Being an Indonesian island, Pulau Nias has lots of good beach and ocean options. I spent most of my days on Nias just driving a motorbike from beach to beach. I’d swim and read for a little bit, get antsy, and drive on to the next beach I found to […]
Travel Words
Civet Cat Coffee in Indonesia
Kopi Luwak Coffee Luwak starts as any other Arabica bean, planted to a field and nurtured to perfect ripeness. In the villages near Bukittingi, this path takes a sudden detour from the usual. At night, when its nocturnal eyes hunt best, the civet cat emerges from its lair to prey […]
Sumo Tournament in Osaka: Large Men in Loincloths
The absolute single most excellent thing about Osaka was the SUMO TOURNAMENT that was going on when Matt and I visited. We took our seats hours before the main action began to see some of the lower level fights (which is how I managed to get a video from just […]
Bribing Guards at Koh Ker
In places like Cambodia, Indonesia, and Uzbekistan (to name just a few) the most important factor in life doesn’t always seem to be who/what you know but, rather, who and what you pay. Rules are flexible everywhere, but in some places all it takes is a bit of cash to […]
The Kazakh Dream
I decide to travel to Kazakhstan mainly because I am nearby. Just across the border from Urumqi, China; and my Chinese visa running worryingly low on days. I have to choose between trekking all the way back across the Middle Kingdom or taking the conveniently timed bus to Almaty. On […]
Colonial Penang
When I’m in Malaysia for more than a few days between flights, the adventurous side of me nags me to get out of KL and explore a little bit of the Peninsula instead of just relaxing in the city. With nine days to play with between other countries, then, I […]
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.