Join my journey to the corners of this world
Is it a guy armed with a barrette and a freshly-baked Baguette cycling down a tree-lined path?
Could it be an idealist Sorbonne student sitting at chick Parisian Café arguing about Marx & Sartre?
Maybe a decadent fashion designer looking at his “Heroine Chic” models as they parade down the catwalk?
Or perhaps it’s President Chirac pulling a middle one at George W?
Continue reading “Close your eyes and imagine France”
It was during the pleasant old days of the pre-bubble area. The time when growing tech companies bought business class tickets to send their young marketing professionals half-way across the world to give few presentations to would-be customers.
Getting “stuck” in Sydney during a late winter weekend with nothing else better to do, I decided to hop on a cab and land on Bondi Beach.
Continue reading “Have you got what it takes?”
I took this photo ten years ago in Burma’s Inle Lake. It was five in the afternoon, and the sun was just getting into that narrow-angle photographers like so much. I heard about Inle Lake from a friend who came back the year before full of stories about the people who spend their entire time on the lake – literally.
Continue reading “He was a dancer though he didn’t know it”
“Tall and tan and young and lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes walking…”
But not this one.
Far removed from the glitzy opulence of Ipanema with its sandy beaches and Thong-clad, long-legged beauties, this girl peeps her head out of a bar window in the semi-decayed neighborhood of Santa Teresa. Continue reading “Opening a window to a different corner of Rio”
Great things can come from small – little-known places.
Pretty much everyone knows the line above and can sing it by heart.
The song, after all, is a timeless masterpiece.
Unlike the song though, very few have heard of the band who sang it. Amen Corner from Cardiff, Wales – if you must know. They recorded the song in 1969 and then disbanded.
Personally, I always thought it was The Beach Boys – go figure.
Have you ever heard of Minoloc Island?
I guess you didn’t. Neither did I. Never the less, once you’ve been there you’ll never forget it.
That’s a promise.
Continue reading “The most beautiful small island in the world”
Nor is it something you can prepare for. As a matter of fact, nothing can prepare you for this kind of spectacle.
As we huddled secretly beneath a bridge, thousands of Sadhus – Hindu Holy Men – congregated in ecstasy on the banks of the River Ganges. All waited for the signal, restless to rush in and cleanse their souls in the holy water of this mighty Indian River.
Continue reading “Stunned and amazed on the banks of River Ganges”
The odds are plainly stacked against it.
After all, this is the 21st century. There’s a decent cellular reception, reasonably passable roads and it’s about an hour drive from the main village of Banawe. Surely there’s a better way of making a living. Continue reading “Filipino terrace people vs Mother Nature”
We just stopped our bikes in the middle of a dusty road somewhere in the center of the mighty Thar Desert. This is Rajasthan. A place known for its dazzling colors, incredible palace cities, and harsh climate. Riding from Jodhpur to nowhere, the commotion in the poor tiny village seemed a bit out of place. Besides, we felt tired after two and a half hours on the dangerous (not to say totally crazy) open roads of northeastern India.
Continue reading “We didn’t know what we were getting into”
Some say it’s the cost of their toys.
Others say it’s the responsibility.
I took this picture while taking a foot trek in eastern Burma *, a vast region called “Shan State.” The place is big, rural and mountainous and is populated by many non-Burmese ethnic groups. In many ways Shan State is the natural extension to the nearby Chinese province of Yunnan. Not surprisingly they both share a very long border.
Continue reading “What separates Men from Boys?”
Being alone, all by yourself can be eerie. You look around and see no one, just a gigantic roaring section of the Iguazu Falls. You may think to yourself “This doesn’t make any sense. I probably shouldn’t be here”. A deep voice inside you may whisper “How couldn’t you see the ‘no entry’ sign. Someone is surely on his way to get you”.
All I was thinking was “Holy ****! This is just too good to be true”.
Thank god I didn’t pinch myself.
Continue reading “All alone in the Iguazu Falls”
