Tag Archives: environmental portraits

India is a bundle of contradictions: chaos and calm permeate everything in equal measure. The sacred and the mundane rub shoulders. Think of the mingling scents of incense, cow dung, and refuse, and you might get a sense of it. India is never dull! Every time I wander Indian streets, I return to my lodgings […]

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It was a bittersweet feeling: this was our last day of trekking in the magnificent Annapurna mountains of Nepal. Every step of this “Easy” Poon Hill Trek had reminded me that I’m not as young as I once was. But, the accommodation was vastly improved compared with my first visit to this region many years […]

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Daybreak offers hope, a sense of renewal.  And, a sunrise in the mountains makes me feel like anything is possible. I’m not a morning person – but every so often I can be dragged out of bed for a special sunrise (eg: At the Top of the World). I certainly wasn’t going to miss my […]

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The Ganges River, known more commonly as the Ganga Mata (Mother Ganges), is revered in Hindu worship and culture. More than just a river, she is the embodiment of a goddess whose purity cleanses one’s sins: bathing in her waters releases the faithful from samsara, the endless cycle of death and rebirth. All along the banks […]

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I spent less than a week in the Sultanate of Oman, an Islamic Arab country on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. In that time, however, I saw countless forts, castles, and towers (see: Oman’s Fortress Castles and Jabreen Castle). Perhaps this is unsurprising, as the country is called “the land of [a] thousand forts.” These […]

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