Iceland

Got a bunch of questions about Iceland and I thought I will just write up answers to questions that people have asked and I will add along the way..

Giant iceberg on ice beach at sunrise. Jökulsárlón, Iceland.

Itinerary. I didn't have one but I knew where I wanted to check out and I plan according to weather. I will add a map of the places i checked out and also the places I hope I had went. some places off my head in counter clockwise direction on the map. 

• Reykjavík (city)
• the usual golden circle (all the good stuff) 
• Brúarfoss (my fav waterfall in Iceland)
• Vík (beach, church)
• Vatnajökull Ice cave (in the winter, more below) 
• Skógafoss (waterfall)
• Seljalandsfoss (waterfall)
• Jökulsárlón (glacier lagoon AND ice beach) check both out!
• Kirkjufell 

Places that I didn't get a chance to go due to the severe storm/lack of time..

• Gljúfurárfoss (hidden waterfall near Seljalandsfoss)
• Höfn (Vesturhorn or batman mountain)
• Sólheimasandur DC-3 Plane Crash (heard its gated now, 2km walk one way)
• Goðafoss (waterfall)
• Hvítserkur (the famous sea troll)
• and of cos the highlands/fjords that are only accessible when its not winter. 

Reflections of Skógafoss, Iceland

Accommodation/Car. To keep things simple and flexible as we wanted to catch aurora and headed towards clear sky every night, we rented a camper van and basically slept in the car. The car is pretty well equipped and I will post pics to illustrate that better later. We could cook simple meals and sleep in a bed in the car. I went with Happy Campers and was really happy with them and would definitely rent from them again when I head back again sometime. Great service also note they only have Manual/Stick shift. They have pillows and blankets but I opted to bring my own sleeping bag and pillow for comfort :) Check them out at http://www.happycampers.is/ One thing to plan ahead though, they do airport pickup to their rental place but they can drop you off at the main bus terminal in Reykjavík and u can get a bus ticket all the way to the airport. Those bus runs every hour I believe so plan ahead (free wifi onboard)! :)

Showering. It was kinda cold. We basically showered every other day at local pools. There's plenty of those swimming pools/ thermal pools around and you can get a "showering facility" for less than 10 bucks a per entry. I don't mean showering in the swimming pool.. They have hot water showers available. http://www.swimminginiceland.com/

Vík Beach, Iceland.

Wifi/Hotspot. I got my wifi dongle from http://iceland.trawire.com/ came up to about 10 usd a day. they can deliver and drop off at happy camper for no additional cost. hence no hassle. Unlimited data for instagramming. unbeatable LOL. Service was actually pretty good all over Iceland, there was a couple of blind spots here and there but at most places u will have 4g network. I did look up other companies like Vodafone for wifi but they didn't offer micro sim back then and i would need to use my old unlocked iphone.

Electricity and charging. I had 9 DSLR batteries. I got a 300w battery inverter and also a car cigarette socket dual splitter. one for battery charging and one for gps. and several usb socket on those to give u enough juice on ur cellphones and the trawire wifi dongle. And one addition note.. remember to unplug ur power before leaving the car/sleeping or the charging will just keep running and u know what will happen after. :p  Didn't happen to me but happened to a friend and I was pretty careful about it when I was there. I also tested it and somehow the cigarette lighter socket doesn't disconnect power when the car engine is off/car key removed.

Aurora in Iceland!

Aurora. I basically checked for predicted clear skies every night and drive in that direction for the day. I saw aurora 5 of 8 non stormy days we were there. I was there for a total of 11 days but was stormed in Reykjavík for 3 days lol. I used this for cloud cover check and I found it really accurate during the time I was there. http://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/cloudcover/

Ice Cave. There's 3 big companies that does the tours. I went with http://www.localguideofvatnajokull.com/ book early. I mean WAY early. My trip was basically planned around available space in the ice cave tour. haha.

