Play Travel Photo Roulette #48 – Theme is “What the?!”


Our winning photo!

We’re excited to say we’re hosting round #48 of Travel Photo Roulette! Thank you so much to Bridges and Balloons for choosing our photo of this duo enjoying the “Excellent Splendour of the Universe” in The Galapagos Islands.

Travel Photo Roulette was started by Jeremy at Living the Dream almost two years ago as a way for travel bloggers to showcase their best photography.

For each round a new theme is chosen, and independent travel bloggers are asked to submit their photos. Then a winner is chosen to host (and judge) the following round on their website.



This Week’s Theme is:
WHAT THE ?!
Click here to see the winners


Here’s some inspiration:

Human Bone Church, Czech Repubic
This macabre church in the Czech Republic is decorated with human bones. WHAT THE ?!
Dancing on horseback during Courir de Mardi Gras in Rural Louisiana
In rural Louisiana, at 5 AM, men get dressed up, liquored up & dance on horses for Mardi Gras. Then they chase chickens.
The World's Largest Ball of Paint
In Indiana, this man turned a baseball into The World’s Largest Ball of Paint
How Guinea Pig is served in Peru
Here’s how guinea pig is served in Peru. WHAT THE ?!

Everyone who travels has those WHAT THE ?! moments. It can be in nature, or the most unnatural of occurrences. Sometimes it’s as simple as a funny sign, a wacky name of a town, a weird food or an unfortunate piece of art. All nomads find themselves in cultural situations that can cause us to do a double-take, make us uncomfortable or feel completely out of our element. Moments like that are our favorites. Show us yours!

How Travel Photo Roulette works

The rules are simple. The hosting blogger is the chosen winner of the previous round. The new host chooses a theme for the next round and bloggers can submit a single entry based on how they interpret the theme. The time frame for submissions is one week. At the end of the week, the host blogger chooses the winner for that round and said winner repeats the process on their own blog. Readers can always try and sway the host via comments during the contest, but the host is free to give as little or as much weight to people’s opinions as they wish.

The rules for Travel Photo Roulette

1) One submission per blog (so sites that have 2+ authors only get one entry).
2) No photoshopping allowed unless specifically called for! Cropping and correction for red-eye or camera flaws are ok, however. Minor edits are totally fine for this round if you think it improves your image.
3) Abstract submissions welcomed as long as it fits within the interpretation of the chosen phrase. Remember, the hosting blogger chooses the winner, so if they cannot understand the submission, you might not win!
4) Keep phrases general so that all bloggers can participate. Specific items like “Eiffel Tower” should be avoided but rather made open-ended like “monuments.” For variety, it is okay to say focused things such as “monuments at night” in which most of us have pictures of.
6) Abstract thoughts are appreciated, but keep it within the realm that all readers will understand. No “Kafka-esque”, but “Overlooking Creation” is able to be interpreted by all.
7) No obscene pictures or phrases allowed. Suggestive phrases and photography can be accepted, but please keep it within reason.
8) After a sufficient period of time, phrases can be reused, however new photos must be submitted. Keep the ideas and photos fresh!
9) Pictures from your entire portfolio are fair to submit. You do not have to take the photo within the week of the contest period to submit it.
10) Most importantly, ALL PHOTOS MUST BE YOUR OWN.
11) And last but not the least, talk about Photo Roulette! When tweeting about it, don’t forget to use the #PhotoRoulette hashtag.

 

How to submit

Entering is easy. Just leave a comment below with a link to the image you’d like to submit and a caption or description of the image to help flesh it out. Once you’ve added your comment, we’ll add the image to the submissions. Don’t forget to check back during the week to see the other submissions and join the conversation by leaving comments for others. We’d love to hear what you think.

The contest runs for a week, starting September 8th and ending September 16 (Sunday to Sunday). The winner will be announced within a few days of the end of the contest and the selected blogger will then host round #49.

Please do your best to keep your images to a medium size and be aware that anything larger than 700px wide will be reduced in size to fit our site layout.

The Entries!

