Kyrgyzstan is a not-so-well-known country in Central Asia, in a group of countries born after the collapse of sovietic union at the beginning of the ’90s. Like most of the countries finishing with *stan (*stan means the country of the * population, so for example, the country of Kirghisi people), Kyrgyzstan has strong roots in the nomadic tribes of Central Asia, and an often violent history with the Soviet Communism Era.

So if you are interested in Communism, nomadic tribes and very open spaces, it might be an uncommon destination for your trip.

Bishkek – the capital city

If communist architecture is your thing, this is the capital city for you. Besides a massive central square, it has a massive parliament building in communism-style and also one of the few Lenin statues left in Central Asia.

Bishkek Parliament House

Don’t forget to visit also the central market… my visit was the beginning of my path for becoming vegetarian!

Issyk-Kul Lake

One of the biggest lake in the world, it is truly a natural wonder. Along the shores there are several lake resorts, and the sandy beaches, the warm transparent water, makes you forget that you are at 1600 meters of altitude!

Around the country

Best part of the trip is actually travelling around the country, where you can find amazing communist-era bus stop with very weird statues. The reason behind this sculptures is to make the bus stop “recognizable” among the endless roads connecting the USSRS. It is like, get off at the pigeon stop! Or something like that

I forgot to mention the amazing encounters with local people, and their intense expression, a gold mine for portraits!

Fairytale canyon “Skazka”

Millions of years of water, ice and wind have created the colorful sculptures that shape this canyon, located near the Issyk-Kul lake.

This image is created stitching together two separate photos shot with a drone.

Fairytale Canyon
Kyrgyzstan

Tash Rabat Caravanserai

Along a valley connecting China and the republic of Kyrgyzstan, at an altitude of 3.200 meters, this medieval stone structure is thought to be an ancient caravanserai from the golden age of the Silk Road. Dated from around the XV century, traders and travelers were stopping here for food and shelter along the (very) long journey between China, Central Asia and the Middle East.

Tash Rabat Caravanserai

Son-Kul Lake

Son-Kul Lake is an alpine lake of Kyrgyzstan, at an altitude of over 3.000 meters. During the summer, nomads are crossing with their cattle the shores of the lake, living in the yurtas, traditional tents of the nomadic people of central Asia.

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Monumento alla Fondazione del Partito

Qui potete vedere gli scatti del progetto

Di seguito un estratto dal comunicato stampa ufficiale:

Con A RED SUPERHERO IN NORTH KOREA Enrico Pescantini ci trascina in un’avventura fantasmagorica, grazie alla sua capacità di fondere fantasia e realtà, rendendo protagonisti delle sue opere i personaggi appartenenti all’immaginario di tutti.

 

Ci invita ad addentrarci con coraggio, ma anche e soprattutto con una prospettiva diversa e leggera, nel Paese più controverso della nostra epoca, la Nord Corea.

 

Ecco dunque che si compie il suo progetto più ardito, fotografare Superman stesso, il più universale e potente tra i supereroi, mentre si cimenta in una nuova memorabile impresa: visitare il più inaccessibile dei paesi.

 

E lo fa non tramite il Superman che tutti conosciamo, ma con un suo “alter ego comunista”, che riesce anche a mostrarci la grandezza e la bellezza della Nord Corea.

 

Sfidando divieti e proibizioni, nasce così “A Red Superhero in North Korea”.

 

La mostra completa una trilogia iniziata nel 2014 con l’esposizione di “Barbie Around the World”, dedicata alla bambola più famosa del mondo e costituita da Barbies originali e opere a lei ispirate.

 

Nell’anno successivo, il 2015, Enrico Pescantini ha letteralmente cercato di scrutare nella vita fuori dal set dei protagonisti di Star Wars, catapultando questi ultimi in una tipica situazione vacanziera.

 

Ora, in un momento storico – il 2018 – determinato talvolta dalle altalene umorali di alcuni capi di stato, il simpatico e vigoroso Red Superhero è pronto a tenere alti gli ideali rivoluzionari e a metterli in pratica sfidando divieti e norme oppressive, sventolando al suo fianco una rossa bandiera comunista.

 

Pescantini come fotografo viaggia in questo modo tra la dimensione reale e quella immaginaria, tra il vero e l’apparenza, il reale e l’ideale, con nobile e aitante ironia.

A Red Superhero in North Korea Enrico Pescantini INVITO

Ecco alcuni scatti di reportage sul viaggio, in attesa dell’inaugurazione mercoledi 23 maggio 2018 alle 18.30

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https://www.facebook.com/DRONEMagUK/photos/a.990396417692432.1073741828.924509790947762/1523720714359997/?type=3

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I would recommend 2-3 nights here, as it is a city to live best in the night, thanks to amazing bars and clubs, often placed in the rooftops of skyscrapers.

