Children and Animals Commune Within Neglected Landscapes in New Paintings by Kevin Peterson

For several years artist Kevin Peterson (previously) has created paintings that occupy the same fictionalized world. His imagined environments are occupied by children and animals— individuals band together as they navigate depleted urban environments. The works pair the innocence of its subjects against a broken and crumbling world, addressing the various journeys we each take through life.

Recently, Peterson has begun to paint just the animals in these scenes, rather than pairing them exclusively with children. “In my head, it’s the same world,” the Houston-based painter tells Colossal, “the animals and kids just haven’t met up yet. Maybe they’re searching for each other.” His solo exhibition Wild opens at Thinkspace Projects in Culver City, California on March 2, 2019 and continues through March 23, 2019. You can see more of his paintings on his website and Instagram. (via booooooom)

How to Get Around Southeast Asia on the Cheap

Posted: 2/28/2019 | February 28th, 2019

Southeast Asia may be a huge region — but it’s super easy to get around.

It’s well-traveled (backpackers have been following “the banana pancake trail” since the late ’60s), and there’s an extensive network designed to ensure that you can easily get from A to B.

In Hanoi and need to get to Bangkok? In Vientiane and want to go Malaysia? Or Ko Samui? No problem. Someone can arrange that.

But what’s the best way to get around Southeast Asia on a budget?

How can you go from point A to point B in the most efficient and easiest manner?

Here’s how you can travel around Southeast Asia on the cheap, with example prices and estimated travel times.

Table of Contents

1. Get Around Southeast Asia By Plane
2. Get Around Southeast Asia By Bus
3. Get Around Southeast Asia By Backpacker Bus
4. Get Around Southeast Asia By Train
5. Get Around Southeast Asia By Car/Motorbike
6. Get Around Southeast Asia By Boat/Ferry
7. Getting Around Towns
8. Distances/Times Around Southeast Asia?

Get Around Southeast Asia By Flying

This is the quickest but most expensive way to get around Southeast Asia. There are a lot of budget airlines (like Ryanair or EasyJet in Europe) in the region: Scoot (merged with Tigerair), Jetstar, and AirAsia are the biggest. Nok Air has a lot of flights within Thailand, and VietJet Air is popular in Vietnam. Lion Air serves Indonesia, but its safety record is really spotty and I would not fly them.

Here are some sample prices for some of the biggest routes:

• Bangkok to Singapore – $55 (one way), $120 (round-trip)
• Phuket City to Vientiane – $95 (one way), $180 (round-trip)
• Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok – $48 (one way), $108 (round-trip)
• Bali (Denpasar) to Kuala Lumpur – $75 (one way), $110 (round-trip)
• Siem Reap to Hanoi – $125 (one way), $169 (round-trip)
• Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur – $28 (one way), $56 (round-trip)
• Manila to Ho Chi Minh City – $80 (one way), $125 (round-trip)
• Yangon to Manila – $107 (one way), $226 (round-trip)
• Yangon to Bangkok – $45 (one way), $82 (round-trip)

If you book early, you can save on fares, as most of the airlines offer deeply discounted fare sales all the time, especially Air Asia. The best places to find cheap flights are Momondo and Skyscanner.

Keep in mind two things, though:

1. First, budget airlines all fly from smaller, more out-of-the-way airports, so be prepared to take buses or taxis there (and plan for traffic).
2. Second, all these airlines make their money by charging fees for everything, so expect baggage fees, credit card “convenience” fees, check-in fees, fees on fees, etc., etc.! If the fees add up, it can often be cheaper to fly one of the larger, more traditional air carriers, especially when you consider the main airport might be more centrally located.

All in all, I only recommend flying if you are pressed for time or find a super cheap deal.

Get Around Southeast Asia By Local or Tourist Bus

The easiest and cheapest way to travel around Southeast Asia is by bus. Buses will take you anywhere you want to go, no matter how far.

Buses are generally run by a plethora of small operators (there is no version of Greyhound here). You simply go with the operator that services the route you want to travel or with the company the tourist agency or guesthouse set you up with.

In Southeast Asia, you don’t have to plan ahead that much either. You simply show up at the bus station and buy your ticket! They use a first-come, first-serve basis but are rarely full. You don’t need to book them in advance or online — although, if I know where I’m going, I often book my bus the day before simply as a precaution. In all my years traveling this region, I’ve never shown up and been turned away.

