surfers walk down sayulita beach, Mexico by travel photographer Lee Starnes

Travel Diary : ¡Viva Mexico!

March 08, 2023 in travel

In previous musings, I mentioned the 8 hour layover in Japan on the way to Mexico. If you haven’t checked that one out, have a gander. In any event, the warmer winds of Mexico were a wonderful reprise from the cold and rainy Tokyo. While a bit chilly at night, the crisp air in the morning followed by the midday heat is right up my alley. Sayulita and San Pancho lie just a short drive north of the perennial tourist outpost of Puerto Vallarta. Both surfer hangouts, Sayulita has grown into a fiesta filled destination with quiet beaches just short little jaunts from the center of town. Getting back to Mexico was incredible and how i’ve missed Latin culture. Music, food, fiery blood… give it to me. Here are a few of my favourite frames from what was far too short a stay. A return is definitely high on the list of travel priorities for the foreseeable future. And as always go give me a follow over on IG if you like these types of images.

long exposure panning shot of a taxi in shibuya, tokyo, japan by photographer lee starnes

Travel Diary : 8 hours in Japan

February 07, 2023 in travel

During the Tet holiday, countless city dwellers flock to their hometowns to reunite with their families to bring in the Lunar New Year. As an expat, it gives an opportunity to have a nice little break to regroup after the hectic holiday season. This year Mexico was on the docket for sand, waves and all the tacos. On the way, I had a 10 hour layover in Tokyo, so I had to take advantage and go wander through one of my favorite cities on the planet. I wasn’t quite prepared for the weather as the beach was on the agenda for the rest of the trip, but I bundled up and ventured out for Ramen, a few highballs, and of course shooting lots of street photography. While the weather was a bit drizzly and cold, I can’t get enough of Japan, so there wasn’t much that could dampen my spirits. The energy of Tokyo is incredible and I could wander that city in whatever weather mother nature could throw at me. Here are a few of my favorite images from this quick stop and be on the look out for all the Mexico images coming next week. As always, head over to my Instagram for more.

sunset in el paso by Vietnam photographer Lee Starnes

Travel Diary: America Part 2 - El Paso, Texas

November 08, 2022 in travel

Growing up, stories of El Paso were often the topics of road trips as my father drove us from Georgia to Texas to visit my family in Dallas/Forth Worth. My father attended the University of Texas, El Paso for a time, so stories of Juarez, the desert, and the big skies of west Texas were spoken fondly of as I sat and listened in childlike awe of a place I had never seen until much later on in life. Perhaps some of the details of life in a border town during the 70’s were omitted, but I can just imagine the shenanigans he got into. I wish I could go back and speak to him as an adult (RIP Pops) and hear the more mature versions of these stories. Hell, maybe they’d be the same stories and I’ve had this idea of what it could have been like in my head and it’s nothing more than that. Maybe it was far wilder than I imagine it was. Either way, the lure of El Paso has been in my head from a very young age despite not ever really spending much time there.

Travel Diary: America Part 1 - Georgia

November 04, 2022 in travel

Scheduled to head back home in March 2020, for obvious reasons I didn’t get to take that trip. After 6 years, I made the trip back to the States to visit friends and family. That feeling of a mixture of familiarity and, contrastingly, feeling like an outsider at the same time is a strange dichotomy I forgot about and was instantly greeted as the wheels hit the runway. Living overseas obviously changes you, but in ways that I’m not sure I ever anticipated. It’s like watching a movie you’ve seen before. You’re not a part of it, but it’s all so familiar…. Until those things pop up that you’ve not experienced since you left. The sudden overwhelming sense of comprehension of everyone’s small talk, social cues, and nuance…. It’s a lot. But on the other side of that coin, not knowing how to carry yourself because of the sensory overload. Shifts in social interactions, world views, etc…It’s a mental obstacle course.

Travel Diary : Indonesia

October 10, 2022 in travel

One of my favorite places on earth, Indonesia lures me back constantly with its beaches, rugged landscapes, underwater wonderlands, and general laid back lifestyle. This trip took me to Nusa Penida and Amed in Bali and the Derawan Islands in Indonesian Borneo.

Sydney Opera house under stormy skies by Vietnam Photographer Lee Starnes

Travel Diary: Sydney

July 04, 2022 in travel

After two long years of not being able to travel internationally, we finally got a chance to hop on a plane, use the passport and revisit our home from before Saigon. Sydney holds so many memories, friends and, as we found out on this trip, new corners and neighbourhoods to explore.

Silhouette of workers pushing a cart in Central Vietnam. Taken by Lee Starnes, Ho Chi Minh City-based travel photographer.

Travel Diary : Hoi An, Vietnam

April 27, 2022 in travel

As most of you know, I help run tours in Central Vietnam with Pics of Asia with one of my good friends, Etienne Bossot. Also, unless you’ve been living under a rock under another rock buried next to Jimmy Hoffa, you’d also know travel has been sketchy and inaccessible in Vietnam the past year or so. So, when I got a chance to finally get back to Hoi An, I told Etienne we had to go shoot one morning

Travel Diary: Hanoi 2020

June 15, 2021 in travel

Since Saigon is going through its 3rd week of “Social Distancing Measures”, I’ve been going through the archives while redoing and updating my site (hint hint, go take a gander!). In the process, I came across these images from the last time I was in Hanoi last November. One of my favorite cities in Asia, Hanoi offers endless photo opportunities. Hopefully we can all get through this wave quickly and hit the road again for more adventures!