Noel Lau, Author at GoMad Nomad

Photo of the Week: Tatacoa Desert

Posted by Noel Lau | November 20, 2017 | Colombia, Destinations, Photo of the Week, South America |

Tatacoa Desert The otherworldly Tatacoa Desert lies in the Huila Department of Colombia, about 320km south of Bogota. Even though it is called a desert, the Tatacoa is actually a tropical dry forest. And it covers 330 square kilometers around the town of Villavieja. Millions of years ago, the Tatacoa was covered with flowers and trees. But the area has gradually dried up. Today, it is the second driest area in Colombia, after La Guajira Peninsular, in the northeast part of the country. The landscape of the Tatacoa is formed of rocky canyons with sporadically placed cacti and green bushes....

Photo of the Week: Karajia

Posted by Noel Lau | November 13, 2017 | Peru, Photo of the Week, South America |

Chachapoyas, the capital of the Amazon Region of Peru, is one of the least visited places in a country that sees millions of tourists each year. However, this will soon change as travelers seeking to avoid the crowds in the south of the country are starting to venture into the lesser visited areas of Peru. Besides boasting the impressive Kuelap, there are other interesting sights around Chachapoyas. Karajia, located about 50km southeast of the cozy town of Chachapoyas, is a breathtaking sight. Perched on the side of a limestone cliff stand six sarcophagi. They were constructed of clay, sticks,...

Kingdom of the Warriors of the Clouds

Posted by Noel Lau | November 9, 2017 | Peru, South America, Travel Spotlight, Uncategorized |

Machu Picchu is undoubtedly the main draw for most visitors to Peru. But when you have to jostle with a forest of smartphones, selfie sticks, and the occasional DSLR cameras just to take a decent photo of the famed Inca ruins, your experience might not be what you have made it up to be. With a few thousands visitors a day, Machu Picchu is suffering from overtourism. But Peru is more than just Machu Picchu and the Incas. In the north eastern part of the country, flying under the radar of most tourists, is the storied and impressive Kuelap...

Photo of the Week: Quilotoa Lagoon

Posted by Noel Lau | November 6, 2017 | Photo of the Week, South America |

Quilotoa Lagoon is a volcanic crater lake that sits at 3500m above sea level. It is about 180km south of Quito, Ecuador. It offers a breathtaking view of the lagoon as well as the Andes mountain range surrounding it. The volcano erupted 800 years ago and the caldera has since become a crater lake with a depth of 250m, but if you ask the locals they would tell you it is bottomless. There is a lookout point at the rim of the crater, where the Quilotoa village is, visitors will have a gasp-inducing sight of the green lake contained by...

Photo of the Week: Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

Posted by Noel Lau | November 3, 2016 | Asia, Destinations, Photo of the Week, South Korea |

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple is a Buddhist temple north east of Busan, South Korea. This temple complex isn’t the biggest in the country but it is by far the most spectacularly situated: it sits on a rocky shore, sandwiched between a lush green hill and the immaculate blue sea. The temple was built in 1376, during the Goryeo Dynasty. It was destroyed by fire when the Japanese invaded South Korea and the main temple was carefully and beautifully reconstructed in 1970. During the Buddha’s birthday, which is celebrated in the fourth month of the lunar calendar, and other religious festivals,...

Author: Noel Lau

Photo of the Week: Tatacoa Desert

Photo of the Week: Karajia

Kingdom of the Warriors of the Clouds

Photo of the Week: Quilotoa Lagoon

Photo of the Week: Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

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