I can't really remember when I began saying...'When I see myself as an old woman, I see me in a black swim suite top, a flowing green sarong, the curls in my hair have been let loose, and there is glowing energy around me. I think I am a yoga teacher, a writer. I bear age … Continue reading The love bubble. YTT in Koh Lanta, Thailand
No matter how fond you are of traveling, how "at home" you feel on a stinky bus with one backpack in between your feet and your other "big guy" backpack stored above you, how strange faces are your familiar, how easily you can sleep most anywhere in the world, how accustomed your belly becomes, you … Continue reading The Road Home
Ever since watching the Discovery Channel as a young child, I had dreamed of finding my way to Borneo. The Discovery Channel, constantly did episodes on Borneo's impressive rainforests, which used to be highly protected from human impact. It's rainforests are home to some of Nature's most beautiful and elusive plants and animals, such as the Rafflesia flower, the Pygmy … Continue reading Sabah, Borneo, Magical Land, Dream World, any of these barely suffice.
As a traveler, some days are so completely relaxed that wicked abberant ideas seep into your brain, similar to sipping a cold coke through a straw after a long bus ride over the hills of Rajasthan. It just goes in and down so smoothly, feeling so refreshing, that every bit of the idea, or the coke for that matter, … Continue reading METAMAN Triathlon in Bintan, Indonesia
The day that we had been working towards had finally arrived. Excitement filled the air. A 7 am wake up call, a quick breakfast of oats and ...who the hell cares... "We are about to trek to our final UPWARD destination- Everest Base Camp! With a deep inhalation of brisk Himilayan air, we set foot … Continue reading Day 10: Soaring on life at Everest Base Camp
Out of all the tea houses we stayed in, I hate to say it, but I think the one in Lobuche was my least favorite. The set-up was just odd. There were about 8 or so rooms on one cement hall, interconnected by a cemented bathroom to another cement hall with its own 8 rooms. It … Continue reading Day 9: Lobuche to Gorak Shep
We sauntered lightly over deep trails, trails slicked by mountain dew and sodden green moss; trails that without a doubt hundreds of thousands of villagers and Asian wayfarers have once treaded. In my day dreams, built by the tales of time's trekkers, story tellers, Kathmandu villagers and today's bloggers, Namche was a busy trading point, where … Continue reading Day 3: Diamox and Namche
The day awaited us. I could feel my bones rise, sparks fire between the neurons in my brain, the hairs on my arms surge, my feet twitching - anticipating the moment they would get to slide into my hiking boots. I was beyond excited. I thought to myself, okay, what all should I wear? It … Continue reading Day 2: Phakding to Namche
If my first breath was a second after my birth, then my second true breath would have to be the moment we started walking towards our destination- Everest Base Camp. Day one, of eleven days of walking, wiggling my toes, groping trees, asking for Puni Pani, widening my eyes, smelling crisp evergreens, feeling small rocks … Continue reading Breathing for the second time: Lukla to Phakding
In hindsight, the first step of our epic EBC trek was probably the most unnerving. Let me first set the scene. While in India, and staying with friends in Ahmedabad, we were surprised to hear that at the age of 14, our friend Kahan, trekked to EBC with his father. While he mentioned some "really?" … Continue reading Everest Base Camp Trek: “First we fly to Lukla”
The funny thing about traveling is, that sometimes, maybe most of the time, it ends up that the destination is not what you remember, but more of the journey getting there. In the case of the Taj Mahal, looking back, I rememeber the long train ride, the taxi, the man getting shaved on the side … Continue reading The Taj Mahal, Agra, India
Sometimes, when I look at the adventures I have been on, the countries I have seen, the landscapes I have walked through, the cultures I have gotten the chance to swirl in, I am simply baffled and cannot help but feel incredibly blessed. Pushkar is a small city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, near … Continue reading Pushkar, India
Udaipur, India, in the state of Rajasthan. An incredible beauty. From Ahmedabad, we took a RedBus to Udaipur, which was about a 6 hour bus ride. Something like that. Udaipur is more of what I had always imagined India to be, in so far as Architecture and such, with the palaces, small streets, vendors gallore, … Continue reading Udaipur, India
The sheer size of the Adalaj Stepwell in Ahmedabad is insane. Built in 1499 A.D. by Queen Rudabai, the Vav (step well) is several stories in depth and was intricately carved to meet its importance. It is a stunning piece of artwork. Upon our arrival to the step, we were a bit taken aback, as … Continue reading Adalaj Stepwell, Ahmedabad, India
The Indian State of Goa; formerly a Portugese colony, equipped with such past remininces mixed together with all the spice of today’s India. We stayed in the town of Calagunte, famous for its proximity to gold beaches, the Old Portugese Fort and chill hippy feel. We arrived in Calagunte via RedBUS, which took us a … Continue reading Calangute, Goa, India
Just a short flight away from Colombo, lies the Silicon Valley city of India: Bangalore. Truly, we did not know what to expect, for the reason for traveling to Bangalore was more that we could hangout for a couple of days with my old roomate and her husband (Priyal and Jamshed). Therefore, Bangalore took us … Continue reading Bangalore, India
You know the moment you start planning a trip and you see tons of photos of your destination, and there are around 2 or 3 that you see and then tell yourself, “I have to see that”. Well the photo above, was exactly that for me. For almost a month, I spent my little spare … Continue reading Koggala, Sri Lanka
In total, we stayed in Sri Lanka for close to a month. Our days were filled with so much natural beauty. Just as important, if not more, we also experienced so much kindness. Though we met so many nice people with friendly faces and hearts along the way, the caretaker of Dinaka Rest in Kataragama, … Continue reading A kind soul named John
From Anuradhapura we traveled south to Habarana town (stayed 1 day) and then again south to Kandy. Along this trip, we saw the environment and scenery drift from small hills and jungle to mountainous terrain. Kandy, for us, was absolutely stunning. While in Kandy, we imagined that we would have the chance to do some … Continue reading Kandy, Sri Lanka
After a 2 day stay in Negombo and another 2 days stay in Kalpitiya, Anuradhapura was the next stop. Anuradhapura is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Sri Lankan civilization the preservation and continuation of Theraveda Buddhism. The ancient city, considered sacred to the Buddhist world, is … Continue reading Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka
Allison A Janssen 