Travel
A patient of Dr. Rick Hodes'.
The following is a post I began in Ethiopia, from when I was there in August, which I never got around to posting. The subject is Rick Hodes, an American doctor who has been living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where, for over thirty years, he has treated extremely pathological patients whom have nowhere else to turn.
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Ethiopia and India were the only two countries that I had planned to visit before leaving for my travels. There were several forces that drew me to Ethiopia. Having spent a lot of time in Israel, I had interfaced with Ethiopian Jews and had become interested in their culture. I had also been quite obsessed with Ethiopian cuisine for the greater balance of my life...
Read MoreEl Deir or "The Monastery", Petra's largest monument, dates back to the 1st century BC.
This was my second time visiting the ancient city of Petra, a decision that, en route to Jordan, Bianca, my Australian travel companion, described as, "just greedy;" but I'm sure that Bianca came to understand why I jumped at the opportunity for a repeat visit to this wonder of world, as soon as she sunk her first footprint into the dusty floor of the narrow Siq—the mile-long gorge, which serves as the tourist entrance to the 102 sq. mi Petra Archeological Zone, renowned for its red sandstone landscape studded with ancient Nabatean tombs and other ancient monuments...
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San Fransisco, CA.
Never could I have imagined the shape my peregrinations would take when in November, 2015, I left my home in Los Angeles to travel the world, aiming to set foot in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. Although I return home without setting foot in South America, and only in Ethiopia as for Africa, in retrospect, I feel pretty good about having spent far more time in Asia than I anticipated. Namely, India, which I called my home away from home for just shy of a year...
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The Bagan Archaeological Zone consists of thousands of temple ruins.
Bagan was founded in the second century A.D on the banks of the Irrawaddy River...Like so many other photographers before me, I came to photograph the epic sunsets and sunrises over the scattered ruins Bagan (unfortunately, the hot-air balloons were only operate during the peak season in mid October through mid-March.) But I had to work through some rigamarole before I would get the opportunity…
Read MoreA traditional thatch house in the countryside between Kalaw and Inle Lake.
Kalaw is a quiet mountain town in Central Myanmar. Originally founded by the British as a hill station to escape the heat of the surrounding plains, Kalaw is still home to notable communities of Sikhs, Nepalis, and Indians, having ensconced themselves in the area since their ancestors came to build roads and railroads for the Brits...
Read MoreThe diaphanous Wat Rong Khun (left) and sinsiter Baan Dum house (right) are both Thai modern architectural masterpieces.
Chiang Rai, Thailand northernmost province, is home to two remarkable expressions of Thai contemporary art, each wild and bewildering in its own way...
Read MoreDuring my visit to the 40-story Buddha at Wat Huai Pla Kung, a break in the clouds occasioned these heavenly rays.
Short post, just to share images of this epic 40-story Buddha I happened across in the area sounding Chiang Rai, in Northern Thailand. The Buddha, located at Wat Huai Pla Kung, just north of Chiang Rai City, was only completed in 2017. You can even take an elevator up into a room behind the Buddha’s face, and peer out through the eyes of the Buddha. Windows to the back of the room provides a view of the landscape of rolling hills and small villages...
Read MoreThe Songrkan tradition of spraying water originated in the act of pouring water on someone as a sign of respect thought to wash away sins and bad luck. Over the years, that practice has transmogrified into the four-day country-wide water gun fight to mark the Lunar New Year
I had a blast celebrating Songkran, the Thai New Year, in Chiang Mai, a historic town and traveller-nexus in Northern Thailand. The water-festival, marking the Lunar New Year, has origins in the act of pouring water on someone as a sign of respect. Officially, Songkran, which lasts 3 days, doesn’t start until April 13th; however, celebrations were well underway the day before, with (mostly) young people taking to the streets in colorful clothing to spray one another with water guns. The country-wide water fight persevered for the next 3 days as Thais celebrated the transition from Pisces to Aries...
Read MoreYoung Thais hanging out on the banks of the Nan River, eating traditional foods and drinking watered-down whiskey.
Phrae and Nan are remote, rural provinces in Northeastern Thailand. There are significant populations of ethnic minorities in the area, notably the Thai Lü, ancestors of immigrants from Xishuangbanna, in southwestern China. Both regions are a little off the beaten track and I didn’t see a single other tourist the entire time I travelled in this part of the country—probably also due to the fact that it was off-season...
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A contemplative monkey at the Prang Sam Yot Temple in Lopburi, Thailand. Lopburi is home to hundreds of rhesus and macaque monkeys.
Lopburi is one of Thailand’s oldest cities, developed during the Dvaravati period, circa 500-900 A.D. However, for most visitors to Lopburi, what remains today of its ancient architecture, is only a complement to the experience of the hundreds of rhesus and macaques permeating Lopburi’s streets and historic sites, which more than anything predicates Lopburi’s inclusion in the guidebooks...
