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TRAVEL - blogs, stories, photo essays, video & art

Archives

TRAVEL - blogs, stories, photo essays, video & art

sunset-over-palms-el-qasr-oasis-egypt
Al Qasr has a desert oasis fairytale feel to it. Built in the 12th century in an Islamic style on the ruins of a Roman settlement, it sits amid the Dakhla Oasis in Western Egypt.
beirut-bleak-graffiti-lebanon
"Last week, a guest was kidnapped," said the guy at hotel reception... Impressions of traveling around Lebanon in January 2024 during the Gaza War.
goats-in-street-zinder-old-town-niger
Traveling Niger to the old trading town of Zinder on the southern edge of the Sahara / Sahel as I turn 25.
palindo lore lindu megalith bada valley
Exploring the ancient megaliths of Bada Valley at Lore Lindu, whose origins remain a mystery. Yet, their styling is similar to ancient relics in Laos and Colombia.
angkor wat cambodia 1994
Back in June 1994, the temples of Angkor were deserted and quiet as the Cambodian civil war continued...
potosi mountain view bolivia
It stole the lives of about 8 million indigenous Indian and African slaves at "The Mountain That Eats Men" in the Spanish colonial town of Potosi in modern Bolivia.
yaghan women archive
They often wore no clothes - staying naked, but smothered in seal oil to survive in the cold southern tip of South America.
hama waterwheels syria 1989
Memories of backpacking around Syria, talking my way into Syria by getting a visa on the border, exploring ancient sights while hitchhiking the desert, and visiting a restricted military zone on the Israeli border, and more.
killing fields skulls in sky cambodia 1994
Surreal account of Cambodia in 1994, visiting the killing fields and S-21 prison when the Khmer Rouge insurgency was raging and Pol Pot was still alive.
haizishan sichuan china
The bleak, high-altitude deserts of Tibetan Sichuan get surreal around Haizishan with a landscape of boulders and small lakes against distant mountains.
hmong hill tribe kids homestay sapa vietnam
In the mountains of Vietnam, I stay with a Hmong family living an ancient lifestyle (barely touched by the modern world in 1994), which included the accepted use of opium.
Djenne is famous for its surreal mud mosque that dominates this ancient trading town, once an important stop on the Trans-Saharan route and today's Monday Market is also a must-see.
While the world saw it on TV, I was there in Cox's Bazar amid a deadly cyclone that devastated coastal Bangladesh in 1991, killing 138,000 people.
syrian men halabiye euphrates river
Traveling Syria in 1989, encountering classic Islamic hospitality on a bungled hiking trip to the desert ruins of Halabiye on the Euphrates River.
valli car promotion china
The 'Final Cut' of the Valli car advertisement filmed in the Litang region of Tibetan Sichuan by a Shanghai film agency.
girl ainaro east timor 2000
A letter home from my time in Ainaro in the mountains of East Timor, living with a local family and working for the United Nations in 2000.
baojun valli car launch party china
Our van life across China leads us to be invited to an all-expenses-paid trip to the Valli car launch event in the mountains of Morganshan.
what to take backpacking around the world
Road-tested travel gear list with reasons why+ what to take on a 4 season backpacking trip traveling Africa, Asia, Latin America; based on my 30 years of backpacking.
corrupt cops fake police travel scam nairobi
Fake police travel scam in Nairobi, Kenya. But were they fake police or corrupt cops? Read this crazy story and decide for yourself.
Visiting the Mother Russia statue at Stalingrad war memorial, site of one of the longest and most brutal battles in modern history, which saw Nazi Germany defeated.
yugur nomads sheep flock gansu china
Exploring the desert mountains of Gansu and meeting Yugur nomads while van camping a few days at a waterhole used by their flocks of sheep. In this wilderness, I celebrated my 54th birthday.
tuareg-on-camel-hoggar-mountains-sahara
Black & White photography featuring people in their environment. Going for a retro printed paper look, evoking texture, fades, softened images.
ganjia tibetan monastery gansu
An ancient city lured us – but the isolation seized us. Exploring Ganjia as winter approaches. From an ancient fortress and snow mountains to a living goddess temple and a sacred Tibetan cave.
masked women minab iran
Looking at the women of Minab Market reveals the ancient trading routes that once connected southern Iran with the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, and beyond.
