Having grown up in austere protestant American churches conspicuously devoid of ornate or lavish decoration, I never felt particularly connected to those holy places. My personal spirituality always…
I have somewhat of an obsession with the northern Thai specialty, khao soi. It’s a typical northern Thai curry noodle soup that is ubiquitous in Chiang Mai but…
Cuisine de Garden was originally opened by Chef Leelawat “Nan” Mankongtiphan in Chiang Mai in 2011. A self taught cook, later formally trained in Japanese and French cooking,…
Northern Thailand. There is something haunting in the mist covered mountains and emerald rice fields surrounding the city. Something that I connect to. A reverence for the spirits…
It is impossible for me to walk through the streets of Istanbul and not ponder chaos theory and particle swarm dynamics as a system of organization. The symphonic…
Asia/ Day 0 trip/ Destinations/ Travel/ Turkey
Day 101 – Cappadocia, Turkey – Underground cities, fairy chimneys, and hot air balloons.
After nearly 4 months of travel Cappadocia was the first place actually on my list of travel goals. It’s a magical area in Central Anatolia about 6 hours…
Asia/ Day 0 trip/ Destinations/ Food Porn/ Travel/ Turkey
Day 91 – Next level street food and the truly amazing cuisine of Istanbul, Turkey. (part 4 of 4)
Istanbul is the center of worlds, the relentless meeting of east and west, and the cuisine is no less complex. Influences from all over the world combine to…
Asia/ Day 0 trip/ Destinations/ Travel/ Turkey
Day 91 – Visiting the mosques, palaces, and antiquity of Istanbul, Turkey. (part 3 of 4)
Aside from the endless neighborhoods with their shops and food there are things to see in Istanbul. Big amazing things. Ancient things. The history of the city is…
Asia/ Day 0 trip/ Destinations/ Travel/ Turkey
Day 91 – From Taksim Square to the Hagia Sophia: Walking Istanbul’s city center neighborhoods (part 2 of 4)
Istanbul is enormous. It has over 15 million people. That’s almost double the largest city in the United States. And it would take a few lifetimes to actually…
Asia/ Day 0 trip/ Destinations/ Travel/ Turkey
Day 91 – Istanbul, Turkey – An introduction (part 1 of 4)
It’s New Year’s Eve and I’m sitting around a makeshift table in a hidden little fourth story bar on a backstreet in the Tarlabaşı neighborhood of Istanbul. I’ve…