#27 From Shane at The Working Traveller: I’d long forgotten the real name of this temple in Malaysia, instead, somewhat disrespectfully, remembering it as the Nazi Buddha Turtle Temple. This photo partly suggests why:
Nazi Buddha Turtle Temple

#26 From Gerard at GQ trippin: Blurry shot taken from Thailand’s Songkran celebration. Q shooting at the SWAT team? What the?!
Swat Spray by Gerard of GQ Trippin

#25 From Melissa at Melissa To and Fro: While perusing a local market in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I stumbled upon this bizarre egg variation. Yuck!!
Horse Pee Eggs fro Melissa of Melissa To and Fro

#24 From Adrian B. at Travel to Sun: The Merry Cemetery from Săpânţa (Maramureş County, Romania) is a unique place where colored funeral crosses carry cheerful lyrics and paintings inspired by memorable moments in the life of the deceased:
The Merry Cemetery by Adrian B. of Travel to Sun

#23 From Zara at Backpack ME: For all the traveling racists out there, beware that IN Thailand, the pick-pockets are NON THAI! That’s right.. the locals are aaaalways goodie, goodie!
Racist Thai Sign by Zara of Backpack ME

#22 From Clare at Earth Travel Unlimited: South Africa is a fabulous country and home to much quirkiness. Frequently, you’ll find entrepreneurs advertising their services (typically builders, painters, pest removal etc) via home-made signs fixed to lamp-posts, road signs etc. We’ve seen many hilarious signs, but this one certainly had us going “What the…???”.
Husband For Night by Clare of Earth Travel Unlimited

#21 From Suzanne at Boomeresque: These were the “helpful” instructions we were given to enter the “onsen” (communal bath) at our hotel in Takamatsu, Japan.
Helpful Instruction by Suzanne at Boomeresque

#20 From Noah at Somewhere or Bust: I said “WHAT THE?!” when this kid passed by me on a beach in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. I chased after him for this photo.
I Could be your Daughter by Noah of Somewhere or Bust

#19 From Kat at Travel With Kat: At a Jola Festval in The Gambia, men were striking themselves with knives, broken bottles and razor blades but not actually cutting themselves at all!
Jola Knives by Kat at Travel With Kat

#18 From Hannah at Love. Play. Work: ‘WHAT THE…’ was certainly the words coming out of my mouth, but also everyone in the boat watching me too! Big thanks to our Oregon home exchange neighbours for taking us out on the lake.
Han Flying by Hannah at Love. Play. Work

#17 From Cam at Traveling Canucks: This street performer in Bernkastel-Kues, Germany had me saying “What the…?!”
Floating Street Performer by Cam of Traveling Canucks

#16 From Jade at Our Oyster: While hitchhiking the North Island of New Zealand we got dropped off in a small town where the main roads fork. We were careful not to get too close to any of the resident rabies goats though!
Rabies Goat by Jade of Our Oyster

#15 From Raymond at Man On The Lam: This is from the Gopher Hole Museum in Torrington, Alberta, CANADA. Basically, it’s a museum filled with stuffed dead gophers. This one was my fave…
Old Tyme Music Gophers by Ramond of Man On The Lam

#14 From Micki & Charles at The Barefoot Nomad: Our “What the ?” moment is from a highway on New Zealand’s South Island. The highway’s road/rail wooden bridge was barely wide enough for our tiny car. I can’t imagine how an entire train would fit. You can just see the yellow sign at the end indicating a sharp curve after the bridge, making it impossible to see oncoming cars or trains The worst part? We thought we could hear a train in the distance.
Crazy Train Highway in New Zealand by Micki & Charles at The Barefood Nomad

#12 From Torre at Fearful Adventurer: On Koh Chang Thailand, at dusk every night, it is possible to spot homo sapiens in action. These mammals sprawl shoreside and pose for the camera in a peculiar mating ritual that scientists call “My Latest Facebook Photo.” If you get really lucky, you’ll get to spot an elusive threesome in which the male performs a thonged mating dance in front of two submissive females. (What the?!)
Thailand Thong Guy by Torre at Fearful Adventurer

#11 From Tash at jouljet: Whilst I was in Dominica, I was constantly surprised at the types of homemade rums they would make, but this selection takes the cake! Snake, grasshopper, centipede, snake fat??? What the??!!!???
Crazy Homemade Rums by Tash of jouljet

#10 From Ted at Traveling Ted: On the famous Nha Trang booze cruise tour in Vietnam, our hosts decided we needed more entertainment: as if snorkeling, volleyball, and a floating bar was not enough. They broke into song and this particular number was a cover of the Beatles Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da. The Beatles never toured for the White Album, but if they did I am sure John, Paul, George, and Ringo would have been adorned in a similar fashion.
Nha Trang Cruise Tour by Ted of Traveling Ted

