Indonesia with Singapore
July or August, 2021 (dates to be announced soon)
One of the great costumed festivals in the world takes place every year in Jember, Indonesia on the island of Java. The colors, pageantry, and wild designs set to disco music sets a scene unparalleled anywhere. The exact dates for the 2021 festival won't be announced until summer, 2020. Jim's wife, Dia, obtains VIP passes for our entire group so we can go behind the scenes and photograph the participants getting ready for the big parade. This amazing photo tour also includes exotic Bali as well as the most beautiful big city in the world, Singapore, where we stay in the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. You'll be able to swim in the infinity pool 57 stories above the ground! And the views of the city are dazzling from the top of the hotel. This is truly a photo tour not to be missed.
Itinerary
Day 1
Fly from your home town to Singapore (airport code SIN) and take a taxi to the hotel on this day (don't forget that you'll cross the International Dateline coming from North America and you'll lose one day). We meet as a group in the hotel lobby for a meet and greet at 5 pm, and then we'll enjoy a welcome dinner. This will be followed by twilight photography from the top of the hotel which offers a world-class stunning view of the skyline. Overnight Swissotel.
Day 2
We explore Singapore's outstanding architecture today. First, we visit Little India and capture the dazzling colors of this city within a city. Then we photograph the area around the Marina Bay Sands Hotel that includes the ultra-modern Science Center, the famous Merlion, the avant-garde design of the mall, and the Garden by the Bay. Our twilight photography session this evening will be in the Garden by the Bay, an enchanting experience that will yield some of the best architecture photography you've ever taken. Overnight Swissotel.
Day 3
After breakfast, we take in more of the incredible architecture in Singapore. The Temple of the Buddha Tooth Relic, the interior of the Holiday Inn Atrium, and the Park Royal are some of the famous icons of this remarkable city, and all of these places will yield world-class images. Our twilight photography location this evening is the 70th floor of the Swissotel so we can shoot one of the great cityscapes of the world. Other night photography locations will be explored as well based on Jim's experience here. Overnight Marina Bay Sands Hotel (we change hotels today to get a completely different view of Singapore).
Days 4 - 8
We transfer to the airport this morning for our flight to Denpasar, Bali in Indonesia. For the next five days we photograph one of the most unique cultures on the planet. The day to day schedule has to be flexible because Jim arranges private shoots with dance companies and Balinese dancers, and this depends on the weather and their availability. During these six days, though, we will photograph amazing rice terraces, Balinese dancers posing in a jungle temple, the Monkey Forest where you will have up close and personal encounters with dozens of long-tailed macaques, a Barong dance performance, and private shoot with dancers doing the Kecak Fire Dance, a spectacular bird park, a butterfly park, and a classic Hindu temple set in Lake Bratan. Every night, you will stay in a stunning villa with your own private pool.
Days 9 - 11
We fly from Denpasar to Jember on the island of Java this morning to witness and photograph one of the great costumed festivals in the world. The Jember Fashion Carnaval (this is the Indonesian spelling of 'carnival') has no limits in the creativity of the costumes. Thanks to Jim's wife, Dia, we will have VIP passes to go behind the scenes and photograph children and young adults as they dress and make up for the main event. This will produce stunning portraits. The passes also entitle us to have the best seats when the parade starts. The entire procession marches and dances straight toward our cameras.
Day 12
After breakfast, we pack our luggage and drive to Surabaya. We arrive in the late afternoon and we'll overnight in Indonesia's second largest city. You have the option of connecting to an international flight home from Surabaya if you wish. It would be better, though, to depart on August 11 so you can start the journey home refreshed from a good night's sleep.
Tour cost: $5995. Includes all lodging based on double occupancy, all breakfasts, all dinners, all ground transportation, all entrance fees, cost of the private shoot with Balinese dancers and others, and photo instruction.
Single supplement: $1250
Not included: International airfare to Singapore, international airfare from Singapore to Denpasar, Bali (about $150), the internal flight from Denpasar to Jember and return (about $325), alcoholic beverages, items of a personal nature, and travel cancellation insurance.