I’ll never forget the first time I saw the Himalayas. I was in the middle of an excruciatingly long and bumpy bus ride, one of many I would take in the course of my six week journey around Nepal. I was gazing out the window (I always fought hard to get a window seat) while…
Tag: Asia
Video: Mastering the Longyi, the Traditional Dress of Myanmar
While the beauty of majestic Myanmar is fresh in my mind after the last post, let’s talk about the art of the longyi. The longyi, or longi, or longee, (pronounced simply lon-gee), is basically a long wrap skirt made out of one big piece of cloth. It comes in every color and pattern imaginable, and…
The Faces of Myanmar — A Photo Essay of a Remarkable Place
Dear Myanmar, You stole my heart from day one. From your majestic, dream-like landscapes to your colorful markets and big smiles. I will never forget you. Sincerely, Michelle Note: I will refer to this country as Myanmar because all of the local people I interacted with called it Myanmar. For example, they cheerfully told us we…
In One Photo: Penang
It’s not easy to sum up the entire experience of a place in just one photo. It’s also hard to keep up with documenting everything you see when you change cities every few nights. Backpacker problems. So for now, when I don’t have time (or enough to say) about a certain place I’ll pick my…
Seeking Authenticity in Singapore
Singapore is a very clean, organized, futuristic city. I think it may be one of the most organized places in the world. It is a successful scale model, a preview of what the future will be like. Everything is clearly labeled and efficiency is king. In one of the malls, there were signs by the…
THE WORLD AND BACK: Adventures in Southeast Asia and Beyond 