Kumtor Gold Mine: Kyrgyzstan’s Fine Line Between Ecology and Economy Standing squarely at the heart of countless clashes, the Kumtor Gold Mine is equally one of Kyrgyzstan’s most important economic contributors and one of its most controversial environmental and investment considerations. The Kumtor Gold Mine is located high in the mountains […]
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 […]
To start the long trek up towards Everest Base Camp, I decided with a friend I had met in Mongolia to fly out to Tumlingtar and walk the week-long trail into Sagarmatha National Park from there. Though expecting the flight to be more of a means of conveyance than a […]
Though most of my time in Kentucky was spent with the family of my newly-married fraternity brother Anthony, we did manage to sneak away on my last morning to the complimentary Buffalo Trace Distillery tour in Frankfort. In this oldest operating commercial distillery in the US, the tour starts […]
Landing in Tokyo, part of me expected some mash-up of BladeRunner and Fast and the Furious with tricked-out Hondas flashing though hyper-neon streets in some absurd chase with police. Part of Tokyo does indeed play to that image, with crowded shopping streets in Harajuku and electronics markets in Akihabara delivering […]
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.