The Treasury in Petra, Jordan When I left Microsoft in 2008, I was planning a major trip. It was my … Continue reading Petra Jordan Prehistoric Nabataean Caravan-city and Wonder of the World (4 of 7)
Bali is clearly one of the most beautiful islands in the world. Beyond that the people and the culture there is the richest I’ve found in all my travels. The people are so humble, so nice, and so culturally rich. I had the chance to witness a Balinese wedding. Bali is far from where I live, and yet I still feel a very strong longing. I find there’s a real peace tangible there. Life in Bali is simple. The word simple doesn’t do it. It’s something much more pure, it’s not about how rich you are, it’s not about how smart you are, you feel that it’s not about judgment either. It’s more about understanding sincerity. It’s about being true to yourself, and respecting others. I understand why Eat, Pray, Love ends in Bali. The protagonist really finds something about themselves that they couldn’t find otherwise. I don’t care if you liked the movie or thought it was long and boring. The beauty in Bali in the movie was great, but what you really didn’t get to fully realize it there is something about it. Something special there. I hope I can covey a piece of what I experienced.
When I arrived at the airport in Bali, I was already feeling very relaxed. I hadn’t decided yet how I was going to get to my $6 hostel a block from the beach in Kuta. I was still at the airport, looking for some wifi when I was sitting in some little café when I noticed a young girl was staring at me. I’d look back and she was really staring at me. I smiled and she smiled back. It was great. I think I figured it out. I was strange to this young girl.
Later on, my first stop of my personal tour. In fact I hired a driver from the airport to take me to my hotel, drop my stuff and then we’d go visit a large torso statue. While I was taking pictures, a man approached me and asked if his daughter could take a picture of me. I was a bit shocked, but remembered the girl from the airport. Sure. I replied and handed him my camera. The girl took a picture, but didn’t seem ok. I asked what was wrong. He then explained she wanted to be in the picture with me. She then approached and was much much happier as she stood next to me and her father took a picture of her. This would repeat itself multiple times, and in other parts of Asia. I have learned to embrace it. It’s gets even better when I have my kids with me. It’s much more “lucky” to have pictures with my pale skinned kids.
Now let me tell you about Kuta. Kuta is known for it’s surfing, it’s a great tourist town, great shops, relaxing atmosphere, and it really attracts the tourists. Lots of Australians, 
lots of Japanese, and Koreans. Kuta is becoming more of a resort area. Most of the hotels on the island are in Denpassar, Ubud and Kuta the beach suburb. Ubud has everything a tourist could want minus the beach, which is why Kuta is popular… the great beaches. Bali is a very cheap place to learn to surf.
The south end of the island is Uluwatu. An incredibly beautiful Hindu temple on a cliff overlooking an amazing rocky shore. The sun begins to set and monkeys run around. A troop of monkeys including itty bitty little monkeys.
I was walking around, soaking up the sun and taking some video when this little monkey jumped onto my shoulders. I was taken by surprised as he treated me like a fellow monkey and started picking at my hair, face, and ears. It was then he started climbing down my arm to check out my camera. He was really getting quite comfortable, and I was definitely enjoying it when I started walking and he got freaked out and jumped back off.
Continue reading “Bali Indonesia Land of Peace and Land of the Monkey King”
On Saturday I noticed I was getting a bunch of comments on my baby penguin video, a video recorded from … Continue reading Behind the Scenes: Baby Penguin Meets Human for the First Time
The lost city of Macchu Picchu. What an amazing and historical place filled with mystery. The Jewel of the Incas is spectacular. Definitely one of the coolest places to hike, explore, and take in the spirit. Lots of great photos to take, people to meet, cultures to explore. (Pictured below is the city of Cuzco with a nice llama in the foreground along with my baby Dean, a favorite among the locals.)
I flew into Lima, Peru which was already a pretty long flight. Lima is a fascinating city it’s own right. It was my first city in South America, but what a great first experience it was. All of the modern amenities, great hotels, great museums, lots to see. I hope you like cathedrals, and gold, and the mysteries of the Incas. There’s some great food, great get aways. Lima is on the coast, and there are some awesome restaurants and great board walk. Too many think that south of Mexico is more Mexico. In the U.S. and likely much of the world has Mexican restaurants helping the world appreciate burritos, tacos, and enchiladas, but it takes a little digging to find Argentine and Brazilian steak houses. What of Peru. What you definitely find in South America is very distinct cultures, very different food, and even clothing. If you haven’t made it yet to South America, I recommend Peru as a great place to start. Peru has Amazon Rain forests, Andes Mountains, and desert and beaches. (Pictured: Agnes, Michael, me, David, Tony, and Jose)
Continue reading “Machu Picchu Spiritual City of the Sky and Wonder of the World (5 of 7)”
I grew up really LOVING “Ripley’s Believe it or Not”, reading the comic strip, reading the books, and later watching the shows. I imagined myself having a job like his. Travel the world and capture images and stories the bizarre and fantastic. My trip to the golden triangle of Thailand included amazing animals including elephants, tigers, monkeys, and cobras, with people so far removed from my world, from indigenous people living off the land, to refugee hill tribes are simply happy to find peace. The refugees escaping oppression and seeing extreme contrast in Thai joy and Burmese oppression. Visiting the hill tribes especially the long neck Karen tribe was the fulfillment of a childhood dream. What a joy to spend time in the “Land of Smiles.”