Lazy beach days are always good. Some pictures and advice for enjoying 4K Beach on Koh Rong Island - away from the party scene.
yongtai fortress gate china_
In 400-year-old Yongtai Ancient city - a ruined frontier fort on the Silk Road - remains a village of soldier-descendants, herding goats and sheep amid the arid surrounds of this turtle shaped fortress.
fuckin tourists cusco peru
Some days on the road travel takes a nauseous turn. My rant about dumb tourists and mass tourism in Cusco, Peru in 2002.
camels on route moyale-marsabit-kenya
The arduous journeys of traveling or rather, paid hitchhiking by truck across Northern Kenya from Ethiopia - Moyale to Marsabit in Kenya. My second time!
enjoying-the-traffic
This collection represents my early artwork, created in India in 2004 and in Cambodia during 2005-06.
The freedom, the beauty and the irony of van-traveling the mountains of Yunnan in China as the world stays locked-down with the coronavirus. But there's still a few issues ...
takaungu-village-river-swahili-coast-kenya
Following the gorgeous Swahili Coast of Kenya, visiting beaches and islands, ancient Islamic ruins and Portuguese forts. Plus encounters with naughty monkeys.
crazy streets car accidents tehran iran
First impressions of traveling in Tehran - Iran, in 1990. Racing across the city in a taxi amid chaotic streets that seemed asking for accidents every minute.
sarong beach sunset papua indonesia
Part #2 of story heading into outer Indonesia to Papua in search of my GF -Erica's, long lost father that she hadn't seen for 30 years.
ruined-gate-dendara-hathor-temple-egypt
Hathor is a goddess of many things within the ancient Egyptian story. To visit this amazingly preserved temple at Dendara, alone, is wondrous.
camels sand dune sunset silk road china
Traveling the Silk Road trade route thru China's Gansu province on a long train journey from Lanzhou to Jiayuguan Fort + the Thousand Buddha Caves.
senegal-baye-fall-musician-Daouda-Diabaté
Meet Daouda Diabate - a Baye Fall singer/songwriter from Senegal, who lives in an old military bunker on Goree Island offshore of Dakar.
destination-x-art-exhibition
The Museum of World Culture – in Gothenburg, Sweden – purchased 4 images from me and they're part of an exhibition called DESTINATION X.
burning nightmare dream in vietnam
Last night I dreamed a disturbing dream. And that nightmare seemed real the next morning - walking the streets of Kontum in Vietnam.
kaluts-shahdad-desert-iran
Within the Kaluts region, you could be forgiven for wondering if you've stumbled into a lost city - as miles of eroded sand towers & blocks stick out of the desert.
van-camping-quarantine-corona-virus-dali-china
From van-camping over a lake and mountain panorama in Yunnan, to being sent to a quarantine area during the initial Coronavirus outbreak in China.
chicken shaped rock white desert egypt
Traveling to the amazing wind-sculpted formations for an overnight stay in the White Desert of Egypt is best done from Bawiti (Bahariya oasis), rather than in Cairo.
jaded traveler blues crazy travel stories
Sometimes travel is not always that great. Musings at the end of a trip, broke and confused, amid the woes of an awful hostel dorm.
Great Zimbabwe Hill Top Ruins Panorama
Monumental stone ruins are rare in southern Africa. Yet in the highlands of Zimbabwe, these awe-inspiring ruins rival the Inca sites of Peru.
unconcerned by society art by michael robert powell
To help people decide whether they're a comfortable drone, a freak in the system or a burden to society, I've made a cheeky check-list So now, you can learn if you're a Freedom Junkie.
Ellusive Peace Jerusalem Israel & Palestine 1989
Surreal artwork based on my experience of being caught amid a riot in East Jerusalem during the first Palestinian Intifada in 1989.
San Pedro Prison Tour Bolivia
Touring San Pedro Prison in La Paz is to enter a brutal, surreal circus - where inmates run the system and drugs and violence are rife, yet prisoners' families also live inside the walls!
Misty Wandu Tomb Ruins China
Van-camping in China, near Jian at Wandu Mountain City ruins, amid the valley of nobles tombs at the ancient capital of the Korean Goguryeo Kingdom.
drugged and robbed in russia
I'm drugged, abducted, robbed and dumped unconscious in the Siberian countryside. WTF! My crazy story and advice about how to avoid this dangerous travel scam.
