Images through a Traveller's Lense - Kathmandu, 1970

My first impression on arriving in Kathmandu in February 1970, was that I was stepping back several centuries - even though I had arrived by air, & had been transported to my hotel by bus. But in the centre of Kathmandu there was little in the way of modern transport to indicate that it was the second half of the 20th century, At first nervously, then with more confidence, I wandered around the city, rubbing shoulders with Newaris, Gurungs, Tibetans, Indians. I was fascinated with this polyglot mixture of races and religions. It was here that I first came upon Hinduism & Buddhism, although I couldn't then differentiate between the two. I was approached by beggars, hashish salesmen  and a flute saleman. Money changers offered good rates for foreign cash - even travellers cheques.  In those days there were still officially sanctioned hashish shops, especially in hippy haven of Freak Street. The sights, sounds and smells were all alien to me and I loved it. Even then I knew that I would be back.

                           On my first afternoon, as I walked around the bustling streets of Thamel
                          with some fellow travellers, a porter carrying a bundle of half-cured hides
                           pushed passed us.

                            In 1970 Rickshaws were the main form of transport around town.

                             Street vendors fascinated me. This man, along with his daughter, was
                             selling skeins of brightly-coloured wool.

                             The uninhibitedness of life in the streets amazed me. I had not
                              experienced this before. Here passers-by nonchalantly walk by
                              women washing their hair, & cooking utensils. Children play while
                              pi-dogs & their puppies scavenge for tidbits,

                               In a back street I came across this husband and wife, she wielding a
                               large sledge-hammer while he, presumably the technical brain,
                                slowly turned  a red-hot piece of iron on an anvil.
 

                              In a quiet town square a man shuffled past with two water containers
                              hooked up to a yoke across his shoulders.

                             Naked & semi-naked children play in the dust by some large clay
                              water jars.

                             My perambulations took me to iconic Durbar Square in the centre
                             of  Kathmandu. Unfortunately many of these temples were badly
                             damaged in the powerful earthquake of April 2015.

Text & photography © Neil Rawlins

Full accounts of my travels can be found in my two Kindle ebooks:

                     see my books:   One Foot in Front of the Other: First Steps   

                           and:              One Foot in Front of the Other: Full Stride

      'First Steps' tells the story of my early travels on the Overland routes in Asia & Africa. 

       'Full Stride' recounts my experiences as a tour leader on the Asian Overland routes and elsewhere

              in Rajasthan, Kashmir, Turkey & Tunisia.

Images through a Traveller's Lense - Singapore 1970

Singapore was the first truly foreign city I visited.  I arrived to a cacophony of sound - fireworks, bands, lion dancers, on the eve of the Chinese New Year in February 1970. I was a little bit taken aback and somewhat nervous. In 1970 none of the modernisation that has characterised this maritime crossroads had taken place. Atmospheric Chinatown, with its fascinating street life, still existed. I was staying in the iconic New Seventh Storey Hotel in Rochor Rd, the tallest building in that part of the city which afforded great views over Singapore. 

                          From the restaurant in the upper floor of the New 7th Storey Hotel I
                          able able to view the Dragon dances & fireworks in the Rochor Rd below.

                   

                            In 1970 Singapore was much different from the Singapore of today.
                            From the top floor of the New 7th Storey Hotel there was a clear
                            view of the Sultan Mosque above the old shops of Chinatown.

Next morning, armed with my camera, a Ricoh SLR I set out into the teeming streets of Singapore, at first tentatively, but as time rolled on, with much more confidence. All was new and my biggest regret was only having a limited amount of slide film as I was continuing on, Overland to London over the next couple of months. Although I never saw the result until I reached London, I was generally happy with my photos considering the only film I used was the very slow Kodakchrome ASA25.
                             
                           

                        One of the first sights I saw in the Singapore streets was this late model MG                                       impaled on lamppost in Beach Rd. Perhaps the result of the previous night's binge!

                           

                           The street life in Singapore fascinated me, and I was especially surprised
                            to see well-made fancy coffins being made in a back street.

                             Hawkers stalls & food shops were an eye-opener. The shop, with 

                              smoked chickens hanging for sale did not disappoint. 