#9 From Natasha at World Wandering Kiwi: I enjoyed enthusiastic local hospitality many times when travelling in Central Asia but I’m sure this was the only day in my life when I had vodka with lunch, tea and supper. On this memorable evening in Tajikistan I struggled to keep up with the endless (unintelligible to me) toasts and when called upon to reciprocate, could only come up with inanities such as “Nova Zelandiya!” and “Nyet Taliban!” Perhaps ‘What the..!’ would have been more appropriate!
Toasting in Tajikistan by Natasha of World Wandering Kiwi

#8 From Irina at Trips That Work: People in Toronto love dogs. Some of them love their dogs a little too much… what the???
Pink Poodle by Irina Trips That Work

#7 From Lilliane at wanderlass: When i first arrived in S.A., i found the cholitas quite interesting. Eventually got used to them BUT nothing, NOTHING could prepare anyone for the Cholita Wrestling in Cuzco! waadaa?? hahaha
Cholita Wrestling in Cuzco by Lilliane at wanderlass

#6 From Melissa at The MellyBoo Project: Taken during my stint volunteering at a lion conservation project in Zimbabwe.  We were laying out the partially frozen offals (innards) out in the sun to defrost so that the lions in the breeding program could have their meal.  I happened to find some x-rated cow/bull parts and felt this was necessary behaviour to be documented on camera!
Cow Offal for Lions by Melissa at The MellyBoo Project

#5 From David at The Roaming Boomers: After a stunningly beautiful hike in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains, we noticed that one of our photographs contained a very mysterious watcher.
Perhaps it’s an ancient artifact guarding the Lost Dutchman’s mine!
Look closely on the hoodoo just left of center.  See the face?
WHAT THE….!

Mysterious Watcher in Superstition Mountains by David of The Roaming Boomers


#4 From Dani at GlobetrotterGirls: Earlier this year we witnessed the incredible Thaipusam festival in Penang, Malaysia, in which the devotees carry out sacrificial acts, mainly mortification of flesh in various degrees… Seeing some of the devotees, all we could think was WHAT THE ?!
Penang Man with Spear through his Mouth by Dani of the GlobetrotterGirls

#3 From Jeremy at Living the Dream:
We stopped at a small island in Halong Bay to play on the beach.  Other travelers were there, and I couldn’t help but notice that this guy was in the most opposite extreme of beach clothes I’ve ever seen. Love it!
Extreme Beach Clothes by Jeremy at Living The Dream

#2 From Greg Goodman at Adventures of a GoodMan: I love India. It’s a magical country where every minute I’m out of my guesthouse, there’s something new and different to see.
Usually it makes sense, but I can’t come up with a single reason for this man to be watering a dirt patch on the side of the road in the Punjab countryside.
Is he trying to grow mud?
Simulating the rainy season?
Making a dirty slip and slide?
What the?!
Man Watering a Dirt Patch by Greg Goodman of Adventures of a Goodman

#1 From Denise at The Art of Slow Travel: This is easy!!! My biggest what the??? moment while travelling was when I came across the ‘Grand Prix Priest’ in London
Grand Prix Priest by Diane of The Art of Slow Travel

YOUR TURN: If you’re not submitting a photo, please, PLEASE, PLEASE help us pick a winner by leaving comments about your favorite shots! – David & Veronica


Did you enjoy what you just read? Then you'll LOVE our book!
Going Gypsy: One Couple's Adventure from Empty Nest to No Nest at All Going Gypsy One Couple's Adventure from Empty Nest to No Nest at All 

- See how it all began!
ORDER NOW - Wherever Books Are Sold!
Amazon - Barnes & Noble - IndieBound - Books-a-Million
Also available as an audiobook from Audible.com

65 thoughts on “Play Travel Photo Roulette #48 – Theme is “What the?!””

  1. Superb theme and some funny entries. Especially, the one from Denise at The Art of Slow Travel particularly made me smile.

  2. South Africa is a fabulous country and home to much quirkiness. Frequently, you’ll find entrepreneurs advertising their services (typically builders, painters, pest removal etc) via home-made signs fixed to lamp-posts, road signs etc. We’ve seen many hilarious signs, but this one certainly had us going “What the…???”.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/earthtravelunlimited/7982173957/

    (Then again, the person who phoned the number might certainly have gotten some….. that night!)

