Riding a chicken bus in Nicaragua is an eye-opening and often terrifying experience.

Barreling down muddy cliffside roads and potholed highways.
Listening to speeches on religion, politics and parasites
Eating full meals from the vendors at every stop.
Hanging on for dear life: from time to time.

It’s also the best way to experience the country: a hidden gem of Central America.

You want to sit by the window for the obvious reason: fresh air. The seat may be a bit more cramped, but you get some relief from breathing in dust, heat and smelly body odors, as well as from the general stuffiness of the bus.

Kids selling me water as my bus came to a red light in Managua: the capital of Nicaragua

Your window seat also will come in handy when your Nicaraguan chicken bus stops at the side of the road and vendors come up to the side selling tasty treats like enchiladas, jacote fruits, rosquillas, cold water and soda, cheese, tortillas and bread. There’s nothing like conducting a transaction leaning out of the window of an old school bus.

Another equally important reason for sitting by the window is to combat the never-ending flow of humanity. Nicaraguan locals will board and get off the bus in droves at every stop. If you are in an aisle seat, you should be prepared to have your toes stepped on and having people falling and sitting in your lap.

Nicaraguan chicken buses suuuure do get crowded

If you want to get that window seat on a Nicaragun bus, you’ve got to be prepared to push your way on. Men, women and children of all ages make a b-line for the front door as soon as it opens, so forget about waiting on an organized line

I mentioned earlier that sitting by a window helps avoid people sitting in your lap. Well, you still might get some bodily contact. It’s a safe bet that at some point in your journey at least three people will try and squeeze into your little row, often leaving you with parts of your new friend’s body on top of yours.

The Coltran (bus station) in Ocotal: a city in the North of Nicaragua, less than an hour bus ride from the Honduras border...where I almost got arrested...

Don’t be surprised, but from time to time people bring their own livestock onto the bus. I’ve watched as locals have held out a handful of rice to allow their chicken, pig or other animal to have a snack on the bus. It makes sense: how else would they get them home.

Honestly. What size bag could I possibly fit in this luggage rack?

Most Nicaraguan chicken buses have installed a rack above the seats for passengers to store their bags while traveling. However, if you’re backpacking or have a big suitcase there is probably no way it will fit up there. At times, the opening is no larger than a book. So where do you put your big bag?

You can’t keep it in the seat with you: there’s no room. All that’s left is to put it either in the back of the bus (assuming there aren’t seats there) or up on top of the bus. But a helpful piece of advice after riding these buses for seven months is “don’t worry about your bag while you’re on the bus.” The busy guys (cobradors) take very good care of them and they are safer up there than when you’re walking around.

This guy gives a 5 minute talk on the types and dangers of parasites before selling at least half of the bus some sort of pills he claims cures them.

Remember, you’re not taking a chicken bus for the ease of it. You’re taking it to get a glimpse into Nicaraguan culture. Take it all in. Enjoy the preachers who stand in the front and talk about Jesus. Smile at the guys who show charts of parasites and sell pills to “cure all.” It’s a completely different world from whatever you are used to (probably) and one of the most educational and eye-opening experiences you can have.

A bus broken down on the side of the road in Jicaro, Nicaragua

Taxis of SouthEast Asia

The Symmetry Project: a photographic study of the commonalities within civilizations

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Measuring 30×49″ total,
each photo in Taxis of SouthEast Asia is 5″ tall.

…..Click to learn more … (o)

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Individual photos are available as C-prints in all sizes.

MUNI Cables on 17th and Bryant

Dozens of zero emission trolleybuses parked at the MUNI Depot on 17th and Bryant

In the years since, I have come to love the wires as a part of the San Francisco charm and almost think that they add something to the flavor of this eclectic city.

Many different MUNI power cables connect at one point

One of my favorite places to see these buses and cables is at the trolleybus depot located at 17th Street and Bryant Avenue in the Mission. I have driven by there countless times: always wanting to stop and take photos.

A panorama of the MUNI Depot on 17th and Bryant in San Francisco's Mission neighborhood

I must have driven or walked past the bus depot dozens of times before finally stopping to take photos of it after renting a Nikon D700 from Calumet Photo to document the Outside Lands music festival.