Diving. More on this later. I wanted to do the Silfra fissure dive. Did some research and booked it. Things didn't work out as planned. Hence didn't do it in the end.

Hope it helps. Let me know if you got more questions and I will expand the list and go on from there. For the record, Iceland probably the most awesome place I ever been to. And yes i will be back! :)

Twenty Fourteen

An entry on some of my favorite moments of 2014. I hope you enjoy - if they did not manage to amaze you, I hope that they at least entertained you a bit! The view at many of these places is just so breathtaking that photos don’t do them 100% justice. But I try my best to capture what I see so that I can share nature’s beauty with everyone. Happy Holidays and Happy 2015! :)
 

January - San Francisco, California

January - Yosemite, California

February - Elowah Falls, Oregon

February - Rowena Crest, Oregon

February - Portland, Oregon

March - Panther Creek Falls, Washington

March - Portland, Oregon

April - Tulip Festival, Oregon

April - Lost Lake, Oregon

April - Steptoe Butte, Palouse, Washington 

May - Painted Hills, Oregon

May - Gardens of the Gods, Colorado

May - Great Sand Dunes, Colorado

June - Proxy Falls, Oregon

June - Mendenhall Ice Cave, Juneau, Alaska

July - Portland, Oregon

July - Cape Kiwanda, Oregon

August - South Sister, Bend, Oregon

August - Glacier National Park, Montana

August - Mount Rainier, Washington

August - Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska

September - Monolith, Yukon, Canada

September - Tombstone, Yukon, Canada

September - Moraine Lake, Alberta, Canada

September - Assiniboine, British Columbia, Canada

September - Maroon Bells, Colorado

October - Boardman, Oregon

October - Subway, Zion National Park, Utah

October - The Narrows, Zion National Park, Utah

November - Spirit Falls, Washington

November - Magic Rock, Washington

December - Oneonta Gorge, Oregon

December - Los Angeles, California

December - Singapore

December - Mount Fuji, Japan

Backpacking in Canadian Rockies

I had mentioned in another blog entry that I am not big on camping/backpacking, but yet I went again the past week to Canada. This marks my 2nd backpacking trip in a span of just 2 weeks? I figured I could still do this while I am young (well, below 30 is young, right?), before I regret it later on.

This time, we headed over to Mount Assiniboine with a short side trip to Banff National Park. The first day we were at Banff, the weather wasn't too cooperative, as clouds enshrouded the sky and it rained all day. We covered most of the major Banff landmarks (or rather, lake-marks) in a day – did a ho hum sunrise at Lake Louise, followed by Moraine Lake, Bow Lake, Peyto Lake, Herbert Lake, Banff Viewpoint and ended off the day at Two Jack Lake with a very unmemorable sunset. The next morning, I drove over to Moraine Lake for sunrise from Canmore, and while it was totally foggy, I suppose I needed to see it for myself. So that rounded up my short stay at Banff National Park. Here are some photos of 2 of my favorite places in Banff National Park.

If you Google “Moraine Lake”, you’d get a ton of photos that are breathtakingly beautiful, to say the least. I’ve seen photos of Moraine Lake so many times I thought I’d be desensitized when I finally see it in person. But what did I know? It had me in awe, nonetheless; imagine 10 giant peaks towering over an emerald lake, with layers of pine trees skirting the lake. I could probably just sit around the lake and do nothing but admire it all day, but the rain pelted down on us and we had to move on.

Peyto Lake is yet another postcard-perfect place and the lake’s captivating turquoise color can be attributed to the sediments of the melting glacier. The lake’s milky-blue color varies, depending on season and time of day. The intense color of the lake is incredibly charming, and I reckon I should have taken a telephoto abstract shot of a small part of the lake. Ah well, next time maybe.