  3. Excellent theme and some very funny entries. The one from Denise at The Art of Slow Travel particularly made me smile. Here’s a link to my entry from a Jola Festval in The Gambia Men were striking themselves with knives, broken bottles and razor blades but not actually cutting themselves at all!

    1. Aside from the obvious disturbing dressing up of dead gophers, WHAT THE ?! is that one rodent doing slapping the electric bass? Isn’t this supposed to be an Old Tyme Jamboree? I can see why you were disturbed! -David

  4. Our “What the ?” moment is from a highway on New Zealand’s South Island.

    The highway’s road/rail wooden bridge was barely wide enough for our tiny car. I can’t imagine how an entire train would fit.

    You can just see the yellow sign at the end indicating a sharp curve after the bridge, making it impossible to see oncoming cars or trains.

    The worst part? We thought we could hear a train in the distance.

    http://www.thebarefootnomad.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Highway-on-the-South-Island-in-New-Zealand-700.jpg

    1. There would be no. freaking. way. I’d get on that bridge. Not a chance. WHAT THE ?! were they thinking building that thing? On the other hand, David would love it. He’d have a big crazy grin going the whole way! -Veronica

  5. This is the biggest turn off from China, and really the typical-rich-Chinese-from-Beijing. I’m sorry to say but I’ve met a lot of rude and rich Chinese.

    It was taken at Emeishan, Sichuan Province, China. A famous Buddhist mountain, a lot of people here to pray at the Golden Summit. It is 3099m, and seriously the mountain starts lower than 1000m. We walked to the top for two days, and we saw this guy on the way down. There are a group of people who are selling the service. This guy obviously hire these guys and ‘hike’ the mountain, wearing suit and texting. Amazing, huh?

  6. On Koh Chang Thailand, at dusk every night, it is possible to spot homo sapiens in action. These mammals sprawl shoreside and pose for the camera in a peculiar mating ritual that scientists call “My Latest Facebook Photo.” If you get really lucky, you’ll get to spot an elusive threesome in which the male performs a thonged mating dance in front of two submissive females. (What the?!) http://www.fearfuladventurer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/photoshoot_thong.jpg

    1. Hahaha! GREAT caption! Channeling a NatGeo travel show – brilliant. And I can’t even start to comment on all that WHAT THE ?! going on in your photo – I’d never be able to stop! 😉

  7. I enjoyed enthusiastic local hospitality many times when travelling in Central Asia but I’m sure this was the only day in my life when I had vodka with lunch, tea and supper. On this memorable evening in Tajikistan I struggled to keep up with the endless (unintelligible to me) toasts and when called upon to reciprocate, could only come up with inanities such as “Nova Zelandiya!” and “Nyet Taliban!” Perhaps ‘What the..!’ would have been more appropriate!

    http://www.worldwanderingkiwi.com/2011/11/travel-in-tajikistan/ (photo 6 in this post)

  8. I would like to submit this photo of myself: https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/625482_3707515206177_1593595577_n.jpg

    it was taken during my stint volunteering at a lion conservation project in Zimbabwe. We were laying out the partially frozen offals (innards) out in the sun to defrost so that the lions in the breeding program could have their meal. I happened to find some x-rated cow/bull parts and felt this was necessary behaviour to be documented on camera!

      1. The best part is that I have another picture of him bending over and lightly touching the water. Unfortunately all you see is rump and no outfit. I am probably a bad person for taking the photo, but it did make me go ‘What the?!’ for just one moment.

  9. I love India. It’s a magical country where every minute I’m out of my guesthouse, there’s something new and different to see.

    Usually it makes sense, but I can’t come up with a single reason for this man to be watering a dirt patch on the side of the road in the Punjab countryside.

    Is he trying to grow mud?
    Simulating the rainy season?
    Making a dirty slip and slide?

    What the?!

    http://www.adventuresofagoodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Man-Hosing-down-a-dirt-patch-Countryside-Between-Amritsar-and-Dharamasala-Punjab-and-Himachel-Pradesh-2012-04-19-14-02-54-600×379.jpg

    1. Don’t know what we love the most about this shot – the little girl looking back at him while the adults pretend he’s not there – or his sweet little funny legs coming out of that amazing uniform! WHAT THE ?!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.