Thai people objectively have the best names in the world. Thais get an official name, which is usually ponderous and old-fashioned, from the monks at the temple when they are born. This name is used on government documents and very formal situations. However, almost everyone […]
I was recently a guest on the Limitless Living podcast hosted by Emily Bee Lee. Regular readers of this blog know that I spent 14 summers working seasonal jobs in the tourism industry in Alaska and used that money and time off to travel the […]
I love photographing markets when I travel, even though people there must think I’m really strange. I have been known to spend a considerable amount of time photographing people unloading trucks or carving up chickens much to the delight and confusion of the workers. Artists […]
A great exercise to do at the end of each year for any photographer is to select your 10 best photos. By doing this annually, you can (hopefully!) see improvement and growth. It is also a fun way to reflect on the year and look […]
I grew up in a small, rural town in Oklahoma where all life is lived indoors. Everyone travels by car, all commerce and events happen inside, and there is little interaction with neighbors. My hometown doesn’t really have pedestrians. If you see someone walking they […]
One of the best things about living in Bangkok is leaving. My wife works at an international school and has several breaks and long weekends during the year. I am currently in the enviable position of being “funemployed,” so time off really isn’t an issue […]
I recently attended a photography workshop by Maciej Dakowicz in Yangon, Myanmar, and I’m still mentally stimulated and physically tired. For seven days, we awoke before sunrise and shot photos 8 to 12 hours a day in some of the busiest and wildest places in […]
The Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar, is a colossal religious complex that defies human scale. The temple is centered around a golden stupa that reaches 326 feet into the sky. It is estimated that up to 60 tons of gold comprise the spire, the top […]
The San Pya Fish Market in Yangon is the sort of place you smell before you arrive. The pungent aroma of fish immediately smacks you in the face and the piscine perfume saturates your clothes and stays with you long after leaving. In fact, when […]
If you have taken the time to read the other three posts I made about our Thai New Year trip to rural Isaan, then you know that all the people from the village spent four days drinking in a manner usually associated with celebrations after […]
The grand finale of our Songkran experience started like the other days – we were promised afternoon sanook and told to wear nice clothes, but offered no further instructions (that we understood). (Note: this is part three of a 3-part series. You can catch up […]
One of the downsides of not having full command of the language is that we never quite understood the plan of the day. When we awoke on day two, Pat said we’d have sanook (Thai for fun) that afternoon, but didn’t elaborate. So we hung […]
