Sometimes you come across a place that looks like it was born directly from your own fantasies and imaginings. A place that looks, feels, and even sounds like a place that you had visited before, but only in your dreams. I found one such place in Yokkaichi, Mie last week. For the vast majority of […]
culture
Churches of Iceland
Since Christianization in the year 1000 AD, the church has been a center of community life in Iceland. The most photographed location in Iceland, arguably, is Hallgrímskirkja, a hallmark of the Reykjavik skyline and an architectural masterpiece which captures the natural beauty and splendor of the Icelandic landscape. However, in this post, I wish to […]
The American Southwest – March 2016
There was no better place to think about life, death, and the American condition than on the roads of the great West.
The American Southwest – November 2015
For some, an American road trip is a journey down the iconic Route 66, or a pleasant drive through the countryside of the Atlantic seaboard, complete with quaint, perfect little towns and rolling hills. However, it was the desert scenery of the American Southwest that captivated my imagination. For me, the Southwest was a magical […]
Shintō – Goshūin
Goshūin (御朱印), Japanese for red seal, literally refers to only the stamped impression of a particular shrine or temple’s formal seal. Historically, devout (and literate) worshippers that donated a handwritten copy of a Buddhist sutra (although Buddhist monks, much like in Medieval Europe, spent much time copying scripture, this task was also popular as a […]
Tianjin
The Charm of Old Tianjin Recently, I went on a very impromptu trip to Tianjin, a major metropolitan area rather close to Beijing. Feeling a need to just get out of the house and do something, I left home at 4 in the morning and took the first train out. Located on the Bohai and straddling major […]