         

                           Outside spiral-staircases were a common feature on many appartments

                           in Singapore in the early 1970s. Modern high-rise apartments have now

                           replaced these precarious constructions.

By the time I returned to Singapore 18 years later most of this had disappeared and although I have not been back since, I have be told that all this, including the New 7th-Story Hotel in Rochor Rd has now gone forever.

© Neil Rawlins  text & photography

                      see my books:   One Foot in Front of the Other: First Steps   

                           and:              One Foot in Front of the Other: Full Stride

      These books tell the story of my early travels on the Overland routes in Asia & Africa & also my experiences as a tour leader on the Asian Overland and elsewhere.

             

Images through a Traveller's Lense - In the Beginning

I was given my first camera the year I left school. This was a little Agfa ISO-Rapid IF - one of the first point-and-shoot instamatics that revolutionised picture-taking. Until then the only camera my family had had was the ubiquitous Kodak Box Brownie which took fuzzy black and white snaps. With the relatively high development costs this camera was only used sparingly, at holiday time and on special occasions. My new little Agfa opened a new world for me and after the first tentative, and mainly blurry black and white photos, I soon began to take an interest in colour slide photography which seemed to provide better results and although these little square photos were basic, they did have a sharpness not seen in the printed black & white images.

                     In late 1966 I was fortunate enough to be sent out to  Little Barrier Island,
                     a wildlife sanctuary in the Hauraki Gulf off Auckland, New Zealand and I
                     took this black & white photo of the rocky South Landing with my little Agfa.

 After about 18 months I purchased my first 35mm camera, a Minolta Hi-Matic F, and although I was happy with these early results, I had my heart set on purchasing a single lense reflex camera.

                       The cliffs of Fisherman's Rock, Whangaparaoa, New Zealand taken with
                        the Minolta Hi-Matic 7 in mid-1967

I used the Minolta for about 6 months until my cousin and I travelled by ship to Fiji and when we arrived in Suva I purchased my first SLR, a Ricoh Singlex TLS which was to give me good service through my early travels in Asia, Europe and Africa. The basic lense was 55mm - no zoom in those days - and I bought a 300mm lense a couple of years later. The most common slide film I used in these early days was Kodachrome ASA25, by today's standard a very slow film, but results were good, although camera-shake was not uncommon. This slide film included pre-paid development & mounting by Kodak so I never saw the results until a couple of weeks later - even longer when I was on a long trip.

                      A tropical pool near Apia, Samoa in January 1968. This was one of the
                      first photos taken with the Ricoh SLR. that I purchased in Suva.

I saw  the camera as a means of recording not just events in my life, but also places as I saw them. I had set my heart on travelling and have been fortunate to have visited many parts of the world which have changed considerably due to political upheavals, war and the forces of nature. But these photos are indicative of how I saw the world over the years.

                 The 'banana-boat' Tofua off the island of Niue in January 1968. Passengers
                  & goods had to be transferred ashore on small barges.

                    Formula One drivers of yesteryear, Graham Hill, killed in a plane crash
                    in 1975 & Piers Courage killed during the Dutch Grand Prix in 1970, at
                    the New Zealand Grand Prix, January 1969. Incidentally I have the
                    programme for this race & the first prize money for an overseas-based
                   driver was just NZ$400 - won in 1969 by Chris Amon. The prize for 1st
                   local NZ driver home was NZ$1200!!

I have owned several good  film cameras over the years  but I have always had a soft spot for the hardy little Ricoh which I still have - looking a little bit the worse for wear!
The digital age has. of course, dramatically transformed  the way photographs are taken. No longer do we have to wait and see if photos are blurred or out of focus or if the lense-cap was left on. No longer is the cost of development a consideration and we can now experiment with impunity. 'Film' speeds are now above ASA6400, a far cry from the extremely slow ASA25 transparency film I used to use. Camera shake is now no longer such a big issue and photos can be taken successfully in low light.
 In successive articles I will be highlight photos I have taken over the years & relate some of the stories attached to them.    See my photographic website - www.antipodeanneil.com

© Neil Rawlins  text & photography

Travel books by the author available on Amazon