The big question is why did they start putting these rings on their necks?
There are a number of reasons to describe why they have the rings on their necks.
Continue reading “Thailand Trekking: Traveling by Elephant in the Land of Smiles”
I really, really love South East Asia. Going to Manila was a huge treat. One thing that’s always important to me whenever I visit a place is to see the place in it’s authentic beauty and warts. I want to see the best and not best of a place. We were staying at the amazing Shangri la hotel, one of the most beautiful hotels in Asia. They are famous as having 5 and 6 star hotels in the big capitals in Asia.
Paul (black t-shirt) and I (in the red shirt, yes flash, and yes Big Bang Theory) were happy to pose with the staff. Beautiful hotel. Very posh. We were definitely very pampered. One thing you should know about Manila is it is very easy to spoil yourself. Manila is very modern, and you can get anything you need. My friend Dux Raymond Sy, who is very popular in the SharePoint community grew up in Manila. It was great to meet his family. Dux moved to the U.S. and if you talked with him you’d have no idea where he came from in fact he speaks perfect English. No accent at all, and smart, very smart guy. We were all in town for Sharing The Point Asia which would get us to China and Vietnam as well. Fabulous tour.
We had a day in the nicer parts of Manila, and had some amazing food. I was then very anxious to try other foods. One early morning Michael, Dux and I escaped early to catch the sunrise over the sea. We got up early enough we could get the first catch. We had squid in it’s ink, prawns, and very fresh sushi. Amazing seafood breakfast.
Continue reading “Cultural Philippines in the heart of Manilla”
The largest religious complex in the world. Angkor Wat is one of the most amazing structures in the world.
Sure, Karnak in Luxor, Egypt is the largest religious structure, but Angkor Wat stretches over miles and miles including many many buildings. I’d like to see a comparison of Tikal to Angkor Wat. It’s a UNESCO world heritage site for good reason. The complex itself was built 1110-1150. It’s estimated it would take 300 years to do today, but took 40 years back then with thousands of workers brining in stones from all over. Ok, read more on Wikipedia article on Angkor Wat beyond my research… If this was the only building that was constructed it would still be one of the most amazing in the world, but it is among 74 others in the complex of buildings many many miles apart.
This is definitely a bucket list item. A New Seven Wonders runner up. One of the most amazing places in the world!
Continue reading “Secrets of Cambodia from Angkor Wat to the Killing Fields”
When I was planning our Cancun vacation, my wife was thinking… we’ll chill on the beach at an all inclusive resort, and I was thinking… we’ll grab a rental car and pick up as many of the Mayan temples as possible within a 2 week period. Finally I can see one of the 7 finalists of the new 7 Wonders of the World – Chichen Itza. As a traveller I was anxious to see real wonders of the ancient world. I love temples, I love archeology, and I love the mystery that surrounds these massive new world temples. I also was incredibly interested in Tulum on the coast, and my ultimate Tikal the Mayan Capital. We know so little about the Mayans, but I was surprised to find out they weren’t totally wiped out. There is a group of Mayans that give the tours in Tulum, and they speak the ancient Mayan language. It’s so, so sad that the culture has so much of who they were. They lost everything. A few documents recently were rediscovered in Germany referred to as the Mayan Dresden Codex. 
Which some point to as the source of the 12, 21, 2012 apocalyptic date or the beginning of 1000 years of peace, but “A German expert who says his decoding of a Mayan tablet with a reference to a 2012 date denotes a transition to a new era and not a possible end of the world as others have read it…The interpretation of the hieroglyphs by Sven Gronemeyer…He said the inscription describes the return of mysterious Mayan god. Continue reading on Examiner.com German Mayan researcher’s 2012 conclusions. Cool. Beginning of the end of the world or return of a Mayan god… Bearded white god? (By the way, ask to see the rock carving of the bearded god at Chichen Itza. It’s pretty cool. If it’s Lief Erickson or Jesus or insane stone carver it’s mind numbing given the carvings all around it. Seriously fun stuff. You gotta enjoy the speculation and not get too caught up either way, since we can’t know.
While I don’t think the end will happen in December 2012 (No one is suppose to know the day or hour when Jesus is coming back Matthew 24:36), I have used it as an opportunity to be prepared for disaster. In my church, we have been asked to have a year supply of food on hand in case of disaster. It has paid off with members all over the world. As recent as the tsunami in Japan and earthquake in Hati, the members who obeyed have been blessed. As a member of the LDS Church there is a fascinating Book of Mormon back story of Christ in the Americas and Artists often paint pictures of Christ appearing to the righteous people in 3 Nephi 11 with the back drop of Tulum. There are Mormon tours all over this region. In fact we discovered that more 
than 30% of the guides in Tulum were Mayan members of the LDS Church. It’s understood that there really hasn’t been any LDS revelations on the locations, and anything discovered is purely speculation. Our guide at Tulum was actually a Mormon Bishop named Mosiah. It was a quick tour, which really didn’t add any info on what we had already got from our tour in Chichen Itza. He shared pictures of Tulum where light shines through specific building on April 6th, and sold us a tree of life medallion. Great stories. Amazing place. While I didn’t necessarily subscribe to all he shared, I was fascinated with the history of the Mayans, he being one himself. The PC accepted story is that Mayan calendar simply points toward a new era. Great. Others are looking for the Age of Aquarius.
