While traveling in Borneo I visited Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. Even though I saw an orangutan in the wild, I still wanted a chance to observe these amazing “men of the forest” from a closer distance. You could get a sense from the mesmerized onlookers (the homo sapiens), that all were thinking the same thing—just [...]

Kampong Ayer is made up of 28 water villages on both sides of the Sungai Brunei in Brunei. It is home to 20,000 residents. The houses are built on wooden, and more recently concrete, stilts. A boardwalk high above the water surface connects many of the houses. To see more of Kampong Ayer, hire a [...]

My first afternoon in Bangkok I wandered around the back streets of Chinatown. Here Bangkok looks much as it did 100 years ago. Markets abound in the side streets and alleyways in between and around the two main parallel boulevards of Yaowarat and Charoen Krung. In Chinatown you’ll find everything from herbalists and gold dealers [...]

Here is some street art from the Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan neighborhoods of Washington, DC. The District of Columbia is one of the most underrated cities in the United States. Besides several great museums, most of which are free (the ones of the Smithsonian, anyway), there are the various neighborhoods, each with its own [...]

  One of the highlights of Nicaragua, Ometepe Island, or La Isla de Ometepe, should not be missed on a trip through Nicaragua. Get to the island on a ferry boat ride from Rivas, crossing the choppy waters of Lake Cocibolca. The twin Volcano peaks Concepcion and Maderas rise out of the lake and dominate [...]

This week’s Photo of the Week comes from Juno Kim of RunawayJuno.com Lake Tekapo is a small town in the middle of the South Island of New Zealand. It is usually a transit place to or from Dunedin because there is nothing exciting to see or do there. However Lake Tekapo became my favorite place in [...]

These photos were taken at the khachkar field in Noratus, Armenia. It is the largest such concentration of these carved memorial stones, known as khachkars, anywhere in the country. A few years back I was lucky enough to visit an Armenian-Russian friend of mine’s extended family living in Armenia. The Armenians are some of the [...]

Big skies, wide open spaces, imposing mountains; this is Colorado. These photos were taken in or around Great Sand Dunes National Park—the most underrated National Park in the United States. I’ll never forget the image of the glowing orange sun in my rear view mirror as I drove down from Poncha Pass into the valley [...]

This is the throne hall of Changdeok Palace. The immense room, known as Injeong-jeon or Hall of the Benevolent Government, was used for holding formal functions of the state. It stands out among the other elegant architecture of Changdeok Palace. The palace, located in a hilly section north of dowtown Seoul, was a favorite residence of Korean royalty. [...]

Georgian culture is completely inseparable from their orthodox Christianity.  The land and people have been Christian since the 4th century.  People walking past a Georgian church stop, face the church, and cross themselves before continuing on their way.  The interior of the churches are dim with painted icons of saints and the holy family on the [...]

This series of photos come from the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan, a famous producer of fine silk. I had the opportunity to travel to the city of Margilan to visit a silk factory when I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan. At the Yodgorlik silk factory, you can witness the different stages of [...]

Brought to popular culture in the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade film, Petra, Jordan is one of the highlights of any trip to the Middle East. The entrance of Petra follows the bottom of a narrow rock gorge called The Siq, eventually leading to the dramatic first view of The Treasury. Petra is thought [...]

We were eating breakfast in the little beach village of Castara on the island of Tobago and this little girl came up to our table to say hi. She was curious and stayed around for while just watching us eat. After breakfast we said goodbye and continued enjoying the rest of our week on the [...]

By Jett Thomason “So what’s the food like in Canada?” I ask. Chris, environmental engineer and admitted Canadian, is telling me about his country at a Washington, DC winter happy hour. “Well, basically it’s pretty much the same as the States.” I knew it. “But there, we’ve got a great bar food that originated in [...]

Moscow is not the most popular destination for the Christmas and New Year holidays for foreigners. However, during this time you can see a different Moscow; everything is illuminated and Christmas trees are in every corner of the city. Red Square is a place of celebration where you can find a traditional ice skating rink and fireworks. [...]

This week’s Photo of the Week comes from Matt Kyhnn of BackpackingMatt.com Raglan is an epic little surf town found about two hours south of Auckland – the characterless city of New Zealand’s North Island. It seems to exist if nothing else for the fantastic surf beaches which are found just outside of town. Immediately after [...]

I did not expect to see so much street art in Portugal. Especially in Porto, I was impressed with the sheer volume of exciting, creative, and intellectual graffiti. Granted, much of it is stenciling, either Bansky or Bansky inspired, but still, it’s fun to look at and sometimes thought provoking. For four days, I walked [...]

This futuristic set of buildings is Valencia, Spain’s stunning Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, or City of Arts and Sciences. Designed by local architects Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela, the project symbolizes the city government’s vision to establish itself as a principal tourist destination. On the left is the Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts, the [...]