Photograph by David Anthony Hohol

Negombo is a town of about 121,933, approximately 37 km north of Colombo, in Sri Lanka. It is located at the mouth of the Negombo lagoon, has a small port, and its economy is mainly based on tourism and a centuries-old fishing industry. Sailing is one of the more popular recrational activities and the city’s beautiful coastline of beaches is spotted with Catamarans like the one pictured above. In the photograph, the sun sets over the Indian Ocean as one of the last Catamaran tours of the day pulls onto the sand.

Photograph taken by David Anthony Hohol

Turkey’s largest city of Istanbul, historically known as Byzantine or Constantinople, is one of the most storied places on Earth. At 12.8 million people, it’s also currently the 5th largest proper city in the world. Extended across either side of the Bosphorus River, Istanbul is the only city in the world situated on two continents – Asia and Europe.  Incredibly, Istanbul has served as the capital city to the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Latin Empire and the Ottoman Empire.

Aside from the host of museums, fortresses, pavilions, churches and mosques that come with such a historical center, sometimes the simplest sites bring the greatest rewards.  The photograph above was taken at one of Istanbul’s largest fruit and vegetable markets, where one can plainly see the beauty of the city has translated into the meticulous, varied and vibrant presentation of this particular vendor.

Photograph by David Anthony Hohol

Tourists can only visit North Korea with an organized tour under constant and strict supervision. You are given no chance to mingle with locals and can only visit spots designated by the government, all the while being under armed guard. All phone calls are monitored and you cannot leave your hotel unless accompanied by security. But if you are up for the adventure, it’s s trip you will never forget.

Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, is essentially an open air museum displaying an entirely closed city of a totalitarian regime. One gets the feeling they have traveled back in time to the 1950s when walking the streets, as very little has changed since the end of WWII.North Korea is one of the most enigmatic countries in the world. Led by Kim-Jong Ill, it is the last Stalin dictatorship left on the planet.

In the photograph above is a huge bronze statue that looms high above the city located in the center of Pyongyang.  It portrays Kim Il-sung, the late father of the country’s current dictator, Kim Jong-il. Kim Il-sung is known in North Korea as “The Great Leader” and “The President for Eternity” and was hand picked by Joseph Stalin to run the state. Often visitors are taken directly to the statue from the airport in order to pay homage to the “Father.”

Photograph by David Anthony Hohol

Formerly known as the Siamese Kingdom (1351 to 1767), Ayutthaya is the historical capital of Thailand. By the end of the 1600s,  with a population of a over a million people, Ayutthaya was one of the largest cities in the world, but the entire city was destroyed by the invading Burmese Army in 1767.  Also known as Siam, the ruins of the old city were later turned into Ayutthaya Historical Park and the amazing collection of architectural history was finally recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1981.

The photograph above was taken at the part of the city referred to as Wat Phra Sri Sanphet, a section of the former Royal Palace and private chapel to the King.  Originally built in 1448, the chapel sits at the center of the biggest collection of ruins in Ayutthaya.

From Tanzania Correspondent Lute wa Lutengano…

I have this tendency to surrender myself to the law enforcement officers in any town I visit and plan to spend a night or more. It is not that I am prone to breaking laws but rather I feel more secure when I know that the Police chiefs in my new destination do now of my presence. That is just in case. And luckily I am acquainted with many of them in the various Tanzanian towns.

So as I drove towards Morogoro town the other week I called the Police chiefs in that town to inform them of my arrival and overnight stay. I arrived in the evening and checked at a recommended newly established facility, Gwami Hotel. I must admit that this is a homely and clean facility which is very convenient to transit travellers like me, because it is near the Dar es Salaam , Dodoma and Iringa highways.

There is not much night life at this establishment, no wonder I found myself patronising the nearby Gold Park night club. It is here that my Police friends caught up with me and we sat down for some drinks and the attendant ‘nyama choma’.

Naturally the topics we discussed veered towards crime in the region. I was told they, the Police chiefs, had undertaken some heavy crackdown on crime in the region and now it was on the wane. Remember Morogoro, I was told, was always the main hideout or playground for Dar es Salaam criminals.

However, I must admit, some of the crimes I was told of must be unique to Morogoro only. Take this case of a young man who cut his own manhood after being told he could sell it, or rather it could fetch a cool 10 million/- on the market. I saw the naked picture of the young man without his pendulum. Poor him, I was told, he died before he could suffer more for his folly.

Then there were the Kilombero Bank robbers. Theirs was an enterprise which assembled criminals, who were actually prominent businessmen from Dar es Salaam , Morogoro and Dodoma . The group of a little more than ten formed a special committee on the Bank job. They also had special sub-committees on transport; security; gas works; gate-away; and financial matters. Little did they know that they had been infiltrated by the police.

On the grand day as they assembled the gas tanks and began cutting the iron grills to the Bank safe room, the police ambushed them all, except for the planner, a young man with expert computer knowledge who is still on the run. In the fire exchange that ensured they were all killed. Again I saw the pictures of the dead and heavily built ‘entrepreneurs’.

Another group of bandits was betrayed by the love of a woman who befriended one of them. This group specialised in robbing lorries laden with luxury goods on the steep slopes between Dodoma and Iringa. Little did they know that the woman, with a generous posterior, was actually a cop. The bandits were ambushed as they slept in a guest house with their ‘woman.’ They put up a gunfight and all perished in the resultant heavy police fire. Again pictures of their dead bodies were there to prove all.

The next day I proceeded to Makambako in Njombe district. The southern road from Mikumi is being done by some Scandinavian company. It is a great and amazing job they are doing. At the Iringa town escarpment, for example, the company has decided to widen the meandering road by cutting deep into the imposing rocky face of the slope.

I scaled the road into town amidst the heavy road – works. As is always the case, I proceeded straight to Miami Bar at Mlandege where all connoisseurs of ‘ugali’ and ‘nyama choma’ in Iringa town assemble for their lunch. It is here that I called the Makambako Police chiefs that I would there in the evening and naturally for several overnights.