Friday "Reveal"!

Okey dokey, this is my second “reveal” post, where I spill the beans on the locations of images recently put up on the Travelling Fatman Facebook page. There were a good few guesses on this one and more correct answers than I expected.

If anyone reading this blog isn’t familiar with my Facebook page, you can find it here - please do have a look, full of photos, facts and fun. “Best page on Facebook”…”Boundless wit”…”Top notch repartee”…”He might be fat, but he’s a photography phenom”. Not my words, the words of…well…yeah, ok, my words. But still…

So, back to the reveal, lots of correct guesses as I mentioned. So I need to up my game. I need to work harder. Something my mother always yelled at me, between slaps. Hands like shovels, but I never cried. Anyway, I shall try to dig out tougher images for the next one.

Usual format - repost the image, give the location, write some stuff about it…let’s go!

This image dates from 2007. 2007!! That’s 13 years ago - what the hell?!? Where's the time gone, eh? Flies by. Except this lockdown period, heaven knows this is a drag. At least I’ve got my photos to work through, facebook to post on, blogs to update. Stories to make up.

Oh, so where are we? Hong Kong Airport, that’s where. And what an airport - What An Airport! Wins lots of awards, facts and figures abound. For example, In 2010 HKIA became worlds busiest cargo airport, overtaking Memphis. The airport was opened officially in 1998, taking over from Kai Tak airport. Kai Tak was the one with famous photos of planes flying very close to buildings in HK. There was also a famous saying, “Kai Tak rules”, essentially the same as “What goes in Vegas stays in Vegas”.

Having never been to Vegas and never having flown into Kai Tak, those rules don’t apply to me. That’s the way I am, I make my own rules. Can’t help it, life on the edge.

Right, next image…

This one dates from 2010. How do I know that, you ask? Well - virtually every digital image stores “EXIF data”., a bit like an electronic signature/watermark containing all sorts of information. Exif stands for “Exchangeable image file format”. If that ever comes up as the deciding question in a pub quiz, and you nail it, you’ve now got The Fatman to thank. Oh, for anyone confused - “pubs” are places people used to go to to meet friends, socialise and have a drink. Hopefully, one day, they will make a comeback.

So - exif data. I can tell that this image was shot on a Canon 5D mkII with a 17-40mm IS L lens at 11.23am on Friday 22nd Jan, 2010. ISO was 200, shutter speed 1/250 and f6.3. I don’t understand the technology but I find it wonderful.

Oops, nearly forgot - the location. Yes, sorry - this was shot inside the KLCC Shopping Mall - “The Premier Shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur”. Bang next to/part of the Petronas twin tower complex.

So there we are, facts and location…next…

This one is a bit of a mouthful. Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea. Wasn’t a hope in hell of me spelling that correctly, fully confess to copy/pasting from some webpage. Shoot - hope they got the spelling right…

January 2010 I was here, sadly a very short visit with just a few free hours to wander and take snaps. Most of them were rubbish, you don’t get to see those. That way I get to create an illusion of knowing what I’m doing.

OK, some trivia from Wikipedia. “Gyeongbokgung Palace or Gyeongbok Palace, was the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty. Built in 1395, it is located in northern Seoul, South Korea. The largest of the Five Grand Palaces built by the Joseon dynasty, Gyeongbokgung served as the home of Kings of the Joseon dynasty, the Kings' households, as well as the government of Joseon.”

I cannot tell you how much I have been looking forward to this one, I’m going to have a field day here - and every word will be true.

This was taken in Bhutan - Punakha, to be exact. What we are looking at, on top of that little hillock just right of centre, is the Temple of the Divine Madman. Now, Buddhism first arrived in Bhutan at some point in the 8th century. In the 15th century, a Tibetan monk named Drukpa Kunley arrived in the country and spread the faith more deeply. This guy became known as the “Divine Madman” because his method of teach was somewhat unorthodox. I don’t know where to start with this, it’s all so good. I’ll just make a list.

Essentially he used phallic imagery to subdue demons and bless the people of Bhutan. His other nickname was the “Saint of 5,000 women”. He was known for stripping naked, offering his testicles to a famous Lama(dunno why) and for peeing on sacred paintings.

“His phallus became so famous and powerful that it was known as The Thunderbolt of Flaming Wisdom”. Can you imagine? I couldn’t make this stuff up.

When I went to Bhutan, I travelled with a Texan friend, the Fabulous Baker Boy. He summed it up nicely when he asked our guide…”I can see why all that makes him a madman, but why does it make him divine?”. Don’t think we ever got an answer to that.

In the village around the temple, there are phalluses everywhere - painted on walls, shops selling carved ones (of all sizes) and even wooden ones used as doorstops.

