Before we left for Asia, everyone who had been to Vietnam told us to go to Halong Bay. They all said the same thing: it’s really touristy, and totally worth it. They were all right. Halong Bay is an magestic landscape of limestone rock formations jutting out of a moss green sea. It is also chock full of “junks” – 15th(?) century style boats, each one housing a tour group. That said, there are long stretches on the water where no other vessel is in sight, and in those moments, the landscape’s mysterious and lonely quality are stunning.
We actually quite loved our tour. It was fun sleeping in our own wooden room on the junk, and kayaking among the towering formations was a highlight of our entire trip so far. On the second day we biked and hiked through Cat Ba National Park, a jungle-y tangle of plants and vines, and stopped at Monkey Island, where Dylan nearly lost his face to a monkey attack. So if you’re planning a trip to Vietnam, go to Halong Bay: It’s really touristy, and totally worth it.
Pulling out of the harbor with a mess of other junk boats.
We didn’t have the best weather, but the thick grey skies certainly added to the eeriness as formations emerged out of the fog.
A floating village, of which there were many dotted throughout the bay.
This woman seemed to be scooping water into her boat, maybe keeping the day’s catch wet?
The dock to the beach where we had lunch.
Dylan takes in the view as we chug along.
A spider in Cat Ba National Park – just about the size of a grown man’s hand.
Dylan loves the hiking!
This photo was taken seconds before this outraged little monkey tried to attack Dylan. It leapt at his head, and as Dylan spun around to protect his precious face, the monkey sprung from his backpack into a nearby tree, and moments later, repeated the action. Dylan was so scared, he shrieked like a girl and pushed me into the monkey’s path, so I think it’s safe to assume that if this was a dominant male attack, Dylan’s response promptly ended it.
We never wanted to leave.
I’ll be traveling with my husband, Dylan, through Southeast Asia for the next 5 weeks, and will be attempting to capture each place with a few photos. First up – Hanoi, the vibrant, frenetic capital city of Vietnam.
Birds in wooden cages hang everywhere in the city, adding a nice chirping respite to the constant hum of motorbikes.
Enjoying extremely satisfying hot bowls of xoi (sticky glutinous rice, mine topped with a fried egg, Dylan’s with pork) and orange drink for breakfast.
Ho Chi Minh’s little pagoda.
Hanoi is all about the motorbikes. In busier areas, crossing the street can be hair-raising. But somehow it all seems to work, even the folks carrying entire orange trees on their moto manage to weave elegantly around other motorbikes, cars, bicycles, tuk-tuks and pedestrians.
Water puppets – a 1,000 year old art form, water puppetry was invented as entertainment in the flooded rice paddies of rural Vietnam.
Dragon heads at the Temple of Literature, home of Vietnam’s first university, from the 11th century.
The Temple of Literature features tons of stone turtles carrying tablets on their backs – each one has a face more delightful than the last. This curly-haired one is my favorite.
Dylan and I managed to get a tour of the little known Zoological Museum (it’s by appointment only, so be sure to call ahead), an incredible three rooms of taxidermy and specimens from the French colonial era. This elephant skeleton greeted us as we headed in.
The mammal room of the Zoological Museum – a menagerie of taxidermy crammed into a tiny room due to space issues, resulting in wonderfully whimsical arrangement. Every animal in the room seems to be charging toward you as you walk in.
Most of the taxidermy has seen better days, but to me the imperfections only add to their charm.
This Saturday, I’m looking forward to the opening of Observatory’s first group-curated show, Lunation. Observatory is the art/lecture space in Brooklyn that I co-run with a group of artists and writers – with 8 curators, the show promises to feature a wide range of work inspired by the moon, including a piece of my own.
(I also designed the press image below, which didn’t take too much effort with such an incredible photograph to start with, by Noah Doely. I highly recommend clicking on his link to see more of his awesome work.) Join us for the opening if you’re in the area – there will be free wine aplenty.
Some things I hope to do better in 2012: have friends over to dinner more often; make animations just for the fun of it; make our tiny apartment more livable through organization; pickle more stuff; start writing again; learn how to use my camera better; take a canoe trip through the boundary waters in Minnesota; shoot a rifle at some clay pigeons, later, maybe grouse, in which case, learn to field dress a grouse; bike more.