And off we headed to backpack at Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park. When we got there, the skies were overcast again and we hiked towards the campsite in the rain. After we’d pitched our tents, we went out to scout for a sunset spot. We didn't get a decent sunset but instead got a ton of wind to chill our bones. However, the saving grace was definitely our meals. We had pretty amazing Thai food for dinner made by our Thai chef, Por (she's a real chef at a Thai restaurant), who’d flew in from Brisbane for this trip.

The next morning we did sunrise at Lake Magog, where we met Justin Renzik and his friends. First light at Lake Magog was pretty awesome and it was probably the only day we saw some clouds. Mt Assiniboine rises above Lake Magog and because of its pyramidal shape, Mt Assiniboine is often known as the “Matterhorn” of North America. I have yet to see the real Matterhorn, but after seeing Mt Assiniboine, I am itching to see the real deal.

We then scouted a couple more lakes for the night’s milkyway photos before going heading back for lunch. After a re-energizing lunch, we started our hike up to Nub Peak. The trail is segmented into various levels of elevation that have rather endearing names: Nub, Niblet, Nublet and Nub Peak (in ascending order). The hike was relatively easy with moderate elevation gain all the way to Nublet, but things got choppy thereafter. From Nublet to Nub Peak, it gets pretty sketchy when you hike past a ridge and start hugging the Nub from the left. Some parts of the trail are basically narrow paths that drop vertically on the left – lose your footing and that’s it. Though Nub Peak is the highest point on the trail, most people get their sunset shots from either Niblet or Nublet. I have seen a shot by Kevin McNeal taken from Nub Peak and decided to check it out myself. After ruffling my nerves quite a bit, I made it up to Nub Peak unscathed. I only took a couple of shots before sunset and rushed back to Nublet for sunset. I made it just in time for sunset and met everyone else at Nublet. It was a clear, cloudless sunset at Nublet, but in my opinion, Nublet offers the best views of the 4 lakes (Lake Magog, Sunburst Lake, Cerulean Lake, and Elizabeth Lake) and Mt Assiniboine, so I enjoyed shooting there.

After sunset, we rushed down to one of the smaller lakes that we had scouted earlier for milkyway shots. It was a really jam-packed and productive day, before we headed back to base to rest for the night. The next morning, we did sunrise at a few of the smaller lakes that we’d found the previous day. It was a fine day for crystal clear reflections from the lack of wind but the caveat was that the sky was also crystal clear (read: cloudless). We hung out around the lakes for a bit before heading back to pack up. As they always say, all good things come to an end, and this was it. I am back in transit to PDX and yes, I am going back to work tomorrow. It was a short trip but nevertheless, a memorable one. Yet another one of nature’s gems checked! :)

PDX Skittles

Always wanted a shot of Portland with a little rainbow in the background. So when it started pouring yesterday in Hillsboro, I decided to take a drive down to Pittock Mansion. When I was driving down 26, the rain got heavier and heavier but I could see a full double rainbow in front of me. Once I got to Pittock Mansion, I realized I forgot my f-stop rain cover for my backpack and I also forgot my trusty waterproof Columbia jacket. Great. Got out of the car in a GAP hoodie and walked to the viewpoint in the pouring rain. Got there and saw nothing and no one in sight, as always. Hung out for a while as I get drenched. Couple of 5 mins passed, nothing happened and I was about to give up and head home. Just as I was about to leave, I saw the sun peaked out from the clouds. Double Rainbow at Pittock Mansion, Checked! Sometimes I do get lucky I guess, Happy Tuesday! :)

Gold Rush

One of the seasons that I look forward to is fall, as the warm summer tapers off to cooler temperatures, and the parched foliage gets cloaked in vivid hues of yellow, orange and red for a fleeting couple of weeks. The confluence of stunning fall colors seem to exist to cajole us into the subsequent colder days, and for photographers, fall is undoubtedly the season to capture nature's blazing palette before everything turns monotone during the frigid winter.  

