Dear Reader,
If you've read my bio, you know I love to travel. I enjoy exploring new places and learning about other cultures. This comes in handy, because I find that writing about what I know or have experienced leads to a more genuine, believable story.
I recently had the opportunity of taking a whirlwind tour of five cities in ten days—an exhilarating experience and well worth it, despite the significant sleep deprivation. For this post, I thought I would share some of my photos with you but, to make it fun, I will do it in the form of a contest.
You will see ten consecutively numbered pictures below. There is at least one picture from each of: Istanbul, Bangkok, Dubai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Leave a comment prior to the end of day tomorrow (PDT), matching each picture to a place (for example: 1 Shenzhen, 2 Istanbul, etc.; please note, these are not the correct answers).
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Feel free to enter more than once, but use a separate comment block for each entry please. The person with the most correct answers will win a $10 Amazon gift card. I will post the correct answers and name the winner early tomorrow morning.
In addition or instead, I am curious to know which picture you like the most and why.
Finally, I would welcome your comments about your favorite place in the world. Personally, I would love to spend some time in Camden Falls, the setting of
A Child's Christmas, my November Heartwarming release!
I hope you enjoyed taking this photo trip with me.
Happy reading!
Kate
ReplyDeleteMy favorite photo is number 6. I love the water
That evening we took a boat to a seafood restaurant in a quaint little fishing village. The food was exceptional, the boat ride scenic!
DeleteKate, all of the photos are wonderful. And a whirlwind trip is right. A long time ago I spent 2 weeks between Hong Kong, Macau and China on a people-to-people tour. Right after China's border first opened and Hong Kong had not been returned to them. I'd love to see Thailand. I like # 5 with you and Buddha.
ReplyDeleteThat must have been an amazing trip, Roz!
DeleteI think I was leaning against the Buddha because I had just climbed waaay up and down these very steep, stone stairs on the outside of one of the temples. I was the only one in our group to do it. It was well worth the spectacular view!
Kate,
ReplyDeleteSadly I am not as well traveled as you are! I recognized Cartier! My favorite picture was of the beach. I love lying in the sun, feeling the heat on my skin and listening to the waves.
Thank you for stopping by the blog, Tara!
DeleteYou and I have similar tastes in vacation destinations. As interesting as this trip was, there was hardly any time to lie in bed and, sadly, no time to lie on a beach.
Kate, what an amazing adventure! The photos are all gorgeous, but I'll pick #2 because that beach looks like some place I could spend some time. My favorite trip was a three-week vacation to New Zealand. Such a breathtakingly beautiful country.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carol. It was a fascinating trip, particularly because I was able to explore both the normal tourist destinations but also the not-so-glamorous places and the true culture of the cities.
DeleteI haven't been to New Zealand or Australia (yet!). I would love for you to share some photos!
Hi, Kate! What wonderful, exotic locations. I like # 10 because it looks like somewhere the dog and I could walk. And you look great in those photos. It's rare to see a rested-looking traveler!
ReplyDeleteHello, Muriel! Thank you for the kind comment, but . . . rested? Me?! Most of the flights were overnight, and the days were packed. It's a good thing it was sunny so I could wear sunglasses to hide my tired eyes!
DeleteHere is an interesting fact you may appreciate since you are a dog person: in Istanbul, the city takes care of all strays. They have tags, receive vaccinations, are fed and cared for, and gentle. The dogs gave me a quick little doggie fix, as I was missing my own pups!
Well, let's hear it for Istanbul. How enlightened! Hopefully, they're as good to their homeless people.
DeleteAnything near the ocean works for me. Envious of the stamps in your passport.
ReplyDeleteThere's a few odd little visas stuck in there, too; however, it doesn't compare to my husband's passport!
DeleteWhen I stepped down from my last "day job", part of the plan was that I would travel with my husband, as I can write anywhere. That was before we were adopted by our current two pups, Harley and Logan, and I become more of a stay-at-home mom. No regrets!
I can't imagine 5 cities in 10 days. Wow. I loved the beach one too.
ReplyDeleteAs I noted, it was a whirlwind, Patricia! I had some very nice hotel rooms that I wish I could have enjoyed a little more! Hmm . . . .maybe I should post some pictures of the rooms!
ReplyDeleteIf I ever plan a trip, I'll be talking to you first! Fabulous locations and pics. I especially love photo #1. So vivid! I'm pretty sure I can name at least half the pics, but I'll wait LOL ;).
ReplyDeleteGo for it, Rula. You could get ten out of ten wrong and be the leading contender at this point! :-)
DeleteThese pictures are wonderful and I love the one of you and the big Buddha the best. He's so huge and gold but you still outshine him :)
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of repeating myself, if you ever get tired of writing such wonderful books, Karen, I'd like to talk to you about being my publicist! It was a fun trip.
DeleteAs a serious non-traveller our few days to our daughter's 'destination' wedding in Ontario's own Thunder Bay were a big deal for us. Five cities in ten days is incredible, Kate. Here are my armchair traveler guesses at the locations of your ten photos: 1.Shenzhen 2.Dubai 3.Hongkong 4.Instanbul 5.Bangkok 6.Hongkong 7.Shenzhen 8.Dubai 9.Bangkok 10.Hongkong. You've inspired me to at least think about spreading my wings a little when it comes to traveling. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYay! We have an entrant!
