Photo Essay – 10 Spiritual Places in Asia

Asia as a destination offers a kaleidoscope of religions and belief systems for the traveler to experience. There is certainly no shortage of spiritual places usually alive and buzzing with the faithful who arrive in droves to worship. Often some of our best experiences were simply wondering around these unique and inspiring places getting a glimpse into a belief system completely alien from our own sometimes joined by a knowledgeable local who would explain their faith.

The sheer amount of temples, mosques,pagoda’s and shrines throughout the continent is mind blowing but this post highlights the top 10 that we wont soon forget.

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Top Three Beach Destinations (for those ready to leave the all inclusives behind)

Since being back home and settling into somewhat of a normal existence we have been busy planning our next long haul. When we speak of our plans to travel from Eastern Europe and into the Middle East the majority roll their eyes and with a puzzled expression say ” That sounds great, but I have no interest in that area of the world”.Nicaragua,Latin,America,Central,Boat,sunset,corn,island,getaway,sand,beach,dereks place,casa iguana,

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Where There Be Dragons – Chasing Komodo’s

With some incredible diving under my belt already I decided the final day of validity in my park pass was going to be used for some Dragon chasing. I met a nice French couple who were going to share the boat with me on the day of to visit the dragons on Rinca Island.

Asia,Komodo,National Park,landscape,Indonesia,Nusa Tenggara,Dragons,Rinca,islands,trekking,South East, the world on a toilet, blog,photo [Read more...]

Where There Be Dragons – Diving Komodo

By the time I made it out of the Papuan highlands, I found it very easy to convince myself that I was due for a little relaxation. The past 9 months had been full of adventures and plenty of interesting experiences but now I was craving a little time eating good food and spending the last of my 2 weeks being horizontal on some white sand. I had my flight to Bali booked and looked forward to some easy days ahead.

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Wai Do I Chose To Do These Things? – Papua Part Two

Feeling rejuvenated after my first night sleep in an actual permanent shelter and on a high from the warm welcomes from the people of Piliam, I was excited to move on through the forested hills towards Angguruk.

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Wai Do I Chose To Do These Things? – Papua Part One

Everything happened so fast the next morning. I was up at 6am, shoved some toast and peanut butter down my throat while Minous and Kassar, my second porter, loaded up our food and other supplies. A short becak ride (bike with a box in the front for sitting) and we began hopping on and off bemos until we got to Kurima, the starting point of our walk.

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Mission Impossible? Finding a Reliable Guide in Papua

You Don’t just quit a great job and leave it all behind to lie on a beach. This had been a reoccurring thought of mine for the past 8 months and was once again in my head as I flew from Makassar to Jayapura, the capital of Papua.

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Lessons on Life and Death in Toraja

*ANIMAL LOVERS BEWARE. THIS POST CONTAINS GORY IMAGES.

“Of course death is better than life” my guide Budi stated after we just watched the sacrifice of two large buffalo for a funeral ceremony. In my time in Toraja, I could not think of a better summary of their unique cultural beliefs.

It was in the slow hours of the morning in my first few months in Fort Albany I caught a short clip showcasing the elaborate funerals and death rituals of the Torajan’s in Sulawesi. I was captivated, having seen nor heard nothing of it before, I couldn’t believe traditions like these were still being played out in our modern world. It was Tana Toraja which kicked off my desire to visit Indonesia and it was Indonesia which started the idea for the whole 9 month trip that is now coming to a close.

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