if were not for the presence visitors from out of town.

gamelan, musical ensemble

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Happy holidays in the big city

socki — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:00:00 +0000

rockefeller center christmas tree

The holidays in New York are a great time to visit. Sure its cold, and the chance of being stuck in the midst of a famous Nor’easter is ever present. And of course, lets not forget the comings and goings out of JFK, EWR or LGA which can always prove to be fun. But when your in the city, it can be a great place to be with lots to do, and in between, grab a hot chocolate from a cafe or restaurant and people watch.

star above 57th and 5th

For starters, there’s the decorations. You might just say that the city gets all decked out with mistle toe and holly. If its crowds you’re looking for, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is an ever popular destination. There’s a good bet that you won’t be alone as what seems like a million people jam pack into this courtyard area between several skyscrapers. But crowds aside, it is beautiful how they decorate the area with the tree, angels and lights. In addition to that, there’s the ice skating rinks that pop up not only in Rockefeller Center but in Bryant park and Central park.

holiday decorations

Let’s not forget the never ending shopping opportunities from fifth avenue to SoHo. Besides the sales, the great thing about the holidays is of course the window shopping. Browse by any of the stores along fifth avenue and you’re sure to see some amazing holiday decorations and window displays. This year there was some headlines as stores, always looking to capture the attention of shoppers started using live people in their window displays. If you happen to have some extra cash to spend, then you’ve got yourself a bonus!

rockefeller center tree at night

Certain neighborhoods often get into the spirit of the holidays such as 55th street on the west side which hang lights down the entire block each year. Several outdoor holiday markets that open this time of year in areas such as Columbus Circle, Union Sq and Bryant Park where you can find some more unique gifts often from smaller shops that you wouldn’t otherwise have located.

Let’s not forget the arts, several holiday shows open just this time of year such as the Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes and Wintuk From Cirque du Soleil join several holiday themed concerts.

All in all, sure springtime might be a great time in the city, but the holidays have to be considered a close second with so much to see and do even as the temperature gets cold. Hey, besides what better place to say you’ve been for New Years eve at least once in your life (you’ll likely not want to subject yourself to it again a second time).

Check out my other favorite places.

Priorities

socki — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:59:02 +0000

priorities

Everyone has to have their priorities straight. To some, work and possibly climbing the corporate ladder is utmost in their life. For others it may be kids or family. And yet for others, surfing that is first and foremost on the mind. Who is to argue after all, surfing humbles you to the power of the ocean while providing a great workout and exhilarating thrill as you catch a great wave and ride it to shore.

This sense of priorities is difficult at times in a place as beautiful and easy to enjoy as Kauai is. When the sun is shining, temperature are perfect and water inviting, its sometimes difficult to attack those items on your todo list which stare you in the face. Combine this with the reality that many of your local friends probably work jobs in construction or service industries, and therefore have varied schedules. These various schedules generally translate into it being easy to find one or more that have the day off and can make it quite tempting to forego those things you’ve been really meaning to do. The difficulty is figuring out the balance of work and play. Sometimes its so hard. How do you pass up a great wave, a scenic hike or a night out on the town?

House in Philippine village

socki — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:40:09 +0000

house in philippine village

In some of the more rural regions of Puerto Galera, you can get a feel of the simplicity of life that carries on. Houses like this are common throughout the area. Often times you’d see a few kids and dogs playing and some basic farm animals nearby.

Local Sabang

Under-ice

socki — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 04:44:47 +0000

solid ice under soil

While kayaking down the Aichilik river valley in Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuge, it wasn’t uncommon to see chunks of soil floating slowly down. The question could be asked, where did those chunks originate? The picture above shows exactly why. Under what is seemingly an endless tundra in this Arctic region, its foundation is actually on a bed of ice. As this ice is exposed to the air and other elements, it melts and causes the soil on top to break up and ultimately flow down with the current of the river, thus ultimately changing the rivers width and/or direction.

River Thames

socki — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:00:05 +0000

river thames

The River Thames is a major river that cuts through the city of London, in addition to several other cities of England. The river is the second longest in the country, and is the largest located entirely within the boundaries of the country. Within the city of London, there are several amazing bridges that cross the river, such as London Bridge and Tower Bridge.

Check out wikipedia for some great info on the River Thames.

Kauai weather

socki — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:00:56 +0000

most accurate weather report for kauai

This sign is located on the grounds of the Kauai Marriott Resort just off Kalapaki Bay on the island of Kauai, HI serves as the most accurate means of determining what the weather is like.

The weather in Kauai is anything but predictable. The island is known as “the garden island” for good reason… it rains… frequently. In the winter (rainy season), it will tends to rain or at least cloudy pretty often. In the summer months, even when it is generally always sunny and warm, a random stray cloud may pass which causes a short downpour onto any unsuspecting tourist driving around in a convertible.

When first coming to the island and looking at rental cars, I was surprised to find the price of many convertibles prices at about the same price as smaller economy cars… after spending a short time on the island, it all made sense. If you do plan to rent a car on Kauai, opt for a car with a roof and maybe sunroof / moonroof. If you must get a convertible, make sure you are prepared to get soaked in a moments notice.

Adding to the unpredictability is that location plays a huge part in what is happening. It’s not unusal for there to be a steady downpour in Kapa’a, but have it dry in Lihue (a mere 7 miles to the south). Generally speaking, the windward side (north and east) side tend to be rainier then the leeward side (south and west). So when its raining on the east side, it may be dry on the west side whereas up in the mountains where its known as the wettest place on earth, it’s likely to be raining just about all the time.

Cool Bathroom Sign I

socki — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:00:58 +0000

sign signifying for the men's bathroom

Sometimes you go to bathrooms in various countries and its hard to tell if the bathroom is meant to be for men, women or are unisex. This particular sign was found outside of the men’s bathroom at a large temple in the esarn (northeast) region of thailand. There was no confusion to be had.