My plan was to enter Syria via a land crossing from Jordan by getting a visa-on-arrival at the border. A pound of pistachios. Check. Two cokes. Check. My fingers strolled through my worn Lonely Planet Middle East guide. I was in the midst of a multi-week trip covering a majority of the region. It was 2009, [...]
Tiger Balm is a popular ointment with a distinct menthol smell and memorable packaging. When I read the description of Haw Par Villa in Singapore my eyes immediately glazed over. The park is a series of dated statues and dioramas depicting scenes from Chinese mythology, legends and Confucianism. I saw the photos and the words cheesy [...]
The Simien Mountains, a UNESCO site, are found in northern Ethiopia. The tallest peak is Ras Dashen at 4543 meters in The Simien Mountains are found on a massive plateau (412 sq km) ranging from 1600m-4543m. Peaks dangerously dive into deep gullies. The most common launching point is Gondar, about a 3 hour drive away. Besides the [...]
My pink taxi glided through the trafficless city of Bangkok. It was 530 am, the nexus of the netherworld and the day dwellers. The bargirls huddled with their customers on the street slurping noodles and gulping their last beer before turning in after a long night. Intermixed were the street cleaners and the food hawkers [...]
Big Tiger. Admit it. You slow down when you see a car accident. Crane your neck. Your morbid curiosity. I just spent the day at a prison. Bang Kwang. AKA Big Tiger. The prison eats men alive. The notorious and brutal prison in Bangkok. I have taken the tour at Alcatraz. I was enthralled with the [...]
I grabbed my Dad and informed him that even in the Arctic Circle there were Armenians. Svalbard, an isolated Norwegian island, lies in the Arctic Ocean between 74 and 81 degrees north latitude. During the summer the sun does not set for 99 days, and darkness reigns for 84 days in the winter. The 3,000 [...]
Spend 2 days in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (the world's worst nuclear disaster) with over 100 photos! Sign up to get your free copy of the book.
