Wednesday, June 20th, 2012
Sipadan, Malaysia’s only oceanic island, is located in the Celebes Sea off the coast of Borneo. The island is formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct volcano. A national marine park, Sipadan is protected and no one …
Monday, June 18th, 2012
At 130 million years old, the Borneo rainforest is the oldest rainforest in the world. The rainforest is home to 15,000 species of flowering plants, 3,000 species of trees, 221 species of terrestrial mammals, and 420 species of birds. The …
Friday, June 15th, 2012
My next adventure was in Borneo! I headed to the eastern Malaysian province of Sabah, lured by the chance to see organutans in the wild and dive Sipadan, reportedly one of the best dive spots in the world.
The Jungle…
Monday, June 11th, 2012
I remember the first time I visited Singapore with my family. I was 15 and it seemed so exotic with the steamy heat and pungent smells of clay pot rice and char su being sold on the street corners. My …
Tuesday, June 5th, 2012
One of my favorite treats while on the road is to drop by a fancy hotel and pretend that I have a civilized life. I usually order a drink, chill out in the air conditioning, and shamelessly avail myself of …
Sunday, June 3rd, 2012
Ayubowen! (that’s the Sinhalese local greeting).
The clear cool weather of Sri Lanka’s Hill Country is a perfect escape from the tropical humidity of the country’s coastal regions. The central highlands are dotted with tea plantations and the main city …
Monday, May 28th, 2012
Let’s get this straight — Sri Lanka isn’t India. The country and its people have a very distinct personality and culture that come from being a predominately Buddhist state, with its own language, food, and musical traditions.
Known as Ceylon …
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012
Sigiriya, which means Lion’s Rock in Sinhalese (සීගිරිය), is an ancient rock fortress and palace in the Sri Lanka’s Ancient Cities.
Built in the 5th century by King Kashyapa, Sigiriya was later used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th …
Thursday, May 17th, 2012
No two ways about it, Nepal’s Annapurna mountain range is spectacular, hosting 3 out of the 10 highest mountains in the world: Dhaulagiri, Annapurna 1 and Manasul. The area’s main city is Pokhara, Nepal’s third largest, with 350,000 inhabitants.
For …
Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
Which country sends the most people to trek Annapurna? South Korea! Rounding out the Top 10 are: USA, Japan, UK, France, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, China, and India. I was lucky to meet people from many of these countries on my …