During the day, the best sightseeing spot are Chinatown and Little India. The first one has also an excellent choice of budget and mid-range hotels, and it is close and well connected to most of the attractions. In Chinatown you can do cheap-shopping and sightseeing like the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple.

Little India is nice to see for the colorful houses and, if you are a fan, for indian food. Both the districts  should not take more than 1 day of your time.

In the night, you can find beautiful bars from where you can spot the city landscape, like for example the Altitude, on a rooftop near Chinatown, and the Lantern, overlooking the bay.

However, in my opinion, the best and unique part of Singapore is the area of Marina Bay, dominated by the astonishing building of the luxury hotel Marina Bay Sands and from the beautiful Gardens of the Bay.

The Gardens are one of the top 10 botanical gardens of the world, and they are beautiful by day and by night. As attractions, there are few where you can spend the day: you can visit the Cloud Forest Dome, which contains the highest indoor waterfall of the world and a sample of cloud forest:

You can then walk up to small bridges around the waterfall, making you feel like you are walking in a true forest.

Just next to the Cloud Forest, there is the beautiful Flower Dome, which contains hundreds of species of flowers. Both should not take more than 2-3 hours to visit.

In the center of the park, you will find the symbol of the gardens, the Supertree Glove, a group of artificial towers, shaped as trees, and covered by vegetation. It is beautiful by day and by night to visit!

It is true that during the night, the lighted trees create a magical atmosphere, especially if you walk on the suspended bridges among them on the OBSC Skyway!

One the symbols of Singapore is the architecture marvel of the Marina Bay Sands hotel, which 3-towers building stands over Marina Bay, and, especially at night, creates the unique cityline of this city.

Inside Marina Bay Sands you can find endless shops and restaurants, a lot of them signed by famous chefs around the world. My favorite was anyway the DC Superheroes Café, a must-see for every nerd out there! Where else you can eat a delicious Batman Burger?

If you are willing to invest some money, sleeping in the hotel gives you access to one of the most scenographic, iconic and photographed pools of the world, The Infinity Pool, which will let you swim on the edge of an astonishing panorama of the city.

The pool is open until 11pm, so I suggest you to take a dip also in the evening, where the panorama gets even better! From a beautiful sunset:

To a stunning lighted skyline of the city in the night!

Next to the swimming pools there is the C’est la Vie bar-club which grant you the view while sipping a cocktail.

3 days and 3 nights will make you the most of your visit to Singapore, even if I have to admit that I stayed most the time in the Marina Bay area, which left me truly breathless!

And this is a short video that will give you an idea of the show!

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If those are your search criteria, Tioman Island is the place to go. It can be reached both from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore: from Singapore, it will take 4-5 hours of bus and 1-2 hour of public ferry. I strongly recommend to book through WTS, the only operator that offers combined tickets bus + ferry, that will save you the hassle of looking for the right tickets.

I was lucky enough to find a deal in the most beautiful resort on the island, a luxury eco-lodge called Japamala, situated in the south coast of the Island. Arriving to the resort you realize how isolated and peaceful your holiday will be, since only a private boat can get there.

The bungalows are IN the rainforest jungle, with a view to the sea:

From the beach, a pier connects to a small bar-restaurant, which you can also use when there is low tide. The whole beach is surrounded by a colorful coral reef, so you can swim directly from the beach on high tide, while use the pier on low tide. The coral reef is REALLY on the beach, probably 10 meters from the sandy beach.

Even without your snorkeling mask, you can just look down and see the corals from above, as the water is completely transparent.

Next to the restaurant, in front of the beach, an artificial pond is the favorite fishing ground for huge lizards that nest nearby, long 1.5 meters, quite impressive to see!

Tioman is perfect for snorkeling and diving excursion, even if just staying in your resort will grant you wild encounters like sea turtles, which are very frequent in the area. Anyway, if you want to do just 1 boat trip to explore the island, Coral Island is the place to go.

Coral Island aerial view

Coral Island is one the north-west side of Tioman Island, and it is easily reachable within 1-2 hours of boat, depending where you are staying on the island.

If Tioman is a paradise, this is a step further: a completely inhabited island with isolated beaches, coral reefs and you, that’s all.

The color of the sea switches from light to deep blu, with the green jungle in the middle.

I found this place as one of the best preserved marine park I’ve seen in the world, with a unique mix of peace, nature and astonishing sea life. No more can be said of this paradise!

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Thai Airways Sawasdee Inflight Magazine 1

Thai Airways Sawasdee Inflight Magazine 2

Thai Airways Sawasdee Inflight Magazine 3

Thai Airways Sawasdee Inflight Magazine 4

Thai Airways Sawasdee Inflight Magazine 5

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It opened to tourism only in 1974, when the first 287 tourists visited it. Since then, the number of tourists kept increasing, but it is a controlled flow.

