How to Create an Easy and Effective Watermark

August 13, 2014 Jonathan Lee 1 Comment

As some folks may notice, during my website migration to jonathanlee.org, I not only labeled all my photos, but also added a small, unobtrusive watermark to the lower right hand corner of all my photos (highlighted in red).

While designing the watermark, I tried to look online, but didn’t find any useful guides for creating a watermark, so I decided to make my own. So, this will be a guide on how to FREE tools to design, create, and apply a watermark that is:

– Simple to design
– Discreet and unobtrusive
– Easy to apply and use

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Travel

Travelogue: Luang Prabang

August 11, 2014 Jonathan Lee Leave a comment

Luang Prabang is the old capital of Laos, from before the communists took over and moved the capital to Vientiane. As such, it has all the museums, most of the culture, and is probably the most popular tourist destination of Laos. And in hindsight, Luang Prabang is probably the only place really worth visiting in Laos.

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Travel

Travelogue: Slow Boat from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang

June 23, 2014 Jonathan Lee 1 Comment

After crossing from Thailand into Laos (from Chiang Rai to border town Chiang Khong, then crossing to border town Huay Xai), I took the famous (and infamous) slow boat from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang. Spanning two days and 300 kilometers, the slow boat is a meandering ride down the Mekong. Depending on the clientele, you can have two types of boats – the typical backpacker ‘party’ boat, and the more serene, relaxing boat. Thankfully, I ended up on the relaxed boat, and read my way down the river.

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Travel

Travelogue: Chiang Rai

June 20, 2014 Jonathan Lee Leave a comment

On my way from Chiang Mai to Laos, I stopped by Chiang Rai for a couple days. This city is billed as a being a less touristy version of Chiang Mai, like how Chiang Mai was 10 years ago (that’s a very common phrase, I’ve noticed, X place is like how Y was 10 years ago. I stopped here for just one night (staying at a completely deserted hostel), and visiting Chiang Rai’s two biggest attractions: the White Temple, and the Black House.

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Travelogue: Caving at Pang Mapha

June 18, 2014 Jonathan Lee Leave a comment

While visiting Pang Mapha and staying at the Cave Lodge, I decided to go on a caving / spelunking expedition! I’ve never done any caving before (well, once, but it was such a shallow cave, it shouldn’t even count).

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Travel

Travelogue: Pang Mapha and Mae Hong Son

June 16, 2014 Jonathan Lee Leave a comment

Although Pai itself was pretty boring, it was well worth the visit – because upon renting a motorbike, I was able to travel to Pang Mapha, home of the Cave lodge and accompanying caves, as well as Mae Hong Son, a trekking town to the Western edge of Thailand. It was an amazing couple days of motorbiking.

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Travel

Travelogue: Pai

June 13, 2014 Jonathan Lee Leave a comment

Everyone I’ve met raves about Pai, a little hippie town near Chiang Mai. Yes, there’s not much to do there, but the vibe! The people! The ambiance! Then I visited Pai for myself, and found the town to be rather boring. Yes, it’s a little hippie town, but no, it’s not particularly interesting. It’s also chock full of Chinese tourists, which is an automatic strike in my book. Talking with some locals, a couple of years ago a Thai movie named Pai in Love came out, it was a hit in China, and an endless stream have been coming here ever since.

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Travel

Travelogue: Trekking in Chiang Mai

June 11, 2014 Jonathan Lee 3 Comments

According to a friend who lives in Chiang Mai, there are four main reasons to visit this city – cooking, elephants, motorbiking around, and trekking. And trekking is the most famous, and one of the biggest reasons tourists have come to Chiang Mai over the years. And so, I booked a trekking tour! For only ~$50, I spent three days trekking around Chiang Mai, with 7 new friends.

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Travel

Travelogue: Chiang Mai

June 9, 2014 Jonathan Lee Leave a comment

On my first trip to Thailand, I spent almost all my time in Bangkok and the southern islands – which which were very nice, but reportedly very different from Chiang Mai, the jewel of the north of Thailand. So this visit, I had to take the train up toe Chiang Mai, where I enjoyed the fact that nights are much cooler than Bangkok, which was an absolute furnace.

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Travel

Travelogue: Bangkok again

April 11, 2014 Jonathan Lee Leave a comment

For some reason, I decided to visit Bangkok again – to get my visa for Myanmar, to see the protests, and to finish other unfinished business.

Coming to Bangkok during the protests, while a state of emergency has been declared, is surprisingly normal. While the US shows all sort of sensational alarming news, depicting Bangkok on the verge of civil war, it’s actually quite tranquil on the ground in Bangkok. For the most part. Arriving in Bangkok and taking a taxi to Khao San Road area, we passed through several checkpoints, with barricaded roads and military police with rifles checking everyone’s identification. Being in a taxi with three other backpackers (white, loud, and rather obnoxious), we were quickly waived passed – tourists are left unmolested – but it was still quite an experience. I didn’t expect to have to ever ride through military checkpoints in the streets of Bangkok. It reminded me of a dystopian movie that I recently watched – Children of Men.

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