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Read a review of the book in:
The San Francisco Examiner -
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Glen Allison has embarked on a ten-year, nonstop vagabond odyssey to photograph extraordinary travel destinations.
Nyepi Monsters
I tempt explosive energy . . . serpents, devils, evil.
Today is the night before Nyepi (“nippy” for the uninitiated) on the exotic isle Bali.
At this very moment a godawful torrential downpour has unleashed awesome domination over my Bali Lotus Villa, which lies not far from the otherwise serene village of Ubud. Nyepi has descended with vengeance this year. I sit here inundated as the night’s torrent lashes nearby palm fronds and coconuts fall . . . thud . . . unable to maintain grip.
Yes, I’m wet and overly fearful of what lies in wait.
Animistic Balinese gods have announced their prowess . . . or so it seems.
Nyepi is an annual event when evil spirits fly above Bali to test wayward souls. It’s a day when the island falls totally silent. No one is allowed on the streets. No flight lands on this heavenly isle of four million souls. I kid you not. Lights light not this night for the devout.
If evil spirits spot no movement . . . they bypass Bali . . . otherwise they attack.
Google “Nyepi’” if you doubt my words.
Locals remain fearful. Extreme tourism grinds to a dead halt. The Balinese shutter their windows on this diabolical day. Blackness prevails and Nyepi monsters rule the night.
I gift you my photos captured at great peril on this eve before Nyepi.
Sleep tight.
Zesty youths gladly test their manliness toting bestial replicas in defiance and challenge.
Don’t be put off by the swastika. This emblem of Sanskrit origin dates back to the Bronze Age long before the Holocaust. It’s an ancient symbol seen in the art of Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Celts, Native Americans and Persians including Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and the Balinese. Its right-hand, clockwise orientation represents the sun and the Hindu god Vishnu.
The Nazi symbol possessed adverse orientation and an infinitely reversed implication.
“Ogoh-ogoh” represent demonic spirits. These fiercely potent ogres of the night are made of bamboo and paper and symbolize malevolent omens . . . demons to ward off demons. Such objet d’art scare off evil spirits that ruthlessly ply the skies above Bali daring doubters.
Those who wander the streets on this day of silence risk death . . . as legend goes. Nevertheless, youthful Balinese males remain brawny and brave and virile on the night preceding Nyepi despite risky exposure to their manhood . . . or so most locals attest.
One defies Nyepi at great peril.
The next day is the Balinese New Year . . . if one lives through the night’s attack intact.
Glen Allison
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Don't Write on My Wall
Wayward walls draw spray paint . . . urban gang artists risk capture. The drive to draw prevails. Derelict venues allow youthful talent explosion. Amidst a moment’s calm in Bangkok, these kids appeared gutsy. Were guns in their pockets? Perhaps there was a knife under the belt. Watch out! Fast escape must be well conceived…. Read more…
Up the Down Staircase
Cropping tightly with full-bleed composition often leads to optical illusions. Such framing frequently empowers photographers to isolate elements in the cityscape that at first glance might be difficult to decipher. My telephoto lens compressed perspective. The staircase depicted in this photo leads to a pedestrian footbridge traversing yet another traffic-blitzed Bangkok roadway. I wanted to… Read more…
Happy Chinese New Year
Hello from Bangkok. “Gong Xi Fa Cai” Well, it’s “Gong Xi Fa Cai” if you are saying it in Mandarin but it’s “Gong Hey Fat Choy” if your proclivity is the Cantonese dialect. Happy Chinese New Year. February 10, 2013. Hey, it’s the Year of the Snake. And, man, do the Chinese savor their snake… Read more…
Nek Chand's Fantasy Rock Garden
Face Time A somewhat kooky, though rather charming, fantasyland of stone characters inhabit Nek Chand’s 25-acre rock garden in Chandigarh, Northern India. The city is unlike any other in this intensely chaotic country. Chandigarh’s grid-like street layout was designed in 1952 by the ultra-famous Swiss-French iconic architect of the 20th century, Le Corbusier. It was… Read more…
Walk on the Wild Side
Wherever I travel I try to employ color, light and shadow within my tight photographic compositions to draw a rather serene order from the often chaotic visual clutter of the world. :: “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau One might think a corroded oil drum… Read more…
Hearing Beyond Hearing
Dateline: Bangkok I’d like to break away from my usual travel blog pursuits and share a poignant lesson. A few weeks ago I met a young Thai guy named Theerawat. He’s twenty years old. I’ve never met anyone with such incredible perception. And now I often try to “remove” myself from the immediate environment in… Read more…
Akha Hill Tribes and Bamboo Love Shacks
Dateline: Laos Tonal isolation. Akha hill tribe women in northern Laos dress in faded shades of black cloth. Color exists only in their decorative accouterments. Old coins add a bit of glinting highlight to their costumes. While I shot these images in color, I elected to remove the vibrant hues during my Photoshop endeavors for… Read more…
