Archive for category: HISTORIC SITES

Rongwo Gonchen Gompa Tibetan monastery of Tongren ( Repkong – in Qinghai Province ) and the neighboring valley monasteries of Wutun Si & Gomar Gompa.

“Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself” – a few – of many – words of wisdom by the Great Chinese Philosopher – Confucius; or Kǒng Fūzǐ = Master Kong: 551 BC – 479 BC.

An image expressing my joy at being at Tikal with my Mexican girlfriend; both of us our first time there and drinking rum on a quiet, glorious day.  [ NOTE: this image needs to be seen much bigger ]

Amid the western mountains of Shanxi province in China is the remote and ancient cave-house village of Lijiashan, perched high above the Yellow River.

Back in 1989 and aged 23, I simply walked into the entrance of Petra, Jordan; paid my fee, and wandered in with sleeping bag under arm. Despite a sign saying no overnight stays, no camping – no one stopped me.

Deep within Fujian Province are the stunning traditional villages of the Hakka people, famed for constructing these huge, walled villages known as Tulou.

I had intended 3 days as a stop-over on-route to Chile, but the place proved too magical and extended it to 10 days, touring the island – drinking tequila and beer, staying – and partying with an indigeous, crazed, Rasta-hippy family … truly, mystical, man!

It was a crazy and dangerous time with the Khmer Rouge guerrillas still active and killing people – including 7 foreigners – back then; the temples were empty and silent and alittle spooky, monsoonal afternoons, birds, occasional gunfire – it was still mined and soldiers, checkpoints, tanks around as decades of war surrounded the temples, and in the hills were the KR.

This mosque – or at least the visible Al-Malwiyah spiral minaret, or tower where the calls to pray are sang from – dates back to when the Islamic world was way-more advanced than Europe, around 960 A.D.

Ancient sites of Seoul, Korea