MUNI Power Cables and San Francisco Sky

I was thrilled to find that there was a MUNI parking lot just above the bus depot that I was able to get on top of for great aerial views of everything.

A full frame fisheye shot of the parking lot above the MUNI depot on 17th and Bryant in San Francisco

While I probably took more than 100 photographs on that warm August day in San Francisco, these are by far my favorites.

14 Mission MUNI Bus in the 17th and Bryant depot

My question for the comments…how do you think the MUNI cables affect the overall look of San Francisco’s streets and skyline?

A Buddha statue in Louang Prabang

What follows is an excerpt from my original thoughts on Laos from July 20, 2009.

“Situated between Thailand and Vietnam, Laos (pronounced Lau; the s is silent) provided the return to the rural third world lifestyle we had been missing since leaving Sri Lanka. The country is primarily countryside with small villages scattered throughout and the occasional bigger city. Most houses are built on top of stilts and made of flimsy wood with tin roofs and stairs or a ramp leading to the door. When it is not raining, the underneath part is used for shade, laying in hammocks, eating, working, storage and more.

The cheapest way across the Mekong River in Laos to get to Champasak is to wait for the ferry

Tourism is relatively new to Laos, only having appeared on the traveler radar around 20 years ago. Still, the people have caught on quickly and, even if it is limited to a few block radius, most cities have a tourist area filled with dirt cheap (by our standards, expensive by theirs) guesthouses, food, markets, Internet and travel agents. However, it is much easier to escape these areas than in other countries, as a quick trip outside this small area provides a fascinating window into local life.

A bus takes a break near the station in Vang Viang, a popular stop on the backpacker trail in Laos

While there may not be that much to actually do in Laos in terms of major tourist attractions, we spent two weeks there relaxing, enjoying nature and the slower pace of life, seeing the occasional temple or site and immersing ourselves in the environment. Two weeks was not nearly enough and I would love to return one day.”

As we learned on the island of Don Det, the Beerlao bottle made a perfect candle holder for long evenings hanging out in a hammock overlooking the river

I have lots more photography from Laos.

The town of Louang Prabang is surrounded by lush greenery and all-too-many signs of construction

Imagine soaring above the New York City skyline in an aerial cable car every day to get to school. That’s how I spent my childhood growing up on Roosevelt Island: a two mile long and 800 foot wide sliver of land in the East River sandwiched between Manhattan from Queens.

The Roosevelt Island Tram Soars Above Manhattan's East Side

When it opened in 1976, the Tramway was the only way on or off Roosevelt Island without using a bridge. Cars could gain access from Queens and pedestrians could take an elevator down the supporting legs of the Queensboro Bridge, but a subway stop was still 13 years away from opening.

A shot of the Roosevelt Island Tram next to the Queensboro Bridge, shot from a rooftop in uptown Manhattan

Even after the Q subway line opened in 1989, Tram ridership remained steady for the three minute ride connecting Roosevelt Island with Manhattan’s East side (59th Street and Second Avenue, to be exact).

The Roosevelt Island Tram hangs above Manhattan Traffic on 2nd Avenue and 59th Street

The Tram arrives in the Roosevelt Island docking station

Perhaps my favorite part of the trip was when the Tram’s twin red cabins passed each other in mid-air halfway through the journey. For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved snapping photos of the opposing gondola high above the river with Roosevelt Island or New York City in the distance. After years of attempts, I finally captured what I often consider to be my favorite picture of my life: at the very least, my most personal.

The Tram soars above Roosevelt Island, Manhattan and the East River

I was honored to discuss creating this image and my experiences as a travel photographer in an interview with the PhotoGrill Web Magazine. Below is an excerpt:

The original Tram over the East River image from my Nikon D80

Photogrill: Were you after this particular image, or were you photographing everything?

Past attempts taught me that pressing my camera against the angled corner window was the only way to avoid reflections and glare.

Furthermore, I had to be on the cabin closest to the Queensboro Bridge while heading away from Roosevelt Island with a lens wide enough to capture the island, river, oncoming Tram and tower in one shot. It was a photo years in the making.