Enter the Dragon
Dateline: Penang, Malaysia The first milestone passes . . . Yes, it has been exactly one year since I launched my mega marathon vagabond odyssey. Now there are a mere 3640 days to go before I celebrate my 75th birthday and the auspicious end of the first leg of this particular journey. I figure that… Read more…
Myanmar Magical Impressions
Dateline: Myanmar I persevered in my quest to conquer the slopes of Mount Kyaiktiyo in southern Myanmar. It wasn’t a mountain to be approached lightly. The devotion-charged Golden Rock at its pinnacle was the reward. Most Burmese people pay homage to this wish-drenched balancing boulder–a miraculous pilgrimage site they must visit before they die. Legend… Read more…
Hanoi Mythical Turtle and Vodka-Embalmed Serpents
Dateline: Vietnam And then the giant, mythical tortoise rallied himself from deep slumber at a depth far below the surface of the mysterious, murky waters of Lake Hoan Kiem positioned smack in the center of bustling Hanoi. The old turtle chuckled to himself . . . some locals didn’t think he existed. But many of… Read more…
Laos Wet and Wild
Dateline: Luang Prabang, Laos The sun’s lingering reflection rippled across the wine in my glass. Surely this potent, home-brewed Lao concoction was enhancing my view over the Mekong River. My steamed fish, banana-leaf-wrapped selection for dinner soon arrived. The accompanying “sticky rice” was served in a hand-woven basket. It’s lid was tied with a little… Read more…
Kathmandu Magic
Dateline: Kathmandu Kathmandu . . . the name itself seems to connote an enchanted land. Perhaps my moody, pastel image of the Buddhist stupa at Bodhnath might invoke a hint into the ethereal nature of this deeply religious and historic city. But all great cultures have endured struggle. In past years Nepalese society was burdened… Read more…
Rajasthani Splendor
Dateline: Rajasthan, India The ethereal white palace seemed to float on the water’s surface. Shimmering twilight reflections gracefully danced across my mind and across the idyllic Lake Pichola. James Bond came here once . . . well, at least in the Hollywood movie “Octopussy” when it was filmed here in Udaipur so many years ago…. Read more…
Pushkar Chaos
Dateline: Pushkar, India I entered the bizarre world of Pushkar. Camels, sadhu holy men, pilgrims, touts, tourists, snake charmers, gypsies, lepers and little blue boys dressed as the Hindu god Lord Shiva. They were all there. The novelty of the Pushkar Mela (or fair) never seems to wear off. This was my fifth visit in… Read more…
Running Amok in Cambodia
Dateline: Siem Reap, Cambodia My plane descended through murky grey cloud. Gradually the eerie landscape came into focus though it was hard to discern visual separation between sky and the endless fog-shrouded sea beyond. Treetops seemed to float in what appeared to be an optical illusion . . . but I knew the ocean was… Read more…
Songkran Wild Ride
Dateline: Chiang Mai, Thailand Haunting thoughts of her preyed on my mind. Her angled-cut eyes had entranced me though at the time I couldn’t have been less interested. She was the kind of woman who could draw followers without ever acknowledging their presence. I don’t know why I let her lead me away . …. Read more…
Aspiring Buddhas
Dateline: Bangkok, Thailand Monks on their way to enlightenment. In hot pursuit, I surreptitiously shot this time-exposure from the hip, not looking through the viewfinder. Notice the waist-level perspective. Shooting without looking through the viewfinder is not an original concept. Daisaku Ikeda perfected this art long before there were digital cameras with LCD screens on the back…. Read more…
Hot Pink Taxi
Dateline: Bangkok, Thailand Pink Streaks The kinetic energy in Bangkok can leave one clutching his vertebrae . . . and I have yet to delve into the city’s legendary night life! Okay, maybe a smidgen of distraction will be allowed henceforth. But I’ll leave those footnotes in the marginalia and to someone else’s concupiscent blog. Right now… Read more…
Gold, Gold, Gold
Dateline: Bangkok, Thailand It even smelled like gold to me (if gold can exude an aroma.) At least, I SAW gold and substantiate the fact with my attached photos below. Now I’m not saying it was the pure 24-carat variety. It only appeared that way to me at the time and it certainly looked authentic… Read more…
Reflections
Dateline: Bangkok I stare into the depths of the pool. But I’m only greeted with transient surface reflections in response. There’s a dance going on in the water, magnificently orchestrated by tonight’s sultry Bangkok breeze. And it isn’t only in my imagination. Light keeps flickering here and there on this ripple-glazed surface as if to call… Read more…
Hello World!
Dateline: Bangkok Well, today is the first day of my 3650-day, 10-year nonstop vagabond sojourn to the farthest reaches of our globe. I celebrated my 64th birthday on August 21st at my former abode in Bali eleven days ago amid much celebratory fanfare focused on my imminent departure. Well, so to speak. (I at least… Read more…
2 Comments
Hey Kenny, you just made my day. Glen
I have read and thoroughly enjoyed both your interview with John Lund and your ASMP 2012 interview and am enthralled with the life you have constructed and the sense of humor you have about the world and how it is perceived by the majority. I look forward to all of your posts. Have a great day, Glenn! Sincerely, Kenny Walters