This fall I headed over to Colorado for some fall foliage photos. I've heard so much about how amazing the aspen trees there look in fall, and they definitely didn't disappoint. I spent about three days around Aspen and Crested Butte, both places about 4 hours away from Denver. The roads were often flanked by beautiful foliage of golden leaves interspersed with dark green spruce trees, so it was a really scenic drive throughout.  

We arrived late at night on Thursday and drove straight to Aspen for 4 hours or so. It was about 5am when we got to Maroon Lake, but to our surprise, the lake was already littered with photographers. As a fellow photographer we met later on so aptly put it, "it was like the whole of humanity was at the lake!" My guesstimate is that there were about 87 photographers that morning? It was definitely dicey, jostling for a prime spot. 

Maroon Bells at sunrise.

When the sun finally peeked out, I could see why the place is so sort after. As the first light bathed the tips of the peaks, the citrine aspen groves around the lake began to slowly reveal their true colors (pun intended!), unraveling a postcard perfect scene. The insane congregation of photographers was also affirmed as the sun came out.

This is just one section of the lake that was lined with photographers patiently awaiting sunrise. Shot with Sony RX100.

Maroon Bells after sunrise. Yay or Nay?

While the early morning light provides a softer feel of Maroon Bells, some people prefer the stronger light later in the day. Both perspectives have their strengths – early morning reflections are more pristine, while mid-day light accentuates the contrast of the fall colors.

I have seen aspen trees around where I live before, but never in this magnitude and grandeur. When the wind blows, the sight of the aspen leaves rustling is reminiscent of shimmering golden coins. It was a real treat to drive alongside gilded hills of aspen. 

Variety is the spice of life - at least for these aspens

Aspen in motion – this abstract shot turned out well, as I had wanted the white-barked aspen trunks to stand out amidst the gold foliage.

Golden crown against azure skies.

Mount Sopris at sunrise.

Capitol Peak at sunset.

We spent the weekend weaving through roads that were inundated by rolling hills of autumn colors. While not everywhere was peak, as there were still patches of summer’s green foliage, the array of colors underscores the brevity of fall’s glory.

We were lucky that the weather wasn’t adverse that weekend, though it took a turn for the worse on the day we left. I am back in rainy Portland now, and the leaves have yet to turn color, but the splendid gold rush I had experienced in Colorado has already made my autumn complete. 

Tombstone Territorial Park, Yukon

I had the opportunity to visit Tombstone Territorial Park in Yukon, Canada last week, together with a bunch of avid photographers, who had come from all over the world for this trip. While Tombstone does not have the commonplace reputation of other famous Parks such Yosemite National Park and Yellowstone National Park, Tombstone is fervently touted as a Holy Grail destination amongst landscape photographers – its pristine wilderness of rugged peaks, permafrost landforms and subarctic tundra valleys make for sublime landscape shots.

The Journey to Tombstone Territorial Park, Yukon, Canada.

Personally, I am not a big fan of camping, so I must admit I really wasn't keen on the trip at first blush. I felt like it would be testing waters that may be too deep for me, and so I was pretty reluctant to dive into it when Piriya first asked me to join in the trip. While I hesitated quite a bit, I am glad I eventually decided to go for it. The breathtaking views and unadulterated landscape of Tombstone left me in awe, and while I cannot describe in words what I saw and felt during those days I was there, I hope to do justice to the awesome place with my photos and modest write-up here.

The sculpted ice walls inside an ice cave. Mendenhall Glacier. 

The trip started off with a side trip to Juneau, Alaska, to visit the Mendenhall Glacier Ice Caves. I managed to find a relatively cheaper way to get to Yukon via Juneau, so I figured I might as well leverage the chance to seek out some new ice caves there, before heading to Yukon. We set off for a morning hike to the ice caves before sunrise, wanting to avoid the crowds. We spent half the day exploring the caves, and because it was my second time there, I was on the lookout for new ice caves to photograph. Even though it was my second trip to the caves, I was still very much amazed by the caves. The sculpted interiors and the range of blues inside the caves continue to captivate me. 