PHOTOGRILL: It looks like it was against the light, how did you deal with that and get a full set of tones in the tram?

My best earlier attempt at capturing the Tram above Roosevelt Island

As the Tram approached, I quickly took a light reading from both the cabin and the sky behind it and went for something in the middle. When I looked at the results, I was very pleased with the composition but felt the images lacked a certain pop and relegated them to my archives.

It took another few years and teaching myself Photoshop before I revisited the photo.

The original image was captured using a Nikon D80 with a 12-24mm lens set at 14mm, 1/200s exposure, f/7.1 and ISO 100. Once in Photoshop, I used Hue/Saturation, Exposure, Curves, Levels and Brightness/Contrast layers and Smart Filters.

The Tram Lands on Roosevelt Island where the Red Buses wait to shuttle people around The Roc

I was also thrilled when the Tram image was selected by Local Social to be a part of their Vessels event. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and like meeting new people, cool art and awesome food, be sure to check Local Social out.

The Tram Lands on Roosevelt Island in front of Historical Society kiosk

For 34 years after it opened, each gondola left its station in Manhattan or Queens at the same time, every fifteen minutes, 20 hours a day. Up to 110 people could squeeze into a single cabin, though at times during rush hour pedestrians were left waiting for the next trip.

The Tram's brightly colored gears in the Manhattan station

Life with the Tram was not without its difficulties, as over the years it encountered its share of problems. Any sign of lightning or strong winds would shut it down for hours, a cabin was once hit by a construction crane working on the Queensboro Bridge and both gondolas have gotten stuck for varying amounts of time.

The Tram, Queensboro Bridge and Cherry Blossoms From the Downtown Side of Roosevelt Island

Perhaps the most famous of these incidents occurred in 2006, when entire Tram system lost all power while the cabins were dangling over the East River and 59th Street, respectively. Backup power sources failed and rescue workers had to manually crank a rescue cage up the cables to individually evacuate passengers. At one point, riders literally had cross over a gap dangling 250 feet above the river.

This cage was dangling hundreds of feet above the East River and passengers had to pass over a gap between the Tram windows and the cage to escape.

When the Tram finally reopened after five months of repairs and upgrades, the writing already was on the wall. Plans were drawn up for a complete replacement of the entire system and on March 1, 2010, the classic cabins were retired to their current resting place: gloomily getting dirtier under the Island’s parking garage.

The old Tram cabins sit decaying behind the Motorgate parking garage on Roosevelt Island

I have heard rumors of turning the old cabins into a welcome center to compliment the Roosevelt Island Historical Society’s current trolley kiosk. My childhood friends and I want to turn it into a sandwich shop. I also think one should go to the Smithsonian…but I’m  biased.

Trams in solitude behind the Motorgate parking garage and in front of the Gristides supermarket

You also can check out uptake.com’s More Family Activities near Roosevelt Island

Before there was a site, Adventures of a GoodMan was an e-mail I sent out to friends during my travels with links to snapfish albums for photos. The story featured in this post was one of those e-mails after a solo-backpacking trip through Bavaria, Germany, in 2006. I was 26.

The town of Fussen in Bavaria, Germany

Beer and the Hofbräuhaus
Simply put, beer is everywhere! I happened to be in Munich during a warm stretch and people were out in masses. Spread throughout town were a bunch of beer gardens, which are large areas filled with picnic tables and food/beer stands.

The Bavarian streets of Fussen, Germany

People of all ages come out for meals or just to hang out on a nice day, but whatever their reason is, they all have giant beers. How giant? Well, it’s tough to find beer in a glass smaller than a liter. It’s wild to see old men and women pounding these things like they were water. It’s also a very social environment; the picnic tables are huge and you just sit down wherever there is room and make friends with those around you.

In addition to the outdoor beer gardens, there are numerous indoor beer halls spread around town. In fact, beer and beer halls played a large part in the history of Munich and Bavaria. The main one closest to my hostel was the world-famous Hofbräuhaus. It’s just like the outdoor places except larger (it seats 5000) and everyone who works there (and many who don’t) wears lederhosen.