The way of controlling it is a “daily fee” for staying in Bhutan of minimum 250 USD per day, which includes accommodation, guides, transport and meals. The money raised by the government are used to finance education and free public health for all Bhutanese people.

You can choose your preferred tour operator among the authorized ones, the price won’t change, and most of the time also the itineraries. Just look for the ones with more recommendations or good reviews.

The access to Bhutan is through a flight to Paro airport, where most of the tours starts. I flew from New Delhi, since it has cheap intercontinental flights from Europe.

The best time to visit Bhutan is March-April or September-October: the reason if the religious festivals that are held during spring and fall, which attracts most of the tourists of the year. The biggest festivals, or Tshechu, are held in Paro during spring and in Thimpu during fall, and that’s the one I attended. If you want to visit during a festival remember to book at least 6-7 months before, or you won’t find any flight available!

Once landed, I visited Thimpu, the most modern city, that held the Thimpu Festival. Among the major attractions of the city, my favorite one is the giant buddha statue of Buddha Dardenma, overlooking the city from an hill.

I managed to shot with my drone this beautiful landmark and here’s the result:

Most of the temples and palaces are lighted by night, which makes them wonderful for night shot. This one is the Memorial Chorten:

And this the magnificent Tashichho Dzong, the buddhism monastery and fortress where the Thimphu Tshechu is held..

The festival is a major attractions not only for tourists, but also for Bhutanese people. During the day, different religious dances are held in the main courtyard outside the temple, and thousands of people watch the dances for hours and hours.

The performers wear colorful costumes and picturesque masks, and it is pure joy for photographers. I’ve been quite unlucky, since during the festival a very late monsoon hit Thimpu, but the festival happened anyway, even under an heavy rain!

This fellow was part of the “clown” dancers, and would go around joking with the audience with these wooden Phallus

You will soon realize that in Bhutan the Phallus is drawn pretty much everywhere, and shops are full of wooden penises. Especially on the houses, the penises are a symbol of prosperity:

After Thimpu, we hit the road to Punakha, another major sightseeing spot of Bhutan, and on the way we spot on the beautiful Dochula Pass, a mountain pass with a view on the Himalayas, at an altitude of 3’100 meters.

Punakha has one the best preserved and located fortress in Bhutan, nicely located on the banks of the river. A very nice activity you could ask your tour operator to organize is a 3-hours rafting along the drive, which has as ending point the Dzong. Quite an expensive activity, like everything in Bhutan unfortunately.

The visit inside is interesting as well, and like all the other dzongs (castles) it is a great opportunity for photo shooting with monks.

Last but not least Paro, the more “old-style” town. It has a nice fortress overlooking the green and fertile valley. Here’s a night shot from my hotel, that was opposite the Dzong

Paro is also the starting point for your best experience in Bhutan, and honestly one of the most astonishing place you will ever visit: the Tiger Nest.

Tiger nest, or Paro Taktsang, is one of the most incredible places I’ve seen in my life. After a 4-hours trekking up in the mountain, the forest will open and you will see this monastery literally stitched to the rocks.

It is said the Guru Rinpoche, the “spiritual father” of Bhutan, flew here on the back of a Tiger, defeated a demon and sanctified this place and when you reach here you will truly believe to this story!

The view is truly breathtaking, and I can count few places that left me with the same emotion.

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1. Fly to Phuket, and then a ferry to Phi Phi
2. Fly to Krabi, and then a ferry to Phi Phi.

The main port is Tonsai Pier, in the south of the main island, called Ko Phi Phi Don, where all the hotels are located. The other island is called Ko Phi Phi Lee, and it is where the famous The Beach is located.

Tonsai Pier

From Tonsai Pier you can choose to stay around the south of Island, where most of the life happens, or move to the north, where the Laem tong beach, an isolated part of the Island reachable only by boat, and hosting only 4 or 5 resorts.

Laem Tong

My drone footage will help me to show you how is this place:

From this part of the Phi Phi, you can organize an half day snorkeling tour to Bamboo Island, renting a taxi boat for around 20-30 euros.

This is probably the best part of the island, pristine water, amazing corals.. it is truly a paradise! If you want to approach and stay on the beach you will have to pay a tax of 400 baht per person (12 euros)

Bamboo Island

All the island has beautiful and hidden beaches, better seen by renting a long boat, which will take you everywhere, and you pay by the hour. An example is this amazing beach, which I have seen before by boat, and I then reached by drone for taking this amazing shot.

The Jungle Beach (Nui Beach)

And this a shot of how short actually is Phi Phi Island, this is all the south of it, at the end you can spot Laem Tong.

South Phi Phi Island

For getting to the famous The Beach from Laem Tong it is around 45 minutes by Long Boat, and I strongly suggest you to leave as early as possible, since from 8.00 am hordes of tourists assault the beach.

