Going to Bolivia

Getting on a plane to Bolivia in about 8 days. Never dreamed that it would be a country I would visit in my lifetime, but then again neither were Lebanon, South Africa, and Netherlands, or even Canada.

The more I read about Bolivia, the more I feel it was my destiny to go there, and I have this strange feeling that I will be going quite a few times more.

I'm collecting the links of useful pages I found about Bolivia, most of which will be about the Jesuit missions in Bolivia which is part of the subject of the documentary I am working on.

Highly recommend, beautifully done website: "La Gran Chiquitania". Bolivia Blog
A page on "culture of Bolivia" with About.com
Moxos Indians
A return to San Ignacio
A Brief History of the Colonial Mission of Eastern Bolivia
Of course, don't forget to check out wikipedia!

I was quite happily surprised that there is this level of information about a remote country which wouldn't cross people's tracks that much. Some additional sources are podcasts:

Travelpod
podcastvillage.com

Palm Treo vdos

When we went to Hierve el Agua, Oaxaca it was quite an effort to reach that place of beauty shown in my previous post. We took a route recommended to us by a tour guide, and after a lot of winding road that gradually became smaller and smaller. We ended up in a narrow dirt road that was dug out to prevent cars passing. We had to leave our car and trek for about half an hour up the mountain. We learnt that the three villages (San Bartolo, San Isidro Roagui, and San Lorenzo Albarradas) surrounding this unique place quarrelled about rights to collect entrance fee, hence the dug out road.



We also visited Mitla, an archeological site dating back to 500 BC. What was most impressive were these geometric mozaic that still retains its beauty to this day.

Then I went to Mexico

Petrified water on top of paradise.



Part of the Villamar clan.


Spectacular Monte Alban, Mitla, in the state of Oaxaca.



You've got to admire the tenacity of a cactus to grow in this arid land.

Thailand trip 2006

Above was a view looking out of the central museum in Ayudhya. A group of Navy trainees were on a visit familiarizing themselves with their ancient heritage from 700 years ago.


Taking a minivan from a market centrally located in Ayudhya brought me back to the heart of Bangkok in a surprisingly short time.







Inspiring Buddha images at Wat Chaimongkol, Ayudhya. I attempted the 9 temples visit in a day, but managed only 3 due to the heat.





My nepews have grown since the last time I saw them.





The bugenvilla were blooming in my garden at Khao Yai.



This water buffala, my zodiac sign is a pet at His Grace Farm Resort. She was grazing beside my house. I couldn't resist her but she didn't want me to get too close to her. She had a calf that ran away into the bushes.