I had struggled quite a bit before I finally decided to quit my corporate job in marketing and set out what would be my biggest adventure so far. A struggle because voluntarily leaving a well-paid job in a society which seems to put security, continuity and conformity over personal freedom is not an easy task. Being at a slightly older age already and at a stage where people around you start to steer their lives into the save havens of family, house and career didn’t make things any easier. But since I can remember, I have been suffering a severe case of wanderlust. A virus which sometimes was just lingering inside but most of the times ferociously demanding for a cure. I was tired of the regular 2-3 week vacations which just allowed for a small glimpse of a country, its culture and its people. I wanted more, I wanted to time to explore, time for adventure and time to reflect about myself and life in general. Read more
One year backpacking South East Asia. A Retrospective
Last days on the road – Time to reminisce
The temples of Angkor were supposed to be the last real highlight of my journey which by that point already lasted more than 10 months. As my funds were running low, I realized that the time to think about my return had finally come. So far, I had been able to successfully suppress these thoughts about the inevitable but they were persistent and kept creeping back without mercy. No more running away, I had to face it – within a couple of weeks I would probably touch European ground again. After having been on the road for that long, having enjoyed the sweet taste of freedom and having experienced adventures of all kinds, it almost felt unreal to finally plan my return. One thing was for sure, the upcoming days would bring a lot of a lot of “last times” …. Read more
Roundup Cambodia: A country in transition
My original plan was to enter Cambodia from Laos and then cross the whole country before going to Vietnam. But when you travel long-term, things and itineraries tend to change every once in a while and here it all happened very quickly. Due to a rather spontaneous decision to leave Cambodia early in order to meet up with my Belgian friends Dolf and Chris in the Philippines, I ended up returning to Cambodia five months after my initial visit. But this circumstance actually made for a very interesting experience as I had left the country during absolute high season, with the country being arid, dusty and hot and returned to what felt like a different country. At the end of wet season, I found a country of lush scenery, green fields and a pleasantly mild climate. As different as these two stays were, as different were the adventures I experienced. Read more
The Temples of Angkor. My three favorite sites and an unexpected event
After a month of traveling Vietnam, I left the border town of Chau Doc by boat and went down the Mekong to enter Cambodia. It would be my second time since my rather spontaneous departure more than three months before. After my memorable jungle adventure in Mondulkiri and the Mekong Discovery Trail, there wasn’t much left on my list but the all time Cambodia highlight Angkor Wat and a short stay in Battambang. The border crossing was quick and I was on my way to Phnom Penh, a city which I associated great memories with. In preparation of my Philippines journey, I had spent a good week in Phnom Penh before and this time I just felt like returning and spending a couple of days in the city to regroup and revive and then head for the ancient temples of Angkor. Read more
Top 1000 of the Garuda Indonesia World Photo Contest
It’s only the Top 1000, I still can’t believe though ….
A few weeks back and thanks to a hint by one of my blog’s followers, I submitted some photos for the annual Garuda Indonesia World Photo Contest. I haven’t heard of this award but apparently it is pretty big and by now a bit prestigious as well. At least that’s what I was told. The contest features three categories, people, nature, culture and every participant was allowed to submit a total of 15 pictures. I think the majority of mine was people with the exception of two landscape shots. My hopes were pretty low as I saw the incredible quality of images photographers from all around the world had submitted. It is really amazing and admittedly also a little intimidating, to see at what level people are photographing these days. BUt today the top 1000 for each category were anounced I found out that actually one of my images it. Top 1000 in the people category – among 74,782 photos submitted from 15,478 participants from more than 100 countries. What an honour and such a surprise.