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A Buddha statue entwined in a Bodhi tree's roots at Wat Maha That in Ayuthaya.
Ayuthaya was my first real destination in Thailand after bussing from Cambodia to Bangkok...
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Craftsman taking a break from making wicker chairs in a village near Muang Ngoy.
My first stop in Laos was Luang Prabang, which I arrived at by way of a grueling, jam-packed 28-hour bus ride from Hanoi. A a sine qua non for first-time visitors to Laos, this UNESCO designated town situated alongside the Mekong River is the darling of Lao’s tourism industry. One of the most refined places in Indochina, the people of Luang Prabang have no reservation embracing the architecture and cuisine of its French colonizers. Thrown into the mix are more than 33 Buddhist temples and the grand Royal Palace, which served as the seat of the monarchy in Laos until the communist revolution in 1975. Every morning at dawn, monks shuffle single-file through the streets...
Read MoreLao Cai Province, Vietnam.
Like many Americans, my thoughts and knowledge about Vietnam have been greatly colored by the Vietnam War (or the American War as it is called in Vietnam). Never before had I visited a country in which I had such strong impressions of a particular time in its history, but such a dearth of knowledge about the country or its history on a whole. I knew that Vietnamese perspectives of the War must differ from those held by Americans...
Read MoreChristmas day in Kolkata, India.
I spent my last day in India, Christmas, in Kolkata, the bustling capital of West Bengal. The metropolis was India's capital under the British Raj from 1773–1911, and is the country’s oldest operating port. After arriving by night train from Varanasi, I left my bag at the station and headed into the historic area surrounding Fort William, an 18th-century British fortress and Indian army base. Indians love festivals. So it was no surprise that non-christian Indians came out in full force for to celebrate Christmas, crowding into the streets and parks to shop, snack, and hangout...
Read MoreVaranasi is not for the faint-hearted. The infamous Varanasian touts scour the ghats with preternatural persistence in attempting to sell their wares or services. A maze of thread-thin alleyways studded with hundreds of Hindu temples pad the area between the ghats and the rest of Varanasi, a bustling, noisy, typically Indian city with cows vying with the tuk-tuks, rickshaws, and automobiles for space on the dusty streets. When they find their ways to the ghats, visitors must be prepared to witness the display of burning bodies on public pyres. Those who try escape by hiring a boat to take them down the Ganges, will be confronted by carcasses and corpses floating among the debris. Those who make it as far as the opposite bank will encounter members of the notorious clan of Aghori Sandhus who drag corpses from the river to engage in ritual cannibalism and other ghastly rituals. Indeed, Varanasi is full-on—India level 10. As Lonely Planet succinctly states: “Varanasi takes no prisoners"...
Read MoreThe light of dusk transformed this himal ("mountain") into a light volcano. Photographed near the Larke Pass in Nepal's Manaslu reserve.
Manaslu is the eight highest mountain into world at 8,163 meters above sea level. It’s impressive doubled-edged summit sets Manaslu apart from the other mountains — white capped giants in their own right — constituting the Manaslu massif. Surrounding Manaslu is the eponymous Conservation in addition to the adjacent Tsum Valley (pronounced “tsoom”). I trekked for twenty-two days through the region...
Read MoreI got to celebrate Diwali with the Herr family in Bir -- a small town in the foothills of the Indian Himalaya. From left to right: Miri Herr, (myself), Lovely Herr, and a family friend of the Herr's. Rangoli are aesthetic patters created on the floor for the purpose of attracting good fortune.
The Diwali festival is a one of India’s most widely known and celebrated events. The festival is an auspicious observance, celebrating new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil represented as light over darkness...
Read MoreAdobe bricks drying in the sun. I spent a week learning about earthen building and sustainability at the Dharmalaya Institute in northern Indian.
The Dharmalaya Institute was founded in 2008 by an international team. According to its website, Dharmalaya is “devoted to education and empowerment for compassionate living, with a practical focus on sustainable village development, contemplative service-learning, and immersive ecotourism.” I attended a week-long Earthen Architecture and Sustainability Workshop held at Dharmalaya’s eco-campus located in the bucolic Himalayan foothills near the town of Bir...
Read MoreA monk descending the stairs of an apartment complex in Gangchen Kyishong, the capital of the Tibetan government in exile and spiritual center of Tibetan Buddhism.
Dharamshala is most-well known for being the home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile. (Actually, his holiness resides in Gangchen Kyishong, a suburb just up the hill from Dharamshala.) Located in the foothills in the Himalayas among thick coniferous forest, Dharamshala has become a popular location for tourists to trek, participate in yoga and meditation workshops, volunteer, and learn about the Tibetan people in exile...
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