DeleteThank you for visiting the blog and taking a stab at matching the pictures to the places, Hanna.
I do love to travel. Sadly, there was an entirely different side of the trip as well. We saw a lot of poverty in the cities, too. It reaffirmed for me how fortunate I am to be living where I am and not have to worry about where my next meal will be coming from (or if I will have one).
Thanks again, for taking the time to post your comments and answers!
Kate,
ReplyDeleteI'm thrilled for you that you got to go on this trip of a lifetime. I don't blame you for taking a thousand pictures. I like the one of you with the Budda. Frankly, I love them all! So, next time you travel, can I go along????
Thank you, Catherine. It really was an amazing trip and I didn't mind giving up a LOT of sleep for it. I think I slept the entire thirteen hours from Hong Kong to Toronto nestled in my little pod. Oh, wait . . . not the entire way. I wrote a book proposal, too!
DeleteI think it would be great fun travelling with you! Are you okay packing light?!
How fun! My guesses:
ReplyDelete1: Bangkok, 2: Dubai, 3: Hong Kong, 4: Istanbul, 5: Shenzhen, 6: Hong Kong, 7: Shenzhen, 8: Istanbul, 9: Dubai, 10: Hong Kong
I love the beach in picture number 2!
And the competition is on!
DeleteThank you for taking part, Noelle. The beach picture does seem to be the most popular one, with the Buddha coming in second.
Please check in tomorrow morning to see if you won.
Best wishes.
Kate
What a wonderful trip and a great idea for matching pictures to places. Although I’ve never been to any of these sites, I’m giving my guess on several pictures:
ReplyDelete1-Bangkok, 3-Dubai (the tallest building in the world?), 4-Istanbull, 6-Hongkong, 7-Shenzhen.
I look forward to the list of correct answers (and didn’t look at anyone else’s posts for fear of being influenced.)
Thank you for joining in, Marion. Can I nudge you to take a guess at pictures 2, 5, 8,9 and 10? I would love to see how you score overall! If you happen to be top score, I'll give away TWO gift cards so a reader can also win.
DeleteI hope you have a great evening!
Sorry I didn't get back in time to try again. But your blog was excellent.
DeleteThanks for doing this, Kate--it's educational!
ReplyDelete1 Bangkok 2 Dubai 3 Hong Kong 4 Istanbul 5 Shenzhen 6 Hong Kong 7 Bangkok 8 Istanbul 9 Hong Kong 10 Shenzhen
Thank you for taking the time to visit the blog and to enter the contest, Dale.
DeleteAlthough these pics do not compare to the beautiful ones you tweet, they're royalty free, in case you wish to re-tweet one! :-)
Please check in tomorrow morning to see if you won.
I hope you have a great evening!
Kate
Thank you, Kate--they're definitely retweetable! You have a great evening too!
DeleteI'm glad we get to do this twice--I think I see at least one mistake I made. 1 Bangkok 2 Dubai 3 Hong Kong 4 Istanbul 5 Shenzhen 6 Hong Kong 7 Bangkok 8 Istanbul 9 Dubai 10 Shenzhen
ReplyDeleteIt's so great that you've traveled to these places, Kate!
Sorry, Dale, I can't comment on whether your score is now higher, lower or unchanged until tomorrow!
DeleteWell, I won't even try,although I could probably guess a few..3 is my favorite pic b/c you look so happy. I would love to visit Australia. I know it is a big country, but anywhere there would make me happy. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting the blog and leaving a comment. That's a very sweet thing to say!! It's almost worth a gift card, but the rules are the rules!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your evening!
Thank you to everyone who entered the contest. The correct answers are:
ReplyDelete1 - Bangkok
2 - Dubai (everyone got this one correct; one of the top rated hotels in the world)
3 - Hong Kong (everyone got this one correct, as well)
4 - Dubai (this one stumped everyone; it's taken along the waterfront)
5 - Bangkok
6 - Hong Kong (everyone got this one correct, too)
7 - Shenzhen
8 - Istanbul (the Blue Mosque - quite spectacular, especially the workmanship inside)
9 - Hong Kong
10 - Shenzhen
The winner of the gift card -- with a score of 7 -- is Dale Sitton Rogers! Dale, please e-mail me at readers@kate-james.com so that I can have your e-mail to send the card to you.
Much thanks, again, to everyone who took this trip with me yesterday. I hope you enjoyed the photos.
Best wishes for a terrific day!
Kate
Congratulations, Dale!
DeleteThank you, Kate! It was such a great idea!
DeleteThank you, Cool Mom! Obviously the other comment was for Kate, but somehow it ended up in the wrong box!
DeleteI had fun putting the post together, and I am glad you both enjoyed it! The gift card is on it's way to you, Dale. Please keep in mind there are some excellent Heartwarming books available through Amazon! ;-)
DeleteMega congrats, Dale! This was a lot of fun!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Dale
Amazing pictures! Thanks for letting us "cyber travel" with you!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dana. "Cyber travel" would have been great for the title . . . if I would have thought of it!
DeleteI'm a little behind here, but WOW! Gorgeous pictures (you're really making me want to travel now, Kate!)
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Heiter
I am glad you liked the pictures, Elizabeth.
DeleteYou could write a book in your Profiler series that has Evelyn cooperating with international policing authorities to track the killer through exotic locations. Then you would have to travel for research and I could come along as your assistant!
Just a thought . . . :-)