This is the original image. A boxer during a Khmer Boxing fight in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
The funny thing about this is that I didn’t think that this picture would have any chances to make it. Actually it was among the last that I had chosen for submission. I also liked most of my other submissions way better than this one. I guess one of the judges must have like it the more. Whoever it was, thanks a lot. And if you want to know the whole story behind the picture, just click here … and here is the link to the picture in the contest …
Roundup Vietnam: A country of many facets
I was meant to travel Vietnam a lot earlier, right after my Cambodia trip, but a rather spontaneous change of my itinerary forced me to postpone this adventure by more than three months. Having finally booked my ticket to Hanoi and a rough outline of places to visit in my head, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. A good amount of fellow travelers told me a lot of good things about the country. Others said that they didn’t like the people and their attitude and that the country has already become too touristy. By that time I had already been to 7 other countries and I was worried that Vietnam would just not be able to fascinate me anymore. Luckily I was very wrong and it turned out to be a great trip, with all kinds of different adventures, beautiful places and memorable encounters with the locals. Read more
Vietnam Diaries Pt. 2 – From the highlands of Dalat to the Mekong Delta
Here is the second part of my Vietnam diaries which are supposed to summarize the second half of my one month trip from Northern to Southern Vietnam. As you know by now, my entire camera gear got stolen in Saigon / Ho Chi Minh City and since I also lost all of the pictures documenting the second half of my trip, I decided to do this two-part compressed recap. You can find the first part here. Apart from the creative commons pictures from Flickr I am using again, I can this time at least use some photos taken during a thrilling side trip in Dalat. It’s been an interesting and very diverse part of my trip with a lot of recommendable places. However, let me start with the least likeable of them …. Read more
Vietnam Diaries Pt. 1 – By motorbike from Hue to Da Nang and Hoi An
Having arrived in Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City as it is called these days, the worst thing that can happen to a traveler and passionate photographer happened to me. All of my camera gear got stolen and with the equipment I also lost heaps of nice pictures I took along the way coming down from Hue. After a while, I began to come to terms with the material loss but the irrevocable loss of these pictures which I had put time and effort into still gave me a hard time. And it sometimes still does these days. Apart from the painful loss itself, another consequence of this incident is that I am also not able to cover my trip and all the adventures along the way as I would like to here on escapology. But since I still want to let you guys know where I went and give some advice about those places, I decided to write a two-part recap with the use of some creative commons images from Flickr. It is not how I like to cover things, especially using other peoples images, but there is no other way. I hope you will still like some of the things you will read below… Read more
ESCapology on Digital Photography School. Improve your Travel Photography
Check out my article on digital-photography-school.com and get some tips on taking portraits
As I started out my trip, my biggest struggle in terms of photography was taking good portraits. It seemed like every time I was taking photographs of people, the outcome was never what I was aiming and hoping for. It was frustrating sometimes as I came across the most unique situations, beautiful and photogenic, and just didn’t seem to be able to get that one shot. At one point I realized that I had to deliberately put time and effort in order to improve my portraits. It took a lot of practice, trial and error and it was hard. It was hard to overcome that awkward feeling when approaching complete strangers, not knowing their language and the natural reservation we have when it comes to other people’s privacy. But by constant trial and error and the help by some amazing photographers I met on the way, things slowly improved.
I still have a very long way to go, I still have a lot to learn and I am not sure if I will ever get where I want to be but I wanted to share the things I realized during this journey of becoming a better photographer. The guys over at digitital-photography-school.com gave me the opportunity to cover this topic – you can check out the article here. I hope it can be of help for some of you guys and of course, if you have other tips on how to take better portraits while on the road or have further questions, let me know and drop a comment below.
Cheers,
Philipp
Discovering Hue – Crashing a wedding and raiding the Royal Tombs
A typhoon had hit the coast of Vietnam and our night train ride from Hanoi to Hue turned out to be a full fledged odyssey. Trailing the storm and the massive amounts of rain it brought with it, it took us more then 24 hours instead of 12 to arrive country’s former capital. It was night time and despite having made the best of the ride, meeting new people, locals and tourists alike, we were tired and only looking forward to get some well deserved rest. The good thing about all of it was that the typhoon had just passed, the rain was gone and the next day looked promising, perfect to go exploring. Read more
About me
Hi, I'm Phil from Germany, a traveler and adventurer suffering from a severe case of wanderlust. With a passion for Asia, I am exploring this beautiful world bit by bit, thoroughly and slowly. I love photo- graphy, surfing, diving and trekking. Come and join me. More here.
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