Por in Mendenhall Ice Cave, Juneau, AK.

The ice caves that I saw just 2 months ago had melted so much in such a short time that I could barely recognize it. The trite warnings of global warming and whatnot suddenly felt so real and daunting, when faced with the melting and ever-changing glaciers of Mendenhall. Determined to make the best of our trip to the receding glacier, we spent a good amount of time in the caves, before hiking back to Downtown Juneau. The day ended with our usual fare of Alaskan king crabs at Tracy’s King Crab Shack. :)

Sunset at Dawson City, Yukon, Canada from Midnight Dome 

We then continued our journey from Juneau, Alaska to Skagway, Alaska along the Alaskan Marine Highway, followed by a long bus ride from Skagway, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon. And after another 8 hours drive we finally arrived at Dawson City, Yukon. It was definitely a long journey to get to Yukon, but like they always say, no pain, no gain? 

Aurora from Midnight Dome

We spent a night in Dawson City before heading to Tombstone. I had my first encounter with northern lights at Dawson City! The sky was alight was a pretty intense green glow, and it felt so surreal to be standing below the vastness of the sky that was painting a luminescent green picture in the middle of the night.

Selfie with Talus Lake and Tombstone Mountain.

The next day marked the start of our 5 days backpacking trip into Tombstone Territorial Park. We flew in by helicopter, and spent 2 days at Divide Lake and 3 days at Talus Lake. Being out there for 5 days without cell service and wifi is something I am not too familiar with. I must say it's quite a good break from the hustle and bustle of the world beyond where we where, as we basically had the entire place to ourselves. 

View from our tent after the 24 hours of snow.

The weather at Tombstone can only be described as tempestuous. The weather was all sunny on the first day when we did our hike from Talus Lake to Divide Lake. So far so good, right? Not really. After setting up our tents at Divide Lake, it started to cloud over and soon it started pouring for the next 12 hours. The rain slowly turned into freezing rain and it eventually started to snow for the next 24 hours. I struggled to keep warm with layers, but the wind chill was debilitating. The predicted weather forecast of 0 to 15 degrees Celsius took a nosedive to range from -10 to 0 degrees Celsius instead.

Por, Sara and our morning hike.

Armored with only a base layer, a fleece, a windbreaker shell and some running gloves, I was in for a chilly hike that made the movie Frozen feel so familiar to me at that point, hah. We hiked back to Talus Lake in the snow, and the snow peppered terrain that we last saw bare looked vastly different, in a better way. The snow accentuated the ragged peaks, and the frosty veneer added depth to the tundra valleys. While we were definitely unhinged by the cold, we were also very excited by the prospect of shooting the alluring scape before us. And so we spent the next 3 days out and about Talus Lake, enduring the frigid weather to get the best shots. 

Dancers in the Dark.

During our trip, we were very conscientious when it came to monitoring aurora activity. On our 3rd night we had set our alarm hourly to check for aurora activity. Piriya got out of his tent at 1 am and shouted "Aurora! Aurora!" That got me all excited and I ran out of my tent, and was overwhelmed by the sky that was filled with green bands of dancing light. I was mesmerized by the orchestra of green waves, and watched them as they waxed and waned against the velvety night sky. I don’t think I would ever forget that moment. 

The clearing storm.

Our basic itinerary went along these lines: day hike, eat, sleep, scout for sunrise and sunset spots, eat and sleep. The cycle repeated itself for the 5 days we were there. The cold began to take its toll on us, as the 4th and 5th day was just too cold for everyone. The lakes had all froze over, and everything that had moisture became frosty; our clothes, our water, even our lashes. Even so, we pressed on through sunrises and sunsets, and stayed up for some aurora action at night. It was almost miserable, but the remarkable landscapes in Tombstone more than made up for it.

