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 […]
Travel Words
Taishan Sunrise Hike
TaiShan Sunrise Welcome to TaiShan, home of the most famous sunrise in all of China. It was here that Mao Zedong so famously declared that “the East is Red” so long ago. Emperors throughout the ages climbed Mount Tai to sacrifice at the temple and watch sunrise from the […]
Hiking the Hong Kong Trail
My second and third days of hiking in Hong Kong, both on the Hong Kong Trail, offered a surprisingly bit of seclusion considering that I was never more than a couple of kilometers from large urban areas (if even that?). Yet at times it still looked and felt (if not […]
Hiking Hong Kong Island
Hiking Hong Kong Island The night of arriving into HK and heading straight for the ‘fire dragon’ in Victoria Park, my two favorite Hong Kongers (Matt and Liz) and I resolved to get up the next day and celebrate their Moon Festival vacation day by heading outdoors to do some […]
Chasing Confucius in Qufu
The city of Qufu is super famous in China as the birthplace of the sage Confucius. Though he didn’t always fare so well in life, after his death Confucius’ descendents were promoted to nobility by Imperial decree. Qufu is replete with Confucian sites, but the big three are known as […]
Travel in Ulan Baatar
Though the between-expedition days in UB ended up being way more about food and coffee and wifi than sightseeing, there were a few places I liked. One in particular was the central open area: Sukhbaatar Square. Especially towards the end of the days, there would be rollerbladers, strolling families, or […]
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.