Vincent van den Berg - Photography » Travel Photo Essays

Lhasa, it’s inhabitants and the Potala Palace

vincentv — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:16:59 +0000

Unfortunately much of Lhasa is now a modern Chinese city, however the city still revolves around its old Tibetan zone with the impressive Potala taking centre stage. Its hard to take your eyes off this beautiful and powerful building.

The Shuton Festival | Drepung Monastery Lhasa

vincentv — Thu, 27 May 2010 05:27:36 +0000

We had heard that Lhasa’s Shoton Festival would begin with a dramatic unfurling of a giant thangka banner of the Buddha at Drepung Monastery. With that in mind, Gina and I woke early and made our way with the crowds to the Monastery arriving at around 6am. Still in darkness we somehow managed to climb our way up the hill to the side of The Monastery and positioned ourselves in a ideal spot to view the unveiling of the Thangka. The incredible cultural event that unfolded before us was an amazing experience, check out the pictures.

Drigung Til Monastery and Namtso Lake

vincentv — Thu, 27 May 2010 05:01:59 +0000

Georgina and I teamed up with a delightful Italian/German couple Fabrizio & Simone and rented a Land-cruiser for a 4 day trip to Dripung Til Monastery and Namtso Lake.

Drigung Til is a small monastery famous for performing sky burials and although perched in a beautiful location we found it quite a spooky place. Foreigners were not allowed to attend sky burials as we might offend the recently departed’s family, however did see lots of black crows and vultures circling the mountain. A Tibetan Sky burial is performed by prayers and the cutting open of the deceased and letting Vultures feed. No pictures are allowed however we did see a few bodies lying around presumably to be sky buried the following day!

Namtso Lake was selected as one of the five most beautiful lakes in China by Chinese National Geography magazine, and it did not disappoint!! Well worth a visit, We hiked around and took in the purity and solemnness of the stunning 360 degree views. In Tibetan, Namtso means ‘Heavenly Lake’ and is one of the three holy lakes in Tibet. Namtso is also famous for its high altitude (4720 meters (about 3 miles) and vast area (1961 square kilometers (about 757 square miles) We had a great time.

Gyantse, Tibet

vincentv — Thu, 27 May 2010 04:18:05 +0000

We only had time for a overnight stop at this nice little Tibeten town, Gyantse, in the Nyang-chu Valley, which is famous for the Gyantse Kumbum, the biggest chörten in Tibet. The white chörten, a large tiered structure, contains a endless series of mural-filled chapels and offers amazing views the higher you go up. Check out the photos.

I would like to return again to photograph their horse-racing and archery festival which apparently is normally celebrated in June.

Mount Everest North Face Tibetan Chinese Base Camp

vincentv — Thu, 27 May 2010 03:54:45 +0000

The bumpy 4wd trail to Everest Base Camp was simply stunning. We were extremely fortunate with the weather and Everest was in full view when we arrived. Absolutely amazing! We spent 1 night at the nunnery hostel and trekked around base camp for a couple of days.

On the edge of the Tibetan Plateau

vincentv — Thu, 27 May 2010 03:32:15 +0000

Georgina, Simone, Fabri and I all hung prayer flags on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau before embarking on the longest descent in the World. 2000m in only 30km to Nepali border.

Kathmandu Valley

vincentv — Sat, 22 May 2010 05:29:20 +0000

Kathmandu has thousands of historical sites, walking the streets you feel as if you have gone back in time. “Living history” is probably the best way to describe this intoxicating place. The people are both remakably friendly and devoutly religous. Kathmandu Valley has a special place in my heart. I stronly recommend using this city as a base for anyone interested in a trekking holiday. Everything is super cheap here, so if your interested in trekking, fly to Kathmandu and organise everything here, you’ll save loads of money!

Janai Purnima Festival, Kathmandu

vincentv — Sat, 22 May 2010 05:26:18 +0000

Nepal: Janai Purnima Festival Kathmandu – Images by Vincent van den Berg

A full moon day, today high cast hindus chanted the powerful Gayatri mantra and changed their sacred thread (janai), while a raksha bandhan (a yellow and red protection cord) was tied around the wrists of everyone who attended. Our beautiful hotel Newa Chen was perfectly situated to enjoy this festival only a few hundred meters away from Shiva’s Kumbheswar Mahadev temple in Patan. Whilst photographing this festival I felt fully absorbed and involved, the events that unfolded before me were truly remarkable. Our morning was spent and Pashupatinath with thousands of hindus and a Saddhu’s smoking. Our afternoon was spent at Newa Chen and Kumbheswar Mahadev temple in Patan.

Destination: Kathmandu, Nepal.
Pashupatinath and Kumbheswar Temple in Patan

Purpose of my visit: Photograph Janai Purnima and the Cow festival

How I got there:

Top Photo Tip.

The Cow festival in Bhaktapur

vincentv — Sat, 22 May 2010 05:20:57 +0000

This colourful and humorous festival was such a joy to be part of. Bereaved families parade around the city following the heritage route with a cow, or a girl or boy dressed like the sacred animal. The cow is the cosmic se (Baitarini) on their way to heaven. It is also said that it is only this day when the gates of the after-word are open for the dead. This festival is cellebrated throughout Kathmandu Valley however Bhaktapur’s party is said to be the most special. They also have their own style of celebrating, many of the cities youth join the parade and perform a dance clashing sticks together. Enjoy the slideshow!

Kolmanskuppe, Ghost Town, near Luderitz, Namibia, Africa

vincentv — Sat, 22 May 2010 05:12:22 +0000

This town was once a Diamond Mining town however it was deserted in 1956 after richer deposits were found at Oranjemund. I thought the emtpy rooms filled with desert sand made interesting photos, What do you think? let me know?