Coincidentally, we bumped into the all time esteemed landscape photographer, Marc Adamus. It was a pleasure meeting him! Some of us were a little starstruck meeting him, hah. Here's a pic of the group (missing 1) with Marc Adamus. 

Our group photo with Marc Adamus.

Top 5 highlights of the trip in no specific order. 

1. Aurora encounters

2. Meeting Marc Adamus 

3. Camping food never tasted this good. I was very blessed to be camping with these folks, as they were really good cooks (especially Sara). We had awesome Thai food during when we were camping out in Tombstone, and I would do well to recruit them for future camping trips :p

4. The insanely picturesque landscapes of Tombstone Territorial Park

5. Finally, a shout out to the most awesome companions for the trip! 

The Awesome Crew.

Just some rough edits and previews on the go while heading back to PDX. More pics to come! Totally looking forward to work tomorrow.. NOT. :P 

A giant grizzly bear that we met said hi. 

Happy Mid Autumn Supermoon

Coupled with alpenglow on Mount Hood, got some luck with the supermoon rising above the overcasted Portland skies. Happy Mid Autumn Festival Everyone! :)

Yukon bound

Off to Yukon. Here's one from the ice cave in Juneau that I visited again yesterday. The glacier retreating and melting is so so real. I was here standing at the exact same spot 2 months ago and the amount the ice changed is ridiculous. The cave also lost a big part of the entrance about a month ago and a couple smaller caves we found the last time has melted so much and their entrances are way bigger. It's so amazing yet scary.

Mendenhall Glacier Ice Cave, Juneau

Juneau, miss ya so much and I am back! Did a morning hike yesterday to Mendenhall Glacier to search for some new ice caves and found a couple. Travelled quite abit of distance today. Juneau -> Haines -> Skagway -> Whitehorse. 

Btw Happy long weekend everyone! More updates later.. Stay tuned! :)

Reflection Lake

Finally saw Rainier's reflection from Reflection Lake. Was here last year and the winds was too strong for an reflection to form. Thought of using the tree and the wildflowers to form an inverted V. Also met ART WOLFE! What an exciting morning! :)

Triple Falls

Triple Falls, Glacier National Park, Montana 
Sony RX100

This shot was taken about an hour before sunset and 10 mins before a thunderstorm came by, stayed around soaking us all and we had to hide behind a big rock as lightning was way too close for comfort in the open fields.. Didn’t get too lucky with the weather at Glacier National Park 3 days of rain and 1 day of thunderstorm. Hence had to find comps that didn’t include the overcasted sky and here’s one shot of me at the bottom of triple falls trying to get it without the sky. Will be back again someday and photos to come soon. :)

ps. does this place remind anyone of Keller Fountain? :p

Monday Blues

A single 20 mins exposure from Lost Lake. Of cos the sensor wasn't very happy and had like 15497 hot pixels. Spend a couple hours cloning out 12781 of those red, blue, green pixels and finally gave up. The light on the left was from someone who decided to launch a kayak at 2AM. :)

South Sister Summit

Carrying 47lbs of camera gear up South Sister totally kicked my a$$. About a 14miles hike roundtrip with 5000 ft elevation gain, I struggled here and there but we made it just in time for sunrise! The entire area looked a little smoky due to all the forest fires in the area. Here's a shot from 10,358ft, Oregon's 3rd highest mountain. Hope everyone is having a great weekend! :)

Smoky morning with Mt Bachelor and Sparks Lake in the background

Travel Portland, OR

Been asked numerous times for things to do in Portland, so here’s a list..

1. Hiking and Waterfalls

Columbia River Gorge. Take a drive on 84 to Historic Columbia River Highway Scenic Byway. Some of the popular places that people like to stop over for photos are Latourell Falls, Wahkeena Falls, Multnomah Falls, Horsetail Falls and Vista Point. 

Multnomah Falls

These are a couple more in the same loop but some hiking would be involved.

