As one the most traditional of all the Federated States of Micronesia, Yap retains a lot of the customs that have started to fade out in other places. One of the most immediately visible of these are the faluw, or Men’s Houses, that showed up in every village I visited. Traditionally […]
Travel Words
Kayaking Palau
Kayaking Palau What to do when you find yourself on an island chain in the North Pacific and just really need to get away for a while? Grab a kayak, hitch a ride, and launch out for the Rock Islands of Palau: As the rats chewed through the fabric […]
Traditional Yap Stone Money
Long before the Yuan was pegged to the Dollar was pegged to the Market and it was all pegged to the whims of Warren Buffett, Yap had its own sort of pegs: stuck into the center of their giant stone money. The Yapese are so proud of this tradition (and […]
Gokyo Lakes – the Mythical 6th Lake
Gokyo Lakes – The Mythical 6th You’ll never make it there and back in one day! The glacier will eat you alive! Tibetan Snowcocks will claw out your eyes and use your body for warmth like a Tauntaun! The valley to the immediate west of the path to Everest Base […]
Epic Hindu Matrimony: Sita Bibaha Festival 2011
Janakpur exists mainly as a small provincial town of note only as the end of Nepal’s single railway line, but one day ever year it plays host to one of the wilder festivals I’ve ever been to. Sita Bibaha festival, a celebration of the marriage of Sita and Rama from […]
Kathmandu Travel Highlights
Kathmandu, Nepal is crowded and hectic and noisy and polluted. And yet somehow I find myself liking it even more every time I pass back through between adventures further afield. When I got back from 36 days of trekking near Everest, I gorged on delicious Indian food that I hadn’t had […]
Hey there! I'm Stephen, this is my travel blog, and that's me in the poofy hat.
I'm a photographer / writer traveling since 2008, and I've been doing my best to visit amazing places.
My current focus is Central Asia, because for a hiking and camping enthusiast it's as good as it gets.