In this bedazzling shot, Jing Wei captured monastic dormitories on a mountain that’s home to the Seda Larung Wuming Tibetan Buddhist Institute in China’s Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The monastery is the world’s largest Tibetan Buddhist academy, with tens of thousands of male and female attendees. According to Your Shot member Jing Wei, the impressive site is worth visiting “to experience the peculiar landscapes and local life of the people there.” If you ever get to…
The Reed Flute Cave in China is a landmark attraction in Guilin, Guangxi. It’s an old natural limestone cave (dated at about 180 million years), filled with a large number of spectacular stalactites, stalagmites and rock formations in weird and wonderful shapes. Photo by Dennis Jarvis. Many of the formations in the cave have been compared to recognisable shapes of mythological creatures and natural images, and the Chinese have given each of them a poetic name. For…
Phnom Penh-based collaborative design practice Atelier COLE recently revealed plans to create an information center in Cambodia to not only celebrate the country’s extremely diverse wildlife, but also memorialize the region’s tragic past. It’s a laudable move towards sustainable eco-tourism in the region. Cambodia is one of the countries in the world with the most spectacular biodiversity. Many of the country’s species are recognized by the IUCN or World Conservation Union as threatened, endangered, or critically endangered…
‘Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.’ Franz Fafka Trip fundamentals Very few things can make you feel more alive than snowboarding during winter. It’s not even just about the adrenaline – the entire experience is more about gradually discovering yourself, which also explains why most of the snowboarding enthusiasts have discovered a spiritual…
It’s the cradle of culture of Central Asia – all infused with history, from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Itchan Kala at Khiva to its capital city Tashkent. Wandering around and getting lost in the local atmosphere means discovering new things every time: that Uzbekistan is one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world (along with Liechtenstein); that Tashkent’s metro features chandeliers, marble pillars and ceilings, granite, and engraved metal, it’s been called…
As I’ve tried to point out in other posts, there are many countries under the auspices of a more general category known as off the beaten path. I stand by the belief that not being the top-of-mind option for travelers isn’t necessarily an indicator of its actual quality as a destination. In fact, most of the times, this etiquette is all about the lack of popularity instead of the place itself. Uzbekistan is one of the many examples on the list…
There is no typical guide to visiting this city, and the impossibility of making it fit into a pattern is what makes it so memorable, after all. Unlike many of the popular tourist destinations, it’s hardly possible to make a list of monuments of which the Internet says they’re a must. Instead, Shanghai is all about discovering the bewildering variety, unfolding on the street level. And although it’s called the Paris of the East, you’ll…
Before even deciding to visit this country or not, you should make an effort of imagination and forget all the clichés. You’re not going to run over a mystical land of the exotic East, as you’d expect and you’re definitely not going to find a homogeneous country. These things aside, some of the most fascinating facts about this country are the frenetic rhythm in which it constantly develops. Don’t just expect the Taj Mahal and…
I’ve never heard anyone say anything positive about North Korea. And neither did the producers of this video, city-branding pioneer J T Singh and flow-motion videographer Rob Whitworth. The video is presented as a need to properly inform the Western countries about what really happens there. A city vision through time-lapse photography, explained: There are numerous speculations about the way in which human rights are not respected in this country, how nothing’s popular aside from the…
Since the Military coup in May this year, there have been countless undecided tourists online asking whether or not it is safe to go to Thailand, and although the national context and situation are overall pretty messed up, there are a few things that should be of high interest for anyone who’s planning on visiting this country in the near future. Implications While there’s been a public declaration of a military martial law nationwide, and…