Here are some sample fares and travel times for bus routes in Southeast Asia (in USD):

• Bangkok to Chiang Mai – $17 (10 hours)
• Bangkok to Pattaya – $4.75 (3 hours)
• Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai – $7.17 (3:40 hrs)
• Phnom Penh to Siem Reap – $12 (5:30 hrs)
• Kuala Lumpur to Singapore – $12.23 (5 hrs)
• Vientiane to Luang Prabang – $27 (10 hrs)
• Da Nang to Hanoi – $13.80 (14 hrs)
• Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh – $11 (4 hrs)
• Kuta Beach to Ubud – $6 (1 hr)
• Puerto Princesa to El Nido – $12 (5 hrs)
• Yangon to Bagan – $18.50 (9 hrs)
• Hanoi to Halong Bay – $7.35 (4 hrs)

Moreover, the backpacker trail in Southeast Asia is so well established that there is a very well-oiled “tourist bus” system here. (Usually, when you book buses from tourist agencies or guesthouses, they put you on these tourist buses.) These buses will pick you up at your accommodation or have a set meetup point in the tourist area and take you directly to your next destination.

For example, if you need to go from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, you’d buy a ticket, meet the bus (probably on Khao San Road), and enjoy the night ride up to Chiang Mai with other travelers. No stops at other bus stations — just a straight shot to Chiang Mai.

And while tourist buses are very convenient, they are also usually about 25% more expensive than the buses locals use. They generally cost $5-8 USD for a 5-6-hour journey; overnight buses are $22 USD or more depending on distance.

Get Around Southeast Asia By Backpacker Bus

There are two organized backpacker specific bus companies that serve Asia: Bamba Experience and Stray Asia. These are hop-on-hop-off buses that travel set routes across the continent.

Bamba Experience’s flexible passes start at around $600 USD for 15 days. Stray Asia’s pass is about $1,836 for a minimum of 40 days.

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of these services. You’re paying for flexibility, but it’s easy to get around the region as well as meet people, so I would skip this method of travel. Even if you’re a first-time traveler, the tourist buses can do everything these tours can do for you.

Get Around Southeast Asia By Train

Train service in Southeast Asia is basically nonexistent other than in Thailand, the only country that has an extensive train system around the country (and onward to Singapore), and Vietnam, which has a train along the coast, though it is slow and expensive compared to the bus (1,445,445 VND/$62 USD from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City instead of 695,865 VND/$30 USD).

Train prices are determined by distance and class, so the farther you go, the more you pay. Night trains with sleeper cars are more expensive than day trains: the night train to Chiang Mai from Bangkok takes 12 hours and costs 965 THB ($29 USD) for a sleeper seat, but that same train during the day is 230 THB ($7 USD).

You can travel by train between Singapore, Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Bangkok as well. It’s a long journey that will take you over a day to get there, but you can find fares for as little as $80 USD. If you’re a train enthusiast, it’s one of the most classic rides out there. If you have the time, I highly recommend the experience.

Myanmar has train service but it’s very limited. There is no website for Myanmar Railways, but the ministry of rail transportation has a schedule (don’t depend on this though — you’re better off finding out exact times at a station). You can also use 12go.asia to look up routes and buy tickets. There are trains every day between Yangon and Mandalay, with stops in Bago, Taungoo, Naypyitaw, and Thazi. This entire 15-hour route costs about 4,600 K ($3 USD) for an ordinary seat and 12,750 K ($8 USD) for sleeper class. There are a handful of other routes as well, like Yangon to Inglee Lake via Thazi.

In Indonesia, the main cities of Java (Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Probolinggo (for Mount Bromo), and Banyuwangi (the ferry terminal for Bali)) are well linked by train, including. Economy class to Jakarta to Surabaya takes 15 hours and costs about 104,000 IDR ($7 USD), while a 9-hour executive-class trip can cost up to 1,250,000 IDR ($90 USD). Surabaya to Probolinggo (for Mount Bromo) takes 2-3 hours and costs 29,000 IDR ($2 USD) for economy or 150,000 IDR ($11 USD) for executive class. Surabaya to Banyuwangi (for Bali) takes 6-7 hours and costs as little as 56,000 IDR ($4 USD) for economy or 190,000 IDR ($13.50 USD) for executive class. You can reserve your tickets at tiket.com.

Get Around Southeast Asia By Car/Motorbike

I don’t recommend renting a car. Rental cars are expensive and the roads here are nuts. I would never drive around the region.

However, a lot of people motorbike around the area. I don’t know much about this, but Travelfish does. He’s the guru on this. Check it out here.

