The elaborate stone horses in this picture are part of a stately display at the Guangzhou Sculpture Park, which my friend Trevor and I stumbled upon entirely by accident.  Our original destination was Yuexiu Park, home of the Sun Yat Sen Memorial, but a hasty — or perhaps unscrupulous — taxi driver took us to this inconveniently located park in the northern part of the city.  It ended up being a nice detour.

The spacious, clean park houses dozens of stone carved sculptures depicting gardening, ornamental, educational, artistic and historic themes.  Some are elaborately architectural, others purely whimsical.  Within the sculpture park is the Tang Daxi Sculpture Park, showcasing works by the eponymous Chinese sculptor.  Numerous park benches allow for some quality meditation time, though the park buzzes with activity during events such as the Guangzhou Jazz and World Music Festival, held annually in October.

My fond experience of this park is marred by one horrific memory.  Check out the end of the slideshow below to see.  Let’s just say the last place you want to be without insect repellent is on a grassy park in southern China the day after typhoon rains…

Guangzhou Sculpture Park (map)
545 Xiatang West Rd.
Fei’e Ling, Baiyun District, Guangzhou

I snapped this lone sunflower at Elyria Canyon Park in Mount Washington.  It’s a sleepy little park (and sleepy little neighborhood) in the heart of the Eastside.  Hard to imagine that this is the backyard for so many in this neighborhood.

The views are scenic, but the trails aren’t much more than a lazy stroll through the hills, and many are overgrown and slippery.  Not bad if you need some quiet time on a hill, but don’t expect a workout hike by any means.

If you’re up there during the day, check out the Self Realization Fellowship, a yoga and meditation center located near the park.  The finely manicured gardens are worth a look, though be aware that the center closes at 5 p.m. on most days.

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Google Map of the Elyria Canyon Park available here.

If you’re staying in the popular beach towns of southwestern Bali, watching the sunset is a must-see spectacle.  When the clouds are out, as they often are on this tropical island, gorgeous swirls of pinks mingle with the otherwise perfect blue sky.  This particular photo was taken from Double 6 Beach, located in between Legian and Seminyak, both great beaches if you want to be close to the action without tripping over drunken surfers.  But I can’t guarantee you won’t see droves of Asian couples decked to the nines in matching beach outfits.  (Apparently it’s a big fashion trend in East Asia…)

Map of Seminyak Beach.  More beach photos:

You will hear over and over again in the travel guides that Ubud is the cultural and artistic capital of Bali.  This is not an exaggeration.  Above is a photo taken of an oil painting at the Nyoman Meja Gallery in central Ubud.  Notice the texture in the painting — the curator told me that the painting was created by hundreds of different colored oil paints squeezed through a makeshift icing bag.  So beautiful.  If I had the $1,000 USD that it cost to buy it, I might have taken it home just to stroke the canvas.  Ignoramus that I am, I forgot to write down the title and name of the artist.

Nyoman Meja Gallery (map)
Monkey Forest Rd.
Ubud, 80571 Bali

This particular snapshot on the upper left is of  I Gusti Nyoman Lempad, who I can only describe as Bali’s most badass artist and architect of all time.  Firstly, the guy lived for 116 years, from circa 1863 (yes, “circa” because birth records were not well kept at that time) to 1978.  He survived the three major volcanic eruptions, the Dutch invasion of 1908, both World Wars, the Japanese occupation, and so on down the line, all the while creating Bali’s most famous buildings, sculptures and paintings.  When we visited his house in Ubud, his grandson, himself a very old man, showed us some of Lempad’s old works.

If you’re truly interested in seeing Lempad’s best paintings and drawings, head over to the Neka Art Museum in Kedewatan Village, which is a little ways outside of Ubud.   It is home to a collection of paintings donated from previous owners and from the artist himself.  Above right you can see the painting Lempad donated to the museum entitled “Durma Meets His Mother.”

House of Lempad (map)
Jl. Raya Ubud
Ubud, Kaya

Neka Art Museum (map)
Raya Campuhan St.
Kedewatan Village, Ubud
Gianyar 80571

Other interesting artistic finds around the city:

There we were, getting our Ibu Oka roast suckling pig fix in central Ubud, when we saw a large crowd of people gathering in the street, all of them dressed to the nines in traditional Balinese temple wear. Groups of percussionists sounded polyrhythmic beats on their drums and gongs while priests chanted in Balinese. In the middle of the street were two elaborate structures, one of a giant black bull and another of a colorful tiered tower.

We were witnessing a traditional Balinese cremation ceremony, one of the most important rituals in their devout Hindu culture. According to their religion, cremation ensures that the body passes through the afterlife to be reincarnated for the future.  After a ceremonial parade, the ornate bull and tower, having been carefully constructed over days, are burnt to ashes along with the body.  It’s an elaborate affair and a joyous occasion — no tears are shed as it is believed that the deceased’s soul is only gone temporarily.

This is not the sort of thing you see everyday.  When a member of the community dies, the priest chooses an auspicious day to hold the cremation ceremony, which can be days or even months after the death (and can also depend on whether the family has the proper funds to perform the ceremony).

Auspicious for us, indeed.

My inspiration of the day — the overgrown jungle at the ruins of Ta Prohm in Angkor, Cambodia.   (Click the photo to really see.)   A small reminder of what Earth is capable of when left to its own devices.   Happy Earth Day, everyone!

Read more:
Bicycling through Angkor, Cambodia
More to Angkor than Wat

I captured this last year while hiking in Joshua Tree National Park.  My friends and I spent a leisurely few hours clambering up these majestic rock formations, feeling overly confident and full of sense of accomplishment, until we reached a “summit” of sorts — only to look over to the other side and see a group of muscular rock climbers scaling up the side, their sweaty tans glistening from afar.

For one delirious moment, I lived vicariously through them, imagining myself conquering a sheet of rock — glute by glute, bicep by bicep, nothing but sheer force and willpower.

Nothing like a good peek over the edge of a cliff to bring you back to reality.

View more photos of Joshua Tree on Flickr.

And just out of pure whimsy, here’s a shot of a cloud that looks like a UFO.  We spotted this on the I-15 back to Los Angeles.  Random and fun — just like our weekend in Vegas

New Year’s Eve in Vegas is quite the spectacle.  The Strip is closed down for the countdown and fireworks, with whole mobs of drunken revelers stumbling together in the chilly desert night.  No glass allowed, so Champagne flowed from emptied two-liter bottles of soda… classy, I know.

But honestly, the craziness you see here was actually about 45 minutes of my entire two and a half days there.  Most of the trip was spent in the casino, pissing away my Christmas bonus and then magically earning it all back on a last-minute poker bender.  (Do not try this at home, kids.)

Whoooooo, Vegas!!

Since moving to Los Angeles in 2002, the only fall colors I’ve seen are the cardinal and gold of my beloved USC Trojans.  Since I haven’t experienced a true autumn in seven years, I sorta went nuts with the photo taking today in Central Park, New York.  Here are a few of the good ones.  (The point-and-shoot can only handle so much.)

View more photos on Flickr.