Now, I suspect some of you may wonder if all this is genuine. It is. But, to try and sway the doubters, the naysayers, the unbelievers - here are a couple of bonus snaps from the village.

Incidentally, my brother has suggested Punakha as a destination for our next trip. Not sure why.

OK, enough of that - time to move on

There was a correct guess on this one - The Maldives. Lucky enough to have been a couple of times, heaven on earth. No rude paintings over the walls here, that’s for sure. I need time to recover from the last ‘reveal’, head needs to clear a bit. So I’ll move on…

There was a correct guess here as well - Siena, Italy. I was in Tuscany a couple of years back for a family event and it was wonderful. Loved it, loved it, Loved It! The weather, the food, the towns and villages - all glorious, I was very happy indeed. Didn’t have too long in Siena, but had a nice walk around and some lunch, none of it too rushed. A beautiful city - and genuinely very upsetting to see what Italy has gone trough so far this year.

I’m not sure I want to dwell on that topic too much, except to say the human cost and the extent of the impact on everyone’s lives has been horrific. Just…be kind. Every individual will have been affected in some way, and often in ways you may not know about, either directly or through family. So…please…be kind. :-)

I was actually quite pleased that there was a correct guess on this shot. This is Robin Hood’s Bay, just south of Whitby on the North East coast of England. I went here as a child, family friends used to run a fish and chip shop very close to the harbour.

Roll the clock forward 40 years and I’m back again. These days you need to park at the top of the hill and walk down. And back up. That tested the old thighs, I can tell you. Anyway, I was delighted to see that the fish and chip shop was still there, that made me happy! I had just filled my face in Whitby though, so I resisted the temptation. So I walked by, strolled along the beach for a while, looked in rock pools and wandered back up the hill. With an ice-cream to give me energy for the climb. Mint choc chip - lovely.

Lovely wee place to visit - pubs, restaurants - fish and chip shop - nice walks and lovely old alleyways and cottages. Reputedly used to be a smuggling village as well, so there’s an air of intrigue there. Worth a trip if you happen to be in the Whitby area.

Another one correctly guessed - Cape Leeuwin lighthouse in Australia, near Margaret River. I love lighthouses. You can go up this one and walk around the gantry - and I did. It was great fun, with cracking views over the ocean and surrounding countryside. The weather around here can be quite dramatic as well, happy days for photographers. Some great Aussie wines from around here - highly recommend the Leeuwin Estates Art Series. As with Sour Patch kids, I’m open to sponsorship deals. Call me.

This one was correctly called on Facebook as well - not a huge surprise, New York fire escapes are pretty iconic. They have attracted some controversy in recent years on ground of safety and effectiveness. Regardless, they make nice photos and I think black and white works well on them.

And they look good on cop shows.

Some very, very close guesses on Facebook, good enough to give full marks. This is Stanage Edge in Derbyshire’s Peak District. Nice wee walk up to this point and lovely views to reward the effort. Here we have a nice sunny day. I have also walked this when it was freezing and blowing a gale. That was less pleasant, I feely admit. However, I’d still rather be there than stuck in lockdown. This sucks, but better safe than sorry! Also, lockdown kinda gives me a captive audience of people so bored they will look at my snaps and read my ramblings. Every cloud…

I find this sculpture and monument to be deeply moving - and I shall add a second image below. This is the Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach, Florida. I have visited Holocaust and genocide memorials in several locations and would recommend you do so if you have the opportunity. We need to improve as a species and sadly we need to be reminded of our numerous and immense failings.

Holocaust Memorial, Miami Beach. Emotive statues and a seemingly never-ending list of names carved on the walls make this a deeply moving and thought provoking memorial.

A few bullseyes here - The Italian Chapel on Orkney. When I visited here, I did not have huge expectations, I’ll be honest. But it was a real “wow” moment - when you take into account the location, the history and the beauty of this small chapel the whole package just blew me away. I am in no way religious but can fully appreciate buildings such as this.

You can see an image of the exterior on my Orkney Blog

I do also have some scenes from Orkney on my Orkney Video. Now, I know my videos are basic and, on the whole, pretty rubbish - but if you could see your way to clicking the “subscribe” button, it would be hugely appreciated - cost nothing, you won’t get spammed with emails or anything. Thanks. :-)

Well, that’s the end of the reveal, but I’m going to share one last image for today. During the week I made a chilli corn carne and it was really pretty good, even if I do say so myself. I think you’d say so too, if you were ever lucky enough to taste it.

Ok then, now I really do have to wrap this up - as always, hope everyone is following guidelines and being sensible - stay strong, stay safe - and be kind!

Fatman xxx