Get Around Southeast Asia By Boat/Ferry

While this won’t be your main way of getting around, it will definitely come into play in certain countries. If you’re exploring the islands of Thailand, for example, you’ll need to rely on boats and ferries. And if you’re backpacking around Indonesia or the Philippines, ferries will be the cheapest way to island-hop (but definitely not the fastest!).

It’s worth noting that ferries in Southeast Asia don’t often adhere to Western safety standards and lack of life jackets is an issue. Some people recommend staying on the top deck so it’s easier to quickly leave the boat if necessary.

While it’s not necessary to book in advance, it’s a good idea during peak season or on more popular routes to book your tickets the day before you plan to travel to make sure you have a spot. You can buy tickets on the ferry company’s website or via a ticket agent like 12go.asia. However, every agent or hostel or hotel can get you a ferry ticket too. It’s really simple!

Here are a few sample routes and prices to help you plan:

• Bali (Padang Bai) to Lombok – $5 (one way)
• Bali to the Gili Islands – $30 (one way)
• Koh Tao to Koh Samui – $16 (one way)
• Sihanoukville to Koh Rong – $25 (round-trip)
• Manilla to Puerto Princesa – $30 (one way)

You might also consider doing a multiday cruise on popular waterways like the Mekong River or Halong Bay. On the Mekong River in Laos, slow boats from Huay-Xai will drop you off in Luang Prabang. Slow boats take 2-3 days, stopping at guesthouses for nightly accommodation. Prices will vary depending on the quality of your tour company, but a decent tour will run you around 1,000,000 LAK ($116 USD).

Halong Bay tours from Hanoi start around 850,000-1,403,377 VND ($35-60 USD) for two-day trips and increase exponentially from there.

Getting Around Towns on the Cheap

Local buses are really your best and cheapest option when you’re traveling in town as well. Fares typically cost less than $1 (and even less if you buy multi-trip passes). All of the towns you’ll visit will have reliable, affordable public bus systems.

In some of the bigger cities (Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur), you’ll even find subways and tram systems. Jakarta and Hanoi are working on building their subway systems, but buses are still the best option in those places for now.

I normally advise budget travelers to skip taxis because they are way too expensive. But in Southeast Asia, you don’t have to always stick to this rule. Taxis and tuk-tuks (small shared taxis with no meters) are options here. They require a bit of haggling and cost more than public transportation, but they are clearly more convenient when you’re in a jam or not yet accustomed to an area.

In Singapore and Indonesia, taxi drivers do put on the meter. In Bangkok, you can get taxi drivers to use the meter, but if you’re hailing one in a tourist area, he might try to avoid using it. In Vietnam, the meter is usually rigged, but if you use a reputable company like Mai Linh, you won’t have any problems.

Grab (an Uber offspring) is a household name in Southeast Asia. It, too, is convenient, but it sometimes costs even more than a taxi. Gojek in Indonesia is a similar option. Be forewarned: If you order a Grab or Gojek, you might wind up on the back of a motorbike!

How Long Does it Take to Get Around Southeast Asia?

Here is a distance and travel-time table of how long it takes to get around Southeast Asia.

Route

Distance
(km/miles)

Air (hrs)

Bus (hrs)

Rail (hrs)

Phnom Penh –
Sihanoukville

214/133

1

5

7

Phnom Penh –
Ho Chi Minh City

230/115

1

6

N/A

Hanoi –
Vientiane

800/497

1:10

22

16

Chiang Mai –
Bangkok

688/428

1:20

10

14:40

Bangkok –
Phuket

840/525

1:25

13

N/A

Kuala Lumpur –
Singapore

350/217

1

7

7

Phuket –
Kuala Lumpur

964/599

1:30

18

N/A

Bali –
Lombok

75/46

0:30

4
(via ferry)

N/A

Yangon –
Bagan

626/390

1:15

9

17.5

Jakarta –
Bali

1,173/729

1:50

30

12
(ferry
terminal)

Vang Vieng –
Luang Prabang

183/114

N/A

6

N/A

Manila –
El Nido

613/380

1:20

10
(ferry
terminal)

N/A

Manila –
Boracay

442/275

0:55

3
(ferry
terminal)

N/A

***

In short, Southeast Asia is pretty easy to get around: take the train as often as you can in Thailand, take the train in Vietnam if you have the time, and take buses everywhere else. If you’re pressed for time, take the night trains or fly. And if you find a good flight deal, definitely fly!

Simple and easy.

As long as you do that you’ll be able to get around Southeast Asia on a budget and make the most efficient use of your time and money!