These grandios temples are mucho bueno. Very incredible. Left: My trooper, Dean at Chichen Itza. This is 3 of 7 New Wonders for him. He’s been to Machu Picchu and the Great Pyramids in Egypt.
Travel Tip: I do recommend highly recommend seeing Chichen Itza. I do recommend getting a negotiated tour there. There are some inscriptions and history that you’d miss otherwise. There are a lot of things to point out in the area. There are half a dozen buildings and a great ball court area, and you need to know more about the rules of that game and what happens to the winners and losers. Those stories you must hear. There’s a lot of inscriptions and interpretations and stories you need to hear. We got the 2 hour guided tour, that we negotiated on the spot after we arrived. It wasn’t too outrageous. There are a lot of people that can give tours, so shop around and negotiate. Don’t take the first rate you hear. Many hotels in Cancun can arrange transport and tour as well. Just don’t over pay. There is a lot of cushion. In relation to Cancun both Tulum and Chichen Itza are both day trips. There is a toll road all the way to Chichen Itza from Cancun. You’ll pay 20-30 USD for that trip one way! We decided we’d take the scenic route on the way there, and hurry back. It is a difference of about an hour. You can get to other ruins as well including Coba. I didn’t make it to Coba, we were with my wife’s family and Jeff got sick, so we missed out on that one, but that’s ok because my eye was on the ultimate prize of Tikal, Jaguar temple the largest temples in the new world. In contrast to Chichen Itza, I do not recommend the tour in Tulum. The buildings are a lot smaller, things are close and if you did this one after doing Chichen Itza there’s a lot of overlap. Our tour may have ultimately been 15 minutes of explanation and he didn’t even walk the whole thing with us. Don’t miss the views from either side of the temple near the water. There are some great photo shots by of Tulum by the water. Another reason to do your research of Tulum ahead of time and get the guided tour at Chichen Itza.
As a global traveller, on this planet there is nothing more remote than Antarctica. It is way bigger than it … Continue reading Antarctica the Ultimate Final Frontier in Travel
When I first learned about Cappadocia, I was up late watching a late night Sci Fi show on Ancient Alien God theory. The spokey of underground cities where 20,000 people could live in caves. The spoke cave cities of 13 levels deep and how for thousands of years these caves had lasted time. No one really knows how old these caves are… you can’t carbon date a cave. They think they are at least 1700-2000 years old. These caves helped save Christianity at a time where it was illegal and the Romans were looking to wipe it out! How do we know? There are hundreds of early 3rd and 4th century cathedrals built by these Christians. 
They went on to say there are 36 such cities that could support a hundreds of thousands of people…. underground! Some cities are connected by 9 KM tunnels. Only 10% of the caves had even been excavated. What!!? Seems to me like we’d learn more about ourselves and where we came from if we knew more about these caves. Why have I not heard of such an incredible place before? I immediately added it to my list. About 6 months later, when I was planning a trip to Sofia, Bulgaria I remembered these incredible stories and decided… I must go. I priced it out and for less than $200 I could visit this place. You can fly to within an hour of the place. I decided I needed to see how much of this was real. Much to my surprise, these crazy facts were real! I read as much as I could and gasped at the amazing pictures on any image search. I dare you to look. If you’re a world traveller, you’ll immediately add this to your list, and if not it will be a bucket list item. Don’t wait till you’re too old for this one. Remember there’s hiking and walking in caves. You don’t want to hurt your back.
How this destination of underground city supports a population larger than most civilizations at the time still boggles my mind. No way. Too incredible. Who wiped out these ancient people? Who were they, what did they believe? Was it an attempt to escape an alien overlord? Doesn’t matter. Despite whether you believe aliens built the multiple thousand year old tunnels or believe it was the Hittites an ancient civilization that’s no longer around, the mystery of these crazy tunnels and underground cities are no less of a wonder. There’s a lot you can read about Derinkuyu, the largest underground city in the world, less than 30 minute drive from Goreme. ![562343_10150787036148783_613898782_11776192_940521962_n[1]](https://i0.wp.com/travelingepic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/562343_10150787036148783_613898782_11776192_940521962_n1.jpg "562343_10150787036148783_613898782_11776192_940521962_n[1]")
It’s only been available for tours since 1969. There are plenty of tours that take you on organized tours or you can rent a car and take it at your pace. The tunnels are excavated. I went 8 levels deep on my tour and there were at least 4 or 5 tunnels that went off into the dark, one such tunnel my guide explained went to the next city. In the underground city you’ll find a winery, church, animal stalls, wells, ancient phone system, ventilation shafts, and a morgue. I visited all of these places on my tour.
Continue reading “Cappadocia Turkey: Underground Cities and Cave Churches”