Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.
~ RUMI
Are You an India Person: Yes or No?
When it comes to travelers to India, there are only two possible answers: love it, or hate it. I’ve never heard an ambivalent answer. Nothing in between. India is such an extreme country in pleasant and unpleasant, to the degree that what impacts you more reveals your predominant state of mind. Depending on the […]
Poop Coffee Kopi Luwak in Bali, Indonesia
The poop coffee will soon be gone. It’s one of the fastest extinctions of an animal specie in the wilderness. The mongoose that eats and poops this coffee is held in captivity and force-fed coffee, for mass production and distribution to naive tourists. I was naive too, and bought into the lie that the coffee […]
Sak Yant, the Sacred Tattoo of Thailand
In Thailand, all tattoos are sacred. You can get any tattoo you want, and go to a monk to have it blessed. The monks themselves have many tattoos painted on their bodies. But nothing is more blessed than the Sak Yant. If I ever get a tattoo, I would get one of these. I […]
7 Days in Himalayas – Trekking Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
I was initially planning to do the Everest Base Camp. However, June is monsoon times in Nepal, and low season in the mountains. I gave up, but then found myself in circumstances that made me change my mind. So I did go to the Annapurna’s. Here’s a day-to-day log of my trip. Day 1 […]
Inside the Crater of an Active Volcano, Ijen Indonesia
Ijen Volcano in Indonesia is one of the best and most complex treks in the world, from many perspective: it is a beauty of nature, with one of the greenest and acidic lakes in the world, a good hike, about 3km up, then 1km down the crater; and back, cultural, local people work exploiting a […]
Spirits and Spirituality in Thailand and Bali
The local creeds are very strong and intertwined with day-by-day life. I was mostly amazed by the little temple houses in Thailand, and by the daily offerings to spirits in Bali. The two practices are very visible every day. They are also absolutely enchanting. Here are a few posts about spirits and spirituality in these […]