One of my personal highlights from Tibet was the Sera Monastery . In the mountains just outside of Lhasa and admittedly touristy, it was still a nice experience to be in a Tibetan Monastery at the heart of Tibet watching robed monks debate each other in Tibetan. Certain groups were […]
Travel Words
Namtso Lake’s Holy Waters
A couple hours’ drive outside of Lhasa, our trip to Namtso Lake was the only time Matt and I really got out of the city to any extent. A couple of pictures, here, of memorable people from Namtso: And of course, while at the holiest lake in Tibetan Buddhism, you’ve […]
Realities of Traveling in Tibet
I’ll readily admit that I had this whole fantasy built around the idea of Tibet, the way so many liberal-leaning Westerners seem to. I had also been living in China for nearly a year before I went to Tibet, so I had a pretty realistic view of the Chinese position […]
Jungle Hiking in the Mentawi Islands
Before we left modernity, our guide Ed said that we should bring lots of little gifts to hand out while we were in the jungle. In Mentawi, this mostly means two things: smokes and candy. Fully stocked and excited to go, Batiste and Joanna (a French couple I met in […]
Palau Nias Beaches
Being an Indonesian island, Pulau Nias has lots of good beach and ocean options. I spent most of my days on Nias just driving a motorbike from beach to beach. I’d swim and read for a little bit, get antsy, and drive on to the next beach I found to […]
Civet Cat Coffee in Indonesia
Kopi Luwak Coffee Luwak starts as any other Arabica bean, planted to a field and nurtured to perfect ripeness. In the villages near Bukittingi, this path takes a sudden detour from the usual. At night, when its nocturnal eyes hunt best, the civet cat emerges from its lair to prey […]
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.