There is a band that comes around playing traditional music while everyone continues to drink their liters of beer and bang their glasses on the table to the beat. This then spills beer everywhere and menus and sleeves quickly become napkins, as real napkins are nowhere to be found. The best part has got to be just sitting there and people-watching the folks from all walks of life who sit down by you. I can only imagine what it’s like during Oktoberfest.

The Peterskirche Church in Munich, Bavaria, Germany

A yellow house in Bavaria, Germany

Planes
Seems I don’t have to be on a school bus in Nicaragua to have some crazy transportation stories. Let’s start with the last one. I booked a 9:30am flight home for Sunday, Nov 26, from Munich to JFK with a short layover in Amsterdam. Well, that Sunday I woke up before sunrise and made my way to the airport…exhausted from being out partying until 4am the night before (hey, it was my last night in Europe).

I get to the check in counter and hand the woman my passport…she has no record of my eticket..and since it was an e-ticket, I didn’t have good old-fashioned airline tickets to show her. I just had my printed itinerary. At this point I take out my printed itinerary to show the woman and immediately see that it says, clear as day, Monday, November 27…not Sunday! I hand it to her hoping she won’t notice, but of course she does and nicely circles my mistake for me (check out the pic). No joke, I must have looked at that piece of paper 1000 times and always saw the right date.

My e-ticket clearly showing the date I was supposed to be at the airport

“What am I going to do,” I ask? “I have to be at work tomorrow.” She types a ton of stuff into the computer and replies, “Well, for $200 I can get you on the flight to Amsterdam today, but the flight to JFK only has business class…that’s an extra $1100.” After thinking about it for a while I decide that I will take the $200 flight change to Amsterdam and catch my scheduled flight to JFK the next day. I had seen all I wanted to see in Munich and was so irritated I would not have enjoyed any more time there, although another visit to the Hofbräuhaus would have been nice. So I got on my 45 minute flight and spent my last day and night (take 2) wandering around Amsterdam taking photos and seeing the 21st James Bond movie – Casino Royale – in my second country (I saw it on German opening night).

Mad Max's Disney Castle Neufschwassen in Fussen

The Disney Castle and a Ride on the Autobhan
One of the main reasons I chose Bavaria was to visit the Castle Neuschwanstein, which Walt Disney based his Magic Kingdom on. I had always seen amazing photos of it and wanted to take my own. Well, the hostel I was staying at in Munich had a sign up sheet for people to meet in the lobby and travel together, as the train ticket there was cheaper by the group. Juan from Chile was the only person that joined me on my adventure.

The sunset over the Alps in Fussen, Germany

I told Juan upfront that I wanted to stay through the sunset to take pics and he agreed. So, we headed off together and after a two-hour train ride getting to know each other and looking at the amazing Bavarian countryside, we arrived in Fussen. The castle itself was gorgeous, massive and set in the middle of the mountains with the Bavarian Alps as the backdrop.

Before taking our tour we went to the best place to take photos (a bridge above the castle), but I never saw the exact view I had seen on postcards and the one I wanted to shoot. Well, after taking a tour of the castle I stopped into the gift shop and picked up a mousepad with the view I wanted and asked the cashier where I could take that exact photo. “You need a helicopter,” she said. “And if I don’t happen to have my helicopter with me,” I asked? “Then you go back to the bridge.”

Hohes Schloss Castle in Fussen, Germany

Well, with little other choice left, Juan and I returned to the bridge and started snapping more pics. As it was super crowded and there was an hour till sunset, we decided to check out the dirt trail that continued past the bridge. It ended a few minutes later but there seemed to be a way to get higher up so I convinced Juan to come on an expedition.

This was the best idea ever, as our final spot was a few hundred feet above the bridge, had a better view of the castle as well as a stunning view of the Alps reflecting in a lake (a view that was blocked by trees on the bridge). With no one around and a view stretching out hundreds of miles, I really felt like I was on top of the world up there and just watched as the sun set over the alps.

