Wednesday, May 7th 2008

The Sun in the Four Thousand Islands

Both sunset and sunrise in the Four Thousand Islands in Laos (in Lao Si Phan Don) were mind blowing each and every time. Skies I have really only seen in pictures before!

Tuesday, April 22nd 2008

Cambodia

Phnom Penh

Traveling in Cambodia was a mixed bag. Angkor Wat did not disappoint, and the scenery was beautiful but the country hosts millions of tourists (myself included) each year... and this has had a noticeable effect. The countries scarred past paired with the influx of tourist money brings a Cambodia of contradictions. Establishments after the tourist/expat dollar crowd in with open air markets,an NGO settles in down the street from a brothel and cutthroat tuk-tuk drivers line the streets; Cambodia is memorable.

These pictures thanks to Diana Saw and the BLOOM team.

From Right: Edany, 40, packages tamarind with her mother Som, 60, and friends from the neighborhood. Som runs a convenience store beneath their home where she will sell the tamarind.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Edany's daughters.
Noi, age 6, and Neang, age 18, get ready to bike home.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Monday, April 14th 2008

Sorry for the hiatus, uploading pictures could take the better part of a night in most places during our trip. For the next few weeks I will be making those posts that would have gone up, well, ages ago!

It's good to be back!
-Corey

Laos.

Hitchikers
Vang Vieng, Laos

These three little guys intercepted us during a ride in Vang Vieng. After they ran down the road yelling 'tuk-tuk tuk-tuk' we let them hop up on our back seats and took 'em at least part way home.

The Patuxai
Vientiane, Laos

Although still not completed the Patuxai is one of the most visible structures in Vientiane.

On the Public Bus
Tadlo, Laos

It's a good thing the kids in Laos are so unashamedly curious because books are impossible to read during the bumpy rides. He kept me entertained for the full hour he was on the bus with a game of peek-a-book.

Wednesday, March 5th 2008

Luang Prabang, Laos


I spent 2 days in Luang Prabang, a city heavily influenced by the French that sits on the palm tree lined Mekong.
Monks
Luang Prabang, Laos

Wat roof
Luang Prabang, Laos

Tires are used as signs all over
Luang Prabang, Laos

Drawings of monks
Luang Prabang, Laos

Saturday March 1st 2008

So these next few posts will probably become something of a travelogue as I take in as much as I can of South East Asia.

Our trip jumped off in Kunming on Tuesday, where we enjoyed wearing no coats and the laid back attitude that set it apart from many cities in china.

Puppy
Kunming, China

Kunming, China

Market
Kunming, China

Monday, February 25th 2008

Well, my time is up in Dalian, and I'm off for a month long adventure in South East Asia. To quote from someone who has surely come before, 'its been quite a ride , and I'm sorry its over'. Here are a few last images from Dalian......

Motorcycle Taxi
Dalian, China

Shawn Abraham
Dalian, China

Behind Shawn are fliers for one or two night stays at local apartments. These fliers are quite common in University areas as they help students alleviate their rent.

Waitstaff at a pancake restaurant
Dalian, China

Last night of Spring Festival
Dalian, China


Zaijian Dalian!

Monday, February 11th 2008

Only a stone's throw from Russia, and offering a wide array of nesting dolls, Haerbin is famous for its creative use of ice and snow. With winds from Siberia bringing temperatures down around -30C, winter is their time to shine, as long as you have three or more pairs of socks in your bag. The festival themes this year were France (snow festival) and the Olympics (ice festival).

Ice Festival (everything pictured is made of ice)
Haerbin, China

Snow Sculpture at the Snow Festival
Haerbin, China

Beme Lei walks across Songhua River
Haerbin, China

Thursday, February 7th 2008

Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year as we know it in the States, is a time when all China returns home, fills up on dumplings and lights their night skies with fireworks. Red lanterns and firecrackers can be found anywhere and everywhere leading up to the big day, with midnight February 6th being the start of the year of the rat.

Dalian, China

New Years Day
Dalian, China

New Years Eve
Dalian, China

Midnight
Dalian, China

Tuesday, February 5.5th, 2008

"The Haircut"
Dalian, China

Centennial Monument in Xinghai Square
Dalian, China

To commemorate Dalian's 100 years the city built and open book with feet of varying sizes leading up to it to symbolize Dalian's youth its open future.

Xinghai Square
Dalian, China

Shawn Abraham and Matt Herman, tourist for a day.

Tuesday, February 5th 2008

Zhongshan Square
Dalian, China

Two friends of mine, Jessie and Tiffany from Chicago trying to light a sparkler in Zhongshan Square. For the month of February fireworks are like water in China, with markets on every corner.

Elva, age 8
Dalian, China

Elva, one of my high level students, shortly after a drawing on the board sesh in class.

Tuesday, January 22nd 2008

Hey Everyone, I've been working on a website for my favorite images of the past few years and its finally done!! I just wanted to take this chance to let ya know and give you the address.

www.CoreyTorpie.com

Monday, January 14th 2008

Yang Xiu Yuan
Jinshanling Great Wall, Hebei Province

Yang Xiu Yuan, a local farmer and hawker on the great wall, poses on The Wall in front of her crops. This year, she says, has been very bad for growth, and nothing has grown high enough.

JunYi
Jinshanling Great Wall, Hebei Province

JunYi, originally from Mongolia, makes a living by selling postcards, t-shirts and books to tours hiking The Great Wall. By sticking with a group of people as they hike from Jinshaling to Simatai she is able to bargain for higher prices than most hawkers.

Dream Yang
Dalian, China

At eight years old Dream has only studied English for two years and speaks at a shockingly fluent level. She attends English Corners every Sunday evening, which are predominately adult free-talking sessions, to practice her English. Clearly ambitions, her dreams range from diplomat to American movie star, “I want to travel” she says. “I think British English is uncomfortable and unnormal”, as she explains her preference for American English, a sentiment reflected among many students in China.

Monday, January 7th 2008

The Great Wall
Simatai, China

On New Years day we visited the Great Wall and even got to celebrate the Times Square Ball drop with some champagne. Our four hour hike took us from Jinshaling to Simatai, approximately 3 hours outside of Beijing. These sections of the wall are known for their steep inclines and great views, and certainly live up to the hype.

Tienanmen Square
Beijing, China

The View of Tienanmen Square from the front of the Forbidden City. Pictured is The Monument to the People's Heroes (built in 1952) and Mao Zedong's Memorial Hall, where his preserved body is on display in a crystal casket.

Motorcyclist in front of Beijing's "Birdsnest"
Beijing, China

The Beijing National Stadium, or Birdsnest as it has been nicknamed, is still under construction and slated to be completed in early April. All construction in the city, Olympics related or not, is required to be wrapped up by May 2008 in order to ready Beijing for the Summer Olympics.

Happy New Years!

Monday, December 31st 2007

I was in Beijing for New Years this year and was unable to post for last week until now, my apologies for the delay, but better late than never so here it goes.

We went to a punk show at a local Dalian bar called Hopscotch. The music scene in Dalian has been pretty elusive, or non-existent, we're not sure which but recently Hopscotch has been steppin' up to the plate and hosting quite a few shows. This particular show was to raise money and awareness of the poor conditions in which China's captive black bears endure in many zoos. The music was awesome!


The band names will be forthcoming!!