Book Your Trip to Southeast Asia: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe, so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewher eother than a hotel, use Booking.com, as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

• World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
• Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use — and I think they will help you too!

Looking for more information on visiting Southeast Asia?
Check out my in-depth destination guide to Southeast Asia with more tips on what to see and do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!

Photo credit: 4

The post How to Get Around Southeast Asia on the Cheap appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Aerial Photographer Kevin Krautgartner Uses Squarespace to Showcase the Earth’s Fragile Beauty

Island Sunsets

While those of us in the northern hemisphere eagerly await the arrival of spring, photographer Kevin Krautgartner travels the world capturing envy-inducing views. Krautgartner focuses his lens on a wide array of subjects, ranging from architectural interiors to soaring urban skylines. But the German photographer’s most wanderlust-inspiring images are shot from the sky in sunny, rugged, and remote landscapes. Recent work has taken him to the Seychelles islands, Italy’s Dolomite mountains, and the glacial rivers of Iceland.

The artist studied at University of Applied Sciences in Dortmund, Germany, and shares with Colossal that his dual academic training in photography and graphic design has informed his work as a professional photographer. He uses formal tenets of design to create tension through lines and forms, and he explains that he finds himself almost automatically drawn to scenes based on their compositional makeup.

Krautgartner explains that his design finesse makes Squarespace the perfect platform for showcasing his work online. Squarespace’s themes and customization options allow him to create the exact environment he wants for his work, down to custom fonts. He cites the ease of use and high-quality customer support that allow him to focus on his creative projects. Krautgartner also puts his creativity to work by selling fine art prints of his photographs using Squarespace’s seamless e-commerce integration. “The easy to set up e-commerce system allows me to present my prints in a high quality in just a few minutes. And I’m able to offer my photographs in different variations, so the customer can choose a print on different materials as well as in different sizes.”

In his gallery-ready images, Krautgartner deftly captures atmospheric conditions, conveying the warm, clear air of tropical climates, as well as the grey, damp essence of cooler regions. Rippling ocean waves, transitioning trees in autumn, craggy bare rocks, and the verdant foliage of palm trees add textural elements to the photographer’s carefully composed images.  Whether shooting with a drone or from a chartered aircraft, aerial photography allows the artist to capture moments of surprise and awe. “You never know what to expect when you are going up in the air. I think I have the responsibility to remind as many people as I can how beautiful nature is, and how important it is for us to think about what we do with our land and what impact human intervention has.”

Want to share your unique view of the world? Get started with a portfolio or e-commerce site today on Squarespace.com with a commitment-free 14-day trial. When you’re ready to launch, use the offer code COLOSSAL at checkout for 10% off your purchase.

Yallingup

Seychelles

Southern Waves

Autumn in the Dolomites

Nature’s Colors

Glacier Rivers

First Light on the Island

This post was sponsored by Squarespace. 

Endless Layers of Colorful Candy Melt Away in a Satisfying Timelapse Video

The creators of the Let’s Melt This YouTube channel are anonymous connoisseurs of melting, having put a torch to everything from flat screen TVs to hamburgers. Recently they put a classic candy to the test, using a 1900°F blow torch to melt a famously long-lasting giant jawbreaker candy ball. The task took 3 minutes and 46 seconds, and the video itself is sped up to about a minute and a half to show the satisfying removal of colorful layers. The graffiti-splattered white coating gives way to layers of vibrant orange, yellow, blue, green, and red as the candy steadily shrinks. Let’s Melt This has been less active of late, but you can explore their archive of melts on their YouTube channel. (via The Awesomer)

 

Fantasies and Fears Surround the Beds of Illustrated Characters by Virginia Mori

We love the illustrations of Italian artist Virginia Mori (previously) who adds a subtle hint of dark humor to her quirky illustrations of young women and men. Recently the artist has been drawing scenes that revolve around the unconscious thoughts that spring to life while in bed. Each illustration presents an improbable or unique vision of a bedroom—from a bed composed of live grass, to another balanced on the tips of four trees. The illustrations seem to peek into her subjects’ dreams, projecting their hidden hopes or fears onto their surroundings as they slumber. You can see more of her work on her website, and keep updated with future exhibitions on Instagram and Facebook.

Custom-Built Coffee Tables Constructed from Original Components of the Golden Gate Bridge

All photographs © Danielle Hankinson

Each rope that suspended San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge from 1935 to the 1970s was made of 229 individual strands arranged in a unique “lay” created at John A. Roeblin’s Sons Company in Trenton, New Jersey. Though these suspender ropes were retired about fifty years ago, the history and strength imbued in them lives on. Strands of History, a Tahoe City, California-based company founded in 2016, focuses on building functional items using the bridge’s original ropes, including a spectacular wood and steel coffee table.