The final moments of the day as the sun sets over the Bavarian Alps

By the time I got down from my vista the castles were beautifully lit up, so I got out my tripod and started snapping away. By this time, Juan was anxious to get going but I was determined to take a few more pics.

Me at age 26 in front of Castle Neuschwanstein

Apparently, so was this other guy who was setting up a tripod next to me. We started talking about photography in English – no German Translations required – and after like 20 minutes he said if me and Juan didn’t mind waiting around until he finished up that he would give us a ride back to Munich, as his hotel was pretty close to ours.

We accepted his offer, as it was late and the trains were not running as often, and soon found ourselves on the Autobahn. It was insane, we were going like 140 kph (around 90) but people were zooming by us going well over 100 mph. It’s amazing how slow 90 felt. Needless to say, we still made it back to Munich well before our train would have arrived.

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This and That
Germans don’t jaywalk in Germany; even if there are no cars coming they will all just stand there: it’s very weird.

The Eurail train system has the most leg room I’ve ever encountered.

An old castle in Nuremberg, Germany

There’s a crazy permanent wave in the middle of Munich where people surf all year round.

The Glockenspiel is the most boring thing ever!

I got stuck on a train from Holland to Germany because they couldn’t properly “convert to the German power source.” Their solution was to switch tracks and try to “jump start the power while moving.”

You meet the most interesting people when you travel alone.

I drank beer in places where Hitler tried to stage revolts before taking power.

Brent and Larry also messed up their flight home and were stuck flying back from Amsterdam on Thanksgiving Day.

I was constantly older than everyone I met at the hostels: the youngest being 17.

It’s hard to NOT sound like Borat when talking English to a non-English speaker. (For the record, random hostel people made this observation, not me).

Reflections of the Augsburg Christmas market in Germany

The most beautiful sunset I saw was in Augsburg and had nothing pretty to frame it against…oh, and if you’re ever in Germany you can feel free to skip Augsburg.

At the Hofbräuhaus I met a guy named Greg who was from NYC and loved the Mets as well as seeing a dude I ran into at my perch “atop of the world.”

I had 198 work emails waiting for me upon my return despite everyone knowing I was gone.

No matter how much time you go for, it’s just never enough!

The view of the Bavarian Alps from Castle Neuschwanstein in Fussen, Germany

• Hofbräuhaus Band Plays
• More Hofbräuhaus fun
• People dance and have fun at the Hofbräuhaus
• The “highlight” of the Glockenspiel in Munich
• Surfing in Munich

…and finally, my original travel photos as uploaded to Snapfish in November, 2006…

A Christmas market in Augsberg

A church in Augsberg

A church in Munich

A colorful trolly passes a cool and colorful building in Augsberg

A dove in the Munich central park

A house lit up at dusk in Nuremberg

A Munich sunset

An overhead view of the Munich market

Apples for sale in a market in Munich

The Bavarian alps when it's too warm for snow

Castle Neuschwanstein at night

An inner courtyard of the Castle Neuschwanstein

Castle Neuschwanstein

Getting ready for Christmas

Munich's Glockenspiel at night

Holiday candles for sale

New Yorker in front of the New Yorker

Me in Fussen

A warm afternoon in the middle of the Munich market

Late afternoon in Munich

Me and Juan, my companion for my day at Castle Neuschwanstein

Me on the bridge above Castle Neuschwanstein

Me in the big Munich central park

Me above Munich

Men hang out during lunchtime in Munich with some beers

German produce market

Views of Munich from above

Munich from the observation deck of a church

One of my hostels in Germany

People bustle around the Christmas market in Nuernberg

Regulars can lock up their beer steins at the Hofbrahaus in Munich

Surfers get ready to ride the eternal wave in Munich

Lots of beer on a table at the Hofbrahaus

Traditional Bavarian music is played at the Hofbrahaus in Munich

The bridge in the middle of the alps where I was told to stand to take photos of Castle Neuschwanstein since I didn't have a helicpoter.