Panorama Morning Pyramid Prasat Thom Koh Ker Temples Cambodia
The temples at Angkor are the most famous in the world, but how many people have heard of nearby Koh Ker? Check them out and enjoy the ruins without the crowds.
shaxi-ancient-village-stone-bridge-china
The ancient town of Shaxi in Yunnan was a market for trading Chinese tea and Tibetan war horses on the Southern Silk Road between India and China.
full moon rising sanaa yemen art panorama by Michael Robert Powell
Old Sanaa is an Arabian Nights vision - straight from the tales of the 1001 Nights. And it's one the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in the world.
north-korea-countryside
Black + White Photography: Traveling across North Korea on the deserted highway from Pyongyang to the DMZ border with South Korea, on a bleak and foggy winter's day.
surreal art maya warrior
Impressions of crazy love amid a surreal past - MesoAmerican ruins of the Maya and others.
antarctica-penguins-sea-ice-mountain
Antarctic landscapes & wildlife from a voyage over the New Year of 2003, sailing to the peninsula and islands of Antarctica.
mostar-stone-bridge-at-night-art-by-michael-robert-powell
Our world offers some some much natural and historic beauty - come check out these wonderful panoramic vistas!
UN APC Maliana East Timor
Australian United Nations Peace-Keeping Force of armored personnel carriers (APCs) assemble and then set off on a reconnaissance mission to the volatile Indonesian border nearby.
sudden dental disaster in cambodia
In Cambodia, eating pork fried rice proves hazardous - rushing me to an urgent dental visit. But then the disaster really begins as I get more than I hoped for!
boys crazy surfing yemen video
Video of boys surfing barefoot down ancient irrigation channels amid the mountain villages in Yemen.
hiking mount sinai travel advice
Travel advice & pics for backpackers hiking Mount Sinai in Egypt. Consider climbing during the day, allowing 3 hours - with plenty of rest and photo ops.
young girl portrait east timor
Photographic portraits of females encountered on the road - young & old.
angry piggy goes to market laos video
From the window of the bus, I watch 3 guys put a squealing pig into the cargo hold below, somewhere in central Laos. Is this cruel or?
beautiful mongolian folk music video
Video of traditional Mongolian folk music - with throat singing - recorded in a tent in Karakorum, Mongolia, once the capital of Genghis Khan's empire.
crazy street guy eating-meal cambodia video
In quiet Koh Kong on coastal Cambodia, there's this homeless - probably crazy - guy sitting on the pavement alone, and so I buy him a meal.
bran-dracula-castle-romania
Transylvania is a cultural and scenic cinema. But thanks to Bram Stoker's Dracula, western imaginations - mine included - fly into vampire overdrive.
leh-highway-trucks-on-mountain-road
Traveling the Srinagar-Leh Highway. Travel photo-story and advice for the journey into the Himalayas. Built by the military, this is the only road linking isolated Ladakh with Jammu and Kashmir states.
how to hitchhike travel advice
Get expert hitchhiking advice about what to do, how and why from a guy who's hitchhiked the Sahara Desert and from England to India, etc.
future-tourism-cartoon-art
Future Tourism: When the world gets commercial and cartoon beyond belief.
rain rivers storm bangladesh
Early Travel Impressionism digital art made while living in India and Cambodia in 2004-2005.
wrecked ships aral sea moynaq uzbekistan
The shrinking of the Aral Sea is dramatic at 'the port' of Moynaq in Uzbekistan, with its cemetery of rusting ships - now stranded 170 km from the actual shore!
day-of-dead-mexico
Glowing psychedelic skulls grin at me. Today is the Day of the Dead. What the Maya call Hanal Pixan also known as The Day of the Dead in Mexico.
Cremation spot of Pol Pot of the Khmer Rouge Cambodai
Exploring Anlong Veng - the ex-Khmer Rouge stronghold - on the trail to Pol Pot's mountain jungle hideaway, and visiting his pitiful grave.
family house marsh arabs iraq 1989
The Marsh Arabs of Iraq are a unique Middle Eastern culture that have thrived in the marshlands of southern Iraq for millennia. I visited them in 1989.
pyramids-of-sudan-in-sand-art-by-michael-robert-powell
Sudan's pyramids are older than Egypt's and there are more of them! But the pyramids at Meroe are much smaller. Still, you'll probably be alone & in awe.
india travel tips and advice for backpackers
Are you worried about traveling India? Don't be. Check-out this seasoned India travel advice on handling touts, beggars, hotels, transportation, etc.
priest sveta nedelya cathedral sofia bulgaria
From drinking beer with a young homeless alcoholic to helpful locals - some people encounters and other moments traveling Bulgaria.
maya shaman blessing mexico video
Video of a Mexican Mayan shaman performing a traditional ritual with words, drums and incense to cleanse, bless, and protect me. In Spanish, he wishes good health, luck with family, and my travels.
crazy old woman video morocco
Morocco: Below my guesthouse in the street, this - seemingly crazy - old woman erupts at workers on a building site. But what's provoked her?