Mary Zimmerman of the Strands of History team explains to Colossal that the company was able to verify the rope’s authenticity by reviewing the original schematics from the Roebling’s company. Every suspension bridge has ropes with a unique lay, which create a sort of finger print for the bridge’s materials.

Once a sufficient supply was in the hands of Strands of History, the company got to work determining a way to showcase the strength, beauty, and history of their chosen material. The incredibly strong rope weighs one pound per inch, and is so dense that only five cuts can be made before a fresh 14-inch abrasive blade is required. Strands of History brought in experts from Bushey Ironworks and Roundwood Furniture to help design the coffee table and wrangle the finicky raw materials. Bushey weighed in with forge welding techniques to stabilize the ropes, and Roundwood suggested a deeply striated Claro walnut wood that is about 80 years old.

In creating something new out of such storied materials, Zimmerman explains, “All of us that work on these projects are committed to the preservation of this historic steel. This required exploring various techniques to maintain [the rope’s] structural integrity, as well as to preserve the unique lay of the wire and its inherent beauty and attraction.”

You can take a look inside Strands of History’s workshop on Instagram, and learn more about their projects with the Golden Gate Bridge suspender ropes on the company’s website. (via My Modern Met)

A Relaxing Animation Bursts Into Color as it Morphs Through Abstract Line Drawings

Watching the animation Idle, Torrent by Alex Moy is like watching the most relaxing screen saver ever produced, or perhaps an old school music visualizer that slowly morphs between trippy patterns and colors. Although it is akin to familiar technological systems, there really isn’t an easy way to describe the deeply harmonious flow that occurs during the two and a half minute short film. We suggest you just sit back, relax, and enjoy, especially in tandem with the soundtrack created by Brian “The Bee” Natalio. For more of Moy’s animations, including an interactive line drawing located on the home page, check out his website. (via Vimeo Staff Picks)

Bicyclists Formed from Sweeping Strokes in the Tradition of Chinese Ink Painting

Thomas Yang (previously) creates poster editions through his 100 Copies project that use bicycles as both muse and tool. Previous works have created famous architectural structures through inked bike tires, while his most recent design uses a more traditional approach. “Breakaway” uses various widths of flat brushes to create a peloton of riders with one breaking away from the racing pack. Swirling semi-circles compose the helmets, tires, and arched backs of the group, which have been created by offset lithographic printing using one Pantone spot color. The poster is printed on recycled 220gsm Maple White paper and, like the title of Yang’s project, is created in an edition of 100 copies. You can purchase the print and browse more of his designs on his website.

Photographer Winnie Au Captures the Unique Personalities of Dogs Adorned in Sculptural ‘Cones of Shame’

Photographs © Winnie Au

Any person who’s been within shouting distance of a dog owner has probably heard the term “cone of shame,” a euphemism for the medically prescribed devices that dogs must sometimes wear. The cones, traditionally uncomfortable and made of stiff plastic, keeps dogs away from their post-surgery stitches or uncomfortable skin conditions.

Photographer and dog mom Winnie Au sought to flip the narrative on these puppy-eyes-inducing devices by showcasing dogs in a variety of delightfully frilly and fluffy cones. The photo series, Cone of Shame, complements each canine’s body type, fur, and personality with handcrafted cones by costume designer Marie-Yan Morvan.

Au shares with Colossal that the featured dogs were cast from all over New York, as she and Morvan sought to discover interesting looking dogs, and also match canines to pre-existing cone concepts. The pair worked collaboratively to draw from Au’s loose ideas like “sea urchin” or “cotton candy,” and homed in on feasible designs and materials. Textured cones were formed from feathers, egg shells, and straws, and sleek designs were made with faux flower petals and makeup application wedges.

“When I concepted this series, it was meant to be more abstract and less straightforward portraiture,” the photographer explains. “So when I looked at the dogs, I would look at their fur as one element, the backdrop color as another element, and then the cone style would be the final element. The goal was to put the pieces together like an abstract painting and make sure the colors and tones worked in symmetry with each other.”

Au has just released the “Cone of Shame” images in notecard format, as part of a Kickstarter campaign that supports Animal Haven’s Recovery Road fund. You can follow Winnie Au and Marie-Yan Morvan on Instagram.