Castle Neuschwanstein

The eternal wave in the middle of the city of Munic

Munich's Glockenspiel

The outside of the Hofbrahaus

A cool window in a bar I stopped in for a brew

The inside of a Eurail train car

A beautiful sunset in Augsberg

The Munich Operahouse

Fussen at night

Fussen at dusk

Wieners, sauerkraut and mustard...a German staple

People of all ages enjoy their liters of beer

Germany is beautiful during Christmas time

Castle Neuschwanstein

A Munich fruit stall

We selected Havelock, since it was known to be a traveler’s haven that had a little more infrastructure than some of the other Andaman Islands…and because we didn’t know about taking a Maldives Holidays.

From the good folks of Wikipedia: “Havelock Island is the largest of the islands with an area of 113.93 km2 which comprise Ritchie’s Archipelago, a chain of islands to the east of Great Andaman in the Andaman Islands. Havelock is situated 57 km North East of Capital City Port Blair. The population numbered 5,354 as of the census of 2001.”

While on Havelock, we took time out from relaxing to go scuba diving, enjoy a bike ride, eat lots of amazing food, barely celebrate St Patrick’s Day and relax some more.

Perhaps my biggest complaint about Havelock was the massive amount of mosquitoes that came out ever day at sunset. Without fail, right as the day came to a close, Carrie and I would have no choice but to retreat to our mosquito-net covered bed and watch a movie to avoid a body full of bites. Even the copious amounts of lizards that inhabit the island couldn’t control their population.

What follows is an excerpt from my original Havelock Island, India, blog entry:

In between all these activities, we did find some time to kick back and relax. A lot of time was spent eating or planning when to eat next, as meals tend to take at least an hour to prepare. We made some good new friends with other people at our guest house, took local buses or walked everywhere, enjoyed a sunset at Beach 7 (original name, I know), attended the most low-key St. Patrick’s Day party of all time and, most importantly, recharged the batteries for the next leg of our trip.

Even getting to Havelock was a fun experience, as we first had to take a plane from Chennai to Port Blair, then a long ferry ride to the island. During the trip, Carrie was learning how to play her new drum with her new tutors: the ship’s crew. Below are a few of my favorite pics from that boat ride.

For your parting shot, here is a scuba boat that we took to check out the amazing coral and fish of the Andaman Islands from below sea level. Someone get me a regulator and BCD, I’m ready to dive!

And for your real parting shot…your moment of zen.

But when I think about it a little more, I start to think of anything that one can store something in: cups, jars, vases, wallets…you know, vessels.

A little boy peers into a basket vessel of pastries in Solola, Guatemala

So, with that in mind, I present 10 of my favorite photos of vessels. Hover over any image to see what qualifies it.

This image combines both of my ideas of a vessel, as it's got containers, bottles AND a ship docked in a Honduran port town

The inspiration for this post came from Local Social, a San Francisco-based organization whose mission is to merge elements of design, art, and craft through community collaboration and events.

A Monk pilots an old wooden vessel up the Mekong River in Laos

A beer bottle serves as the vessle for a tall candle in Laos

A scene from my mother's apartment featuring a mug as a vessel with an traditional English home surrounded by Asian-themed items

Trains can be vessels too, like this one that weaves through the tea-filled hills of Sri Lanka

An aerial tramway in New York City acts as a vessel to shuttle passengers across the East River

San Francisco has it's fair share of unique vessels, like this Washington DC Streetcar in front of the Ferry Building

Once again revisiting my mother's apartment, here a tiki vase serves as a vessel for flowers with Shrek standing guard in the distance

A pair of men wait for a large local vessel to take them across the Mekong river in Champasak, Laos

So what do YOU think of when you think of vessels? Discuss :)

Washington DC Streetcar in front of the Ferry Building in San Francisco, California

Regardless of where I’m heading in San Francisco, I always try and find a way to take the historic F line streetcar. A lover of the rails since my father and I first set up a Lionel train in my childhood bedroom, I think these rolling museums may be my favorite part of the city. Boarding one makes me feel as if I stepped through a portal to a simpler and more innocent time when trolleys ruled the road and people dressed up just to go out and check the mail.

Related Photo Essay: Living With the Hippies in San Francisco’ Haight-Ashbury