Travel Lust loves Autumn

Autumn is my favorite season. My Travel Lust during this period turns on high. The temperature changes,  some of the trees start changing color and beautiful harvest fruits and greens come in abundance.

While walking one late afternoon, after a huge rain fall, I was stopped in my tracks looking at the ground filled with colored leaves.  This is such a welcome sight!

Soon I’m off for a quick visit back to China again for the second time in 2 months!

See you when I get back.

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Around the world in a jeep since 1984

While in Papua New Guinea, briefly met this swiss couple, Emil and Liliana Schmid who has been travelling since 1984. This amazing couple been around the world in their land cruiser for more than 25 years and still going strong.

Skin cutting initiation festival in the inland Sepik region

Initiates on the second final day of their skin cutting ceremony. Peeping through their fenced up spirit house to witness their sisters and mothers singing and dancing on the outside. Family members would encourage the initiates on throughout the whole night on the last day of the initiation. Plenty of singing and dancing, blowing on bamboo long pipes and other instruments. No sleeping for the whole night, all the villagers would sing and dance non stop on this final day before the initiates get officially released out of the spirit house.

In the inland part of the Sepik, with almost 1.5-2hours walk from the Sepik river, Yamok Village was having its annual skin cutting rituals for its boy’s initation.

Deep Skin Cutting rituals of Blackwater Sepik River

One of the highlights of my Papua New Guinea trip would be the ceremonial initiation of boys. The ritual scarification when males would have their skin cut with razors deeply and repeatedly to form a decorative scars resembling the sacred crocodile spirit as part of turning young boys into men. In most villages along the Sepik river with exception of Blackwater villages, women are excluded in this ritual scarring.

Vegetarian Festival like you never seen before

Think the Vegetarian Festival in Thailand is a benign occasion where meek vegetarians run around promoting eating vegetables and no killing of animals?

It’s time for me to pee standing up

I have decided to pee like a man.

Land of the Naga – last of the headhunters

I dreamt about Nagaland after I saw it on the map one day. Obsessed about the place, it took me a few years before I finally visited this strip of land between Burma and NorthEast India.

Scuba diving while being sea sick is never a good idea

Q:How would you know you are terrified of water?

A;You never know until you learn how to dive and get sea sick under water.

There are more humans in the cemetery at night

Taoist Mediums at the celebrations

Hungry Ghost Festival in Singapore is one of my favorite month of the year. The month long celebration of when all hell breaks loose, releasing all the spirits out onto earth to run amok with the blessing of the gods …

Climbing up the 18meter Baobab Tree

Midway up the Baobab climb.

One of the highlights of my Madagascar visit would definately be Morondava’s Avenue de Baobab. These thousand year old giant trees strangely look like it has roots growing from its top. According to the Madagascans legend, they believe that God in creating the first trees, made the mistake and created these trees upside down.