Ponytail Falls (0.8 miles roundtrip with 360 ft elevation gain. Pretty easy hike with some elevation gain. You would start at Horsetail Falls Trailhead)

Ponytail Falls

Fairy Falls (2 miles roundtrip with 800 ft elevation gain. Slightly strenuous hike. You would start at Wahkeena Trailhead. There is 3 trails there and its the right most trail when you face Wahkeena from the parking. You have to walk past the small wooden bridge. Theres been a sign that says its closed for a long time but the closure is past fairy falls, so you can still take the trail up to Fairy Falls. )

Fairy Falls

Oneonta Gorge (1 mile roundtrip. This is a popular one in the summer but it involves some log climbing and you will get wet. Probably not kid friendly as well. You would start at Oneonta Gorge Trailhead)

Oneonta Gorge

Elowah Falls (1.4 mile roundtrip. Easy hike. You would start at Elowah Falls Trailhead)

Elowah Falls

2. Portland Waterfront

View from Portland Waterfront

3. Shopping. TAX FREE shopping..

• Pioneer Square for some tax free shopping pretty big mall in downtown Portland.
• Theres another big mall, Washington Square in Tigard.
• For outlets the best one would be, Woodburn Premium Outlets. Its nothing like the Premium Outlets in California but its tax free. :)

4. Powell’s Books (popular gigantic bookstore)

5. Pittock Mansion has a good view of Downtown Portland and Mount Hood.

View from Pittock Mansion

6. Food Cart are like everywhere in Portland and heres a few that I like.

• Nong’s Khao Man Gai (Thai styled Chicken and Rice. My Thai friends love this place!) 
• E-San Thai Cart (I really like the Pad Gai from here)
• Chicken and Guns
• Brunch Box
• Thai Kee Mao (I really like the Pad Ban Mee from here)
• Straits Kitchen (Kinda new Malaysian/Singaporean cart in Sellwood)

7. Brunch and Eats

Below are a few famous ones for brunch but I personally like Broders and Tasty n Sons.

• Broders (Scandinavian)
• Screen Door (Their Chicken and Waffles only available at brunch is awesome)
• Mothers Bistro
• Tasty n Sons, Tasty n Alder
• Pine Street Market

Other Eats...

• Salt and Straw (famous Portlandia flavored icecream)
• Pok Pok (famous Thai food, expect a 1-2 hour wait)
• Pine State Biscuits
• The Waffle Window
• Andina (personally love this place)
• Lechon (pretty new place and a couple of my friends love this place)
• Toro Bravo, Pollo Bravo, Tasty and Sons, Tasty and Alder (they are the same chain of restaurant and they are all good. I like Toro Bravo for dinner and the any of the Tasty for Brunch)
• Pambiche (Cuban Food)
• Blue Star Donuts
• Le Pigeon
• Voodoo Donuts (famous donuts and they are open 24 hours, ridiculous lines all day and way overated but still gonna leave it here anyways)

Finally Asian Fix...

• Bubble N Tea. (Hands down best boba in Portland. Thai owned, their Lychee Thai Tea and Strawberry Matcha is Legendary)
• Kizuki Ramen formerly Kukai Ramen (awesome Ramen in Beaverton, OR)
• Kenny's Noodle House (legit HK Noodles, like I really meant legit. Whenever I bring HK friends there, they are always a little doubtful till they walk into the restaurant.)
• Yama Sushi and Izakaya
• Mee Sen Thai Eatery (hipster Thai) 

8. Coffee scene. Portland has a huge coffee scene, theres like cafes everywhere. Heres my personal favorites

• Stumptown Coffee
• Coava Coffee
• Cup & Bar (Formerly Trailhead Coffee Roasters / Accidental Cafe)

9. Happy Hour and Breweries. Both places have a good view of the city.

• Happy Hour at Portland City Grill  
• Happy Hour at Departure Restaurant + Lounge (has outdoor seating with heaters kinda nice for summer nights)

View from Portland City Grill

Some Popular Breweries

• Henry’s 12th Street Tavern
• Deschutes Brewery & Public House
• Hopworks

10. Mount Hood Area. If you still have time, heres some places with good views of Mount Hood, all pretty accessible with a car and basically awesome views with no hiking involved.

