There are very few buildings and architectural monuments that manage to move me emotionally. Istanbul’s ancient Hagia Sofia is a clear exception: a place where history, architecture and religion have clashed over and over again. It is a defining building for this part of the world, and a beautiful one at that. The current Hagia [...]
If we were honest, we’d have to admit that the dig at Göbekli Tepe was what brought us to Turkey. Martin wrote up a great piece about the dig and it’s significance here. While I think he went into great detail describing the place, I think it’s also fun to see it on video. [...]
The arctic circle is a latitudinal line that defines the top 1/8th of the earth as the Arctic. As you can expect, it’s damn cold up there. Beautiful scenery abounds, as there is far more nature than inhabitants. But, like I said, it’s damn cold. Most people visit in summer, when temperatures are more bearable. [...]
Today, my wife decided to re-live our oh-so-recent days of traveling in India. How? Why she decided to make a snow sculpture of the Taj Mahal in our front yard. I was employed as a snow-shoveller, complementing my wife’s artistic bent with my ferocious muscle (cough cough cough). Initially, I feared that we were [...]
I wasn’t a Princess & Prince Charming type of little girl. My interests were more in making up stories about an alien to freak out my little sister (I guess I’ll take this opportunity to tell you, Sheyna, that Glong wasn’t real). Lace, frills and fairytales were for other kids. I was more into creating [...]
There are many things to see and do in this part of Germany: anything from ancient Celtic graves and Roman fortifications to World War II memorials and natural wonders. Today, our focus was the ancient city of Worms. The very beautiful cathedral was one of the standouts. There has been a church in Worms [...]
We reached Katha yesterday by boat from Bhamo. Our stop here was motivated by transportation – we had to spend a night here to get to a neighboring town, where we’ll catch the train to Mandalay. We’re on a fast track right now (time is tick tick ticking away), so we’re only allowed one night [...]
For reasons that have been lost in time, the wooden roof struts of some Nepalese temples are decorated with scandalous little scenes. These sculptures are never the central iconography of the struts, rather just little sex scenes that appear at the bottom of each beam. They vary in level of detail, posture and yes, species [...]
Our current location, Chandigarh, is the capital of the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. It is very, very different from all other cities in India. See, it’s not another run-off-the-mill five thousand year old smack full of sights and wonders and poverty type of city. No, it’s a city that was constructed in the [...]
The tribal villages of Bena and Luba, outside Bajawa in Flores, look like the archetypical tribal villages. Thatch roof houses line a main communal square. This square has a few functions. The dead are buried there (if they’ve chosen to do so before dying) and it houses the village’s totem houses. Each tribe (basically [...]
I’ve knocked it for it’s unexpected commercial vibe, but I have to give the Balinese credit for their homes The architecture we saw in the city center was reminiscent of the opulence of the Angkor Wat temples. The home-stay style guesthouse we stayed in had truly beautiful style. Ever surface contains an ornate medium – [...]
The traditional houses around here are built in a very distinctive manner. According to one theory, the raised tips of the roof symbolizes the horns of a water buffalo. Today, while driving around Samosir island, we found a few prime examples of Batak architecture. Being supremely customer friendly, we have posted them here for [...]
Singapore is a modern city – shopping malls, modern architecture, ultra-organized transportation systems, etc. So, it is interesting to see some unexpected splashes of color in a rather austere urban landscape. Look closely and you’ll see that this building is showing some true color.
You know the saying, “to fly by the seat of your pants?” Well, that's been our philosophy for most of our adult lives – before and after meeting, falling in love and marrying. We're now taking that idea on an extended round-the-world trip. Follow us as we share the good, the bad and the downright nasty of life on the road.