The Beach

Close to The Beach there is also the Pileh Lagoon, quite fascinating and beautiful for a swim!

I suggest you to add at your Phi Phi Islands vacation at least 1 night around Krabi, coming or going to Phi Phi Islands, and spend the night at the fabulous Railay Beach, around 45 minutes from the main pier.

Railay divides into Railay East, where a kind of muddy lagoon is not so attractive, and Railay West, a beautiful beach with nice resort. Best part is taking a 10 minutes walk to Phra Nang Cave Beach, which is truly astonishing.

In the foreground below you can see the Phra Nang Cave Beach, and behind it, on the other side, Railay East and the pier.

In the forest between, there is the best resort of Thailand, the amazing Rayavadee.

Phra Nang Cave Beach

Behind the small mountain in the middle, you can spot Railay West.

Phra Nang Cave Beach

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Before visiting it, I had some concerns regarding the wellbeing of the animals, due to what happened to the famous Tiger Temple.

After a short research, it seems that tigers are not treated badly in this place, even if you have to consider that is a Zoo nevertheless, and animals are kept in captivity (obviously).

The entrance tickets let you choose between feeding the cubs and playing with them, take a photo with the biggest tiger or feeding it through a cage. You can also combine all 3 activities, but we chose only the cub feeding, at a price of around 37 euros per person.

We were then accompanied to a room, washed our feet and hands, and entered in this magical place.

Well, it was one of the cutest experience I had in my life, and one of the best activity ever made. You are welcomed by 4 tigers cub, the most magnificent animals ever, that looks like tender puppets.

Please, look at these fluffy little tigers.

Look at these tiny little pawns:

As you can see, you could spend hours, days, weeks photographing them

This is by far my favorite one, shot while they were playing together:

Looking them walking around and slipping on the floor was unbearably cute. Or watch them playing together. Or just watch them.

After playing time, especially because they were quite agitated, it’s feeding time, when you can hold them while they drink milk from a little tiny baby bottle (I apologize for the not professional video)

At the end of this joyful moment, you get to visit the rest of the Zoo, and also pay homage to the mother of the cubs… which is at the same time impressive, majestic and scary.

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In a clear morning, I suggest you to go up the Tokyo Skytree: if you are lucky, like I was, you will clearly see the Mount Fuji!

And you can also spot the infamous Golden Poop!

Golden turd from above

The Golden Poop (or golden turd) is actually called the Golden Flame, and it is locate in the Asahi Beer Hall, a famous building designed by famous french architect Philippe Starck. And it is pretty clear what it looks like! You can view it in Asakusa, on the Sumida river.

Asahi Flame Asakusa and Golden Turd

Asahi Flame Asakusa and Golden Turd 2

One the most interesting neighbourhood is Akihabara, where you can basically find all the manga, collectibles and also electronics that Tokyo has to offer. If you don’t know manga, you will find it quite interesting: weird kids, huge billboards with sexy cartoons and so on. If you have grown up instead with Japanese cartoons, well, you can definitely spend one whole day here, you will find everything you have ever dreamed.

Akihabara Sega

Akihabara billboard

Don’t miss to go for a coffee or a lunch in a Maid Cafe… don’t worry, nothing erotic here, just a very unique experience of being served by young japanese girls dressed up like cartoon-like french maids… and the food often comes shaped in bears of pandas…unmissable!

Akihabara Maid Cafe 2

Did I mention that you can find and buy all kind of weird collectibles here? And these are most “normal” ones!

For a more old-style culture, you should visit Asakusa, where most of the temples of the capital are located. One of the most interesting one is the Senso-ji, where you will find a huge sandal, said to belong to Buddha himself.

Asakusa Sensoji Temple

Asakusa Sensoji Temple Sandal of Buddha

If during the day you find Tokyo fascinating, it is during the night that you find in love with it! Best places to be in the evening (and also to find an accommodation) are Shinjuku and the famous Shibuya, heart of the nightlife of Tokyo.

Back to the sightseeing spots, you can’t miss the “japanese Tour Eiffel”, the Tokyo Tower. Best seen from the observation deck in the Roppongi Hills, the Tokyo City View.

While you are walking around the city, keep an eye open, because you most probably see around very very weird things. I can’t describe them, so better to show you:

Tokyo, Japan – kimono dogs

Tokyo, Japan – kimono dogs 2

On a very early morning (not later that 6.30 am – 7.00 am) go to the Tokyo Fish Market, where the precious fishes for all japanese sushi are traded. If your stomach allows it, get in line for the best value-for-money sushi in Tokyo, but beware the waiting line, that could be of 1-2 hours.

And this is about 20% of the things you can do in Tokyo, I stayed a week, and it was definately not enough!

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