Podworld - Exploring interesting places

Source material for the magnificent Bigger Trees near Warter. As painted by David Hockney, RA.

Twenty minutes drive from the over built traffic strewn eyesore of Benidorm in Spain is a tiny little paradise. It is called Fonts d'Agar. Here it is possible to swim in the flowing waters of a river which rises in the mountains around Valencia, even at the height of the summer. There is a charge as the local authority has created walkways and bridges to take you along the banks of the river safely. It is worth it and although the falls are popular it never seems to be over crowded despite its proximity to Spain's over-blown resort.

Such a sweet monkey, or so we thought. Moments after she gazed into the lens this little blighter dived into our bag and made off with a packet of biscuits. Then halfway up a tree she and her family chomped them before our very eyes. Wild monkeys? They seemed perfectly happily to interact with human contact or at least their biscuits.

Sky High , a photo by Simonhul on Flickr. Enjoying an elevated sunset flight. I caught this moment from a beach on the tropical Malay island of Langkawi. This is where beautiful blue seas and white sands meet tropical rain forest and mango swamps. It is a splendid island which is not over developed for tourism and has many many breathtaking sights like the seven wells waterfalls, known locally as Telaga Tujuh. Langkawi is about the size of the Spanish island Mallorca but you won't find wild monkey's and water buffalo having a casual stroll along the highway in the Balearics.

I took this photograph on the narrow road which runs from the tourist centre of Siem Reap to Tonle Sap, the giant Cambodian lake, It struck me that this was a place at peace with itself. Many years before it had become known as The Killing Fields . I would recommend Siem Reap and Angkor as a place to visit and will certainly make a return trip. Even though I describe Siem Reap as a tourist centre, it has to be one of the quietest and relaxed places one can find.

The Alhambra Palace in Andalusia's hillside city of Granada evokes thoughts of nobility and chivalry. It is a cornerstone of Spain's sometimes turbulent yet dynamic past. For all this, two previous visits had left me a little underwhelmed and I did not know why. It was then with some trepidation I embarked on a third visit, 15 years after last which was by some coincidence 15 years from my first. The travelling public courtesy of the many helpful websites had suggested a nearby one star hotel as one to consider. Plain, simple, clean and comfortable. So it was that the Hotel Albero was booked. http://www.hotelalbero.com/ It delivered on all the qualities described and was inexpensive too. Not only that but a neighbouring restaurant provided a fabulous meal even if it was about the cost of the hotel room. Once at the Palace I recalled why it might not have been the enchanting place I expected those 15 years ago. I had a toddler in tow and the need to use a buggy restricted m...