On Buddha’s Shoulder
While waiting in a long line to walk down the cliffside steps to Buddha’s feet, I was able to take a photo over the shoulder of the world’s largest Buddha.
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temples
On a Cable Car to Buddha in Hong Kong
Great weather for an exceptional day to visit the giant Buddha in Hong Kong. A ride on the Ngong Ping 360 cable car provided panoramic views of Lantau.
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A Ride with Mr. Beer in Chiang Mai
It was our second day in Chiang Mai and we wanted to try something different. We spent the previous night discussing our plans — checking through Lonely Planet and the tourist maps. We decided to rent a motorbike and ride up to Doi Suthep. It sounded like a beautiful day trip with the royal palace,
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Temple and Coincidence in Bali
On a tour of Bali, I ran into my driver’s brother-in-law, who set me up on the tour, at Pura Desa Batuan in Ubud.
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Xinjiang’s Heavenly Nature
We took a ride from Urumqi to Tianchi (å¤©æ± ), Heavenly Lake. This turned out to be my favorite day in China’s Xinjiang Province.
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In Batu Caves, Malaysia
One of the most important sights to visit around Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is Batu Caves, a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Murugan.
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Chatting with Monks
My companion and I walked around Chiang Mai on the first day off the overnight train from Bangkok. We were a little tired from the disrupted sleep of the previous evening, but excited to wander the streets of this northern Thai city. We stopped at numerous wats inside the city walls—many more than were on
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Counting Blessings
On my second major holiday journey during my time in China, I traveled to northern Sichuan Province to visit Jiuzhaigou National Park. This was the only time I visited a Tibetan region of China as it was (and still is) rather difficult for foreigners to access the province of Tibet. I stayed in Shuzheng village
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On Cultural and Religious Sensitivity
Travel — mostly in Thailand, Malaysia, and China — has taught me about religions and cultures and how to be more respectful.
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In Ancient Capitals
The best vacation day trip I’ve ever taken was to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand that was destroyed by the Burmese in 1767. Today, most of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with tourists heading to the ruins of the temples and the Khmer-style architecture that remains. It was a short train
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Sunset Temple
Wat Arun, the Khmer-style temple across the Chao Praya River from the Grand Palace, is my favorite tourist destination in Bangkok.
Warding off Solicitors
I visited numerous temples in Thailand–so many that I can’t remember them all. I had a few tourist maps that I picked up at the airport and hotel lobbies, each with different wats labelled throughout Bangkok. For the first few days I stopped at almost every one I passed. After awhile it took effort to
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Spring Break Travel
It’s spring break in New Jersey — for some reason, my college’s break begins on a Friday, so anyone who has class on Fridays will have to return next Friday, thus losing out on the extra weekend that usually accompanies spring break. Fortunately, my schedule is Monday through Thursday. Nonetheless, I have to work all
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