Another winter means another weekend at my pal Katie’s cabin in Vermont. Every year a carload or two of our friends drive 4.5 hours to spend a weekend sitting in front of the fire, going on short hikes, buying meat at Singleton’s, eating big family meals, playing board games, and shooting the bb gun.
Picture of Liam taking a picture
A dusting of snow
Waterfall
Liam and Dylan attempt to communicate across the great divide
Singleton’s – a grocery store whose walls are lined with taxidermy and rifles.
Singleton’s is our one stop shop for bacon and bb gun ammo.
Sausage, cheese, chex mix and martinis. What more could you ask for?
Becca is holding the rifle like a bazooka in this picture and that’s why I love it.
This Sunday Atlas Obscura hosted a cemetery symbolism walking tour at Greenwood in Brooklyn. Allison, our tour guide, carries a wealth of knowledge about one of my favorite places in the world, and I highly recommend jumping on her next Greenwood tour. We learned all about the monument of the horrible Brooklyn theater fire, under which the charred remains of an unknown number rest, and about the meaning of inverted torches, hands, shrouds, anchors, and many other headstone symbols.
We walked around the cemetery to tales of rich guy mausoleums, Egyptian pyramid tombs with Christian symbolism, public lots, Civil War battles, poisonous zinc monuments, family plot fences melted down for metal during the war, the meaning of different hedges and shrubs, and the history of Greenwood itself until we were so cold our toes were numb.
I was on hand to take photos for AO, here are a few of my favorites. The rest can be seen at Atlas Obscura’s Flickr.
Earlier this summer I worked on a video for AOL’s company-wide employee awards. I animated their Blue Monster mascot – it was my first time doing character animation like this, and I’m quite please at how it turned out. I just noticed today that the video is on vimeo, so I thought I’d share!
AOL Blue Monster from Resonance Interactive on Vimeo.
Thanksgiving at my mom’s house in Bath, ME is much like any other – lots of eating, lots of Christmas movies, lots of naps. But for the past few years Dylan and I have been trying to make time to get out and do a little exploring of Maine.
This year we took a long winter walk around the grounds and woods of Hyde, a beautiful brick boarding school, and the next day we drove down to South Bristol to Christmas Cove (see Dylan’s film).
A low mist on the grounds of Hyde.
Hyde School
What a winter sunset in Bath
More winter sunset (there are about 50 pictures of this sunset, I really had to hold back from posting them all)
Dylan at Christmas Cove in South Bristol
Miss Ashley’s on the Wharf in South Bristol makes the best $2.50 grilled cheese you ever had.
Looking in the window of a closed antique shop, the South Bristol swing bridge (one of only three in Maine) in the background.
Heh. Master Baiter. Heh heh.
The traditional turkey soup made from turkey leftovers, and a Thunder Hole Ale to wash it down.
Fangs of Maine from Dylan D. Thuras on Vimeo.
Finally back in Brooklyn from a restorative Thanksgiving in Maine, at which my uncle gave Dylan some old Konica lenses that he never used. Dylan and I took a drive out to Christmas Cove in South Bristol, and Dylan played with his lenses while I played around the ocean. He turned his footage into a cliched indy video for fun – here’s what he says about it:
“This is a little indy style music video I put together from footage I took while on Thanksgiving vacation in Maine. It manages to incorporate nearly every cliche of indy music videos: overexposure, slow motion, shots of nature, squiggly font, mismatched audio / video, soft focus, etc. But I still like it.”
Last week Dylan and I made a trip to San Francisco and LA. I love San Francisco and remain undecided about LA, but by far the highlight of the trip was the beautiful stretch of highway between the two. It was a last minute decision to rent a car and do the famous PCH ourselves, and I’m so so glad we did. Because the drive was sandwiched between two work meetings in either city, we had to rush through – but we’re already planning to go again.
Taking in the scenery
 The first redwoods I’ve ever seen! In Pfeiffer State Park
 We stopped in at the Big Sur Lodge after our redwood forest hike to get a smashed penny for my ever-expanding collection.
 Sunset near San Simeon
 We managed to make time for the Hearst Castle – this was Hearst’s study.
 The amazing indoor Roman Pool at Hearst Castle.
 Elephant Seal Rookery!
 Look at all those lazy seals!
 A stop for lunch in Los Alamos.
 California-y!
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