About two hours north of Jodhpur, the roads are unkempt, bumpy and uneven. We are on our way to the Thar desert in Rajasthan, India to ride camels.
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Heading deep into the jungle on a tributary off the Marañon River in the Northern Peruvian Amazon.
Adventures & Oil Spills in the Peruvian Amazon, Part 2
We are floating on a giant water salad. Thick, green plants that look like bok choy surround our dugout canoe and stretch infinitely before us on a small tributary off the Marañón River in the remote Peruvian Amazon.
Read MoreDawn on the Marañon River, Northern Peruvian Amazon
Adventures & Oil Spills in the Peruvian Amazon, Part 1
Within the last six months, five oil spills from a single pipeline have contaminated the indigenous Kukama communities of the Northern Peruvian Amazon. Last month, we attempted to visit two of these sites in order to document the effects and to tell a more complete story of the true cost of oil extraction in the rainforest.
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En route to Hampi, women construction workers walk along the train track
Stepping off the path + A train ride to Hampi, India
"Chai chai chai! Chai chai chai!"
"Pakora! Samosa! Pakora!"
We are on a train heading east to Hampi. Food hawkers jump on and off at every stop, rushing through the cars shouting, selling refreshments. I want to taste everything that passes—samosas served from a worn cardboard box, crispy masala rice snacks in a giant plastic garbage bag, fresh mango lassis carried in a tattered milk crate. Yet I cringe as the vendors grab food with their bare hands, passing it to customers wrapped in sheets of used newspaper."Chai chai chai! Chai chai chai!"
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Cows at a farm along the road in Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary, India
Jungle Leopards + Adventuring in Goa, India
Goa is where we motorbike through dry rural winding country backroads, weaving past gypsy camps filled with colorful Rajasthani women who wear brilliant red orange saris and layers of silver jewelry. Tents line the road where these workers from the north live temporarily doing hard construction labor, carrying bowls of rock on their head. Yaks and cows lazily wander, oblivious to the cars and motorbikes that zip past. The farther away from the beach we get, the more worn and dry the landscape becomes. Yellow haystacks á la Monet and brown rice paddies void of crop or water fly past as we move deeper inland.
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A working elephant at the sanctuary carries palm branches near Trivandrum, Kerala
A theater of humanity, images of village life in Kerala, India
"In the West, you save up all your money in order to spend it on an experience. You are searching for something," our Indian travel agent winks at me. Her sparkly nose ring catches the light and her bangles jingle as she hands us our train tickets. "Us Indians, we think you're a little bit crazy; we would never travel like you. We'd rather spend our money on gold jewelry, land, or a new house." This explains her inability to tell us more about popular sights at our next destination in India.
In the West, we do believe in the almighty experience. And for me, like many, the ultimate coveted experience has always been to travel.
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Snowfall at the Summer Palace, Beijing
Why we need endlessly changing horizons + A day of winter wonderland + breathing in China
I'm happy to announce that I've broken through the shackles of the internet firewall of Chinese censorship — I've arrived in India! It's 2013! And I haven't posted in a really long time. Oops.
In order to blog properly, I really need to dedicate quite a few more hours a week to this. Easier thought than done when continually on the move. I'm seeing so much every day (awesome!), it seems like it will take forever to fully process my documentations. But the amazing thing is, I really feel like I'm living. And I love that.
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Autumn in Seoul, outside the walls of Gyeongbokgung Palace
Freedom on the road + New beginnings in South Korea, my new favorite country
There's no turning back now. A five year chapter of my time in Los Angeles has finally come to an end and with it, I feel a great sense of lightness. I spent my last night at home in the U.S. boxing stuff for storage, packing, and fending off panic, stress, and worry that I've made the wrong decision to leave behind everything that I know. It's pretty scary to drive out of our driveway–house empty, belongings in storage–straight for a year of complete unknowns. Even so, beneath that panic a growing sense of freedom has slowly descended upon me. I'm filled with joy, anticipation, and wonder for what lies ahead.
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Rafting down the Colorado
Down the Colorado River, through the Grandest of Canyons
Hiking out of the Grand Canyon — 8 miles, 5,000 feet — felt like re-emerging from a quiet haven inside the earth to stand again atop the soil of civilization. Back up here it's a hot and crowded mess. Everything feels excessive. Everyone seems oblivious. The chaos is distinct after having been so deeply peaceful and disconnected. It feels like I’ve been gone for months, yet it's only been seven days.
We saw so much in those 90 miles rafting downstream.
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Far beyond lies Antarctica
O Brother Where Art Thou? Snapshots from New Zealand
On the southernmost tip of the south island sits Curio Bay, the closest I’ve ever been to Antarctica. Wind whips my face and hair and I feel I might blow over the cliff’s edge into the ocean. There seems to be nothing else around save wind, sea, and waves. I feel alone here in this whirlwind. Beyond lies that one and only great icy landscape. I can almost touch one of my dreams.
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