In the beginning of summer, I had the privilege to visit a private music festival. The music was great, the beer delicious and the people were awesome. I saw this mom and thought she looked cool.

More than once I spent the evening on the beach watching the sun go down into the sea. This evening there were a few clouds over the horizon and it almost looked like the sun was resting on a cloud… For a few seconds at least. Then it was behind the cloud instead. :)

It was probably one of the hottest days during our visit in Phuket. But we were, strangely enough, rather tired of lying on the beach. Instead, we decided it was a good idea to sit in a hot taxi for an hour or so for a trip to the Big Buddha. It was worth it though. Except for the big one, we also found a couple of his friends.

I found it mesmerizing to watch this blazing show. Their burning sticks were spinning around, around, around and the only thing that kept me from being totally hypnotized was my fear that one of them would get burned by the fire.

To get some variety and a break from all the bathing, we took a trip to the Big Buddha. It felt like it was the hottest day of the year (which it probably wasn’t), but it was worth it. The view from the hilltop was rather nice and to capture it all (or actually only a part of it), I made this panorama.

My kids often want to play with my iPhone or iPad. And they use them as if it was the most natural thing in the world. And perhaps it is for the kids of today. This is one of the many quick photos I took when traveling in Thailand. I just thought he looked cool when he was so focused on his high tech toy.

When walking along the beach, it’s easy to only look out over the ocean and watch the horizon far, far away. I often forget to turn around and look the other way. This morning, however, I did turn around. I’m not sure why, but this dead old tree caught my eye.

A colleague and I were on a road trip in Japan a decade and a half ago. One of the stops were in Takayama, a city in Gifu. One morning we took a stroll to the market and I found these really nice handmade wooden cufflinks. I’m not sure if I asked her if I could take her picture, but she didn’t seem to mind.

Nature is full of textures and patterns if we just look for them. Like these traces of water in the sand on Klong Jark Beach. I usually started the day with a walk in the morning sun, feeling the sand between my toes. Life could be worse.

Klong Jark Beach on Koh Lanta was full of life. Most of the animals were quite small and hid in the sand when we approached. This little fellow was a brave one and let me snap a picture before continuing on the morning walk.