• Trillium Lake, Lost Lake and Larch Mountain in the summer
• Timberline Lodge in the winter

View from Trillium Lake

View from Lost Lake

Timberline Lodge, Oregon

11. Oregon Coast Area. If you still even more time, here's some worthy places to stopover along the Oregon Coast.

• Cannon Beach
• Seaside 
• Astoria
• Cape Kiwanda
• Thor's Well (look this up its really cool and also slightly dangerous)

12. Painted Hills. A really far drive from Oregon but this place has gotten really popular over the years and I got a couple groups of friends visiting from Singapore and Hong Kong that made their way there.

Painted Hills, Oregon

13. Bend, Oregon Area. Some stuff worth checking out around Bend.

• Proxy Falls
• Smith Rock
• Sparks Lake
• Toketee Falls (Iceland looking falls)

Proxy Falls, Oregon

14. Crater Lake. Finally the furthest away from Portland but totally worth a visit.

Crater Lake, Oregon

Tunnel Falls

Missed 3.00am alarm. Missed 3.30am alarm. Missed 4.00am alarm. Missed 4.30am alarm. The 6am "get up for work" alarm went off. Picked up my phone and to my horror... 6.03am. Swear. Swear. Swear. Checked my messages. A msg from Lance at 5.07am. Scrambled around for my bag, gathered change of clothes, wetsuit and some stuff, washed up, got changed and made coffee. Ran out of the house.. 6.17am. Drove towards Eagle Creek. More swearing. Finally got to trailhead. Left a note on Lance's Jeep. Started running, continued running past Metlako Falls, kept running past Punchbowl Falls. Finally got to a landmark, High Bridge, 3.2 miles. Only halfway.. Got so demoralized. Stopped running and started walking instead. Lol. Walking, kept walking. Finally, I saw a familiar couple in sight. Hey that's Lance and Annette! Just in time before the sun peek through the top. Mission accomplished. Tunnel Falls checked.

Long story short, the 5am 12.6miles hike became a 7am 4mile run and 8.6mile hike. Lol. Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far! :)

Lost and Found

I used to think that the Milky Way was something you could only see if you’re an astronomer- it is super elusive and when you do see it, you might mistake it for some haze or fog in the night sky. Was at Lost Lake over the weekend because the forecast said it’d be clear. And it was, before sunset. Set my alarm for 11pm and took a nap. When I woke up, Mt Hood was barely in sight, enshrouded by clouds. Disappointment mounting, I set up my gear to take a test shot anyway. Worst fears confirmed as pictures turned out cloudy. Since I’d driven 2.5 hours there, I decided to muck around and be optimistic. There were a couple of flashes across the sky coz there was probably a thunderstorm going on some where in the West. That distracted me for while, and before I knew it, the skies cleared and the Milky Way was totally visible! Took many shots (probably too many) and this is my favorite amongst them. I guess some things, like Portland’s Voodoo donuts, are worth the wait? :)

Grand Prismatic Spring

It was a steep hike that was off the beaten track to get to this amazing spot where you could get the overview of the Grand Prismatic Spring. I wasn't sure how high to hike to, but I kept going until I found this sweet spot with the absolute best unobstructed view of the spring. From this vantage point you could see the colors of the Grand Prismatic come to life in full bloom; something you can't quite get when you're at the spring itself. The myriad colors spreading out on the Spring is reminiscent of a painter who had tipped over bottles of paint, and the colors had somehow amalgamated purposefully on his canvas. So as I was perched atop the hill looking at that chromatic marvel, I thought to myself, this must be the pot of gold at the end of the Grand Prismatic rainbow.