Archive for the 'Ancient Culture' Category

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Yamanouchi is an ancient village in the Japanese Alps, in the Prefecture of Nagano. Snow monkeys live in the forests and bathe in the volcanic hot springs. For a few months the forests are free of snow and the monekys give birth to many offspring.

A protective Mother.

Geysers shoot boiling water up from the volcanic ground.

While melted snow fuels the icy waterfalls.

Mother and Child in the forest.

Yamanouchi is an ancient village built atop thousands of hot springs. Buildings are heated naturally.

Social life revolves around the baths.

Inside a men’s bath. Cold water is mixed with hot to create a bath of 42 C ( 107 F ) .

A Zen Dinner at the Ryokan.

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The best way to explore Japan is on the 200 mph , 320 kph High Speed Shinkansen network on Japan Rail. The Japan Rail Pass allows 7 days of unlimited travel for $ 279 – only non-resident foreigners are eligible. Distances in Japan are great – but seem close on these trains that seem to fly along the ground.

In Kyoto, the highest pagoda in Japan.

A Shinto Shrine.

Kyoto has delicious cuisine. Here is some venison sashimi.

Locusts.

And Bee Larvae

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With a shorter stay in Mongolia this year, ArcticTropic and company opted for riding semi-wild horses in Terelj National Park, northeast of Ulanbataar. The small,but sturdy horses are adept at rapidly climbing and descending the steep,sometimes wooded terrain.

Mongolia – Land of Peace.

Yaks yakking.

Ancient stones tower.

Climbing to Lord Buddha.

All Encompassing Wisdom.

Wisdom.

A Warning.

Mongolian and Tibetan Buddhism are very close.

After a long hard day on the range, a warm comfortable yurt.

The fires burn through the icy night.

Genghis Khan Rides Again!

Special Thanks To Tour Mongolia for putting together this Great Adventure on short notice !

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After flying for over two days – from Miami to New York to Frankfurt to Singapore to Yangon – ArcticTropic then boarded an Air KBZ ATR 72 prop plane to Bagan. I arrived Friday late afternoon on March 14,2014. The temperature was a dusty 104 ( 40 C) when I got off the plane. In the next few days it would get up to 107 in the day, then down to about 78 at night.

A combination of a silent electric scooter and a GoPro strapped to my forehead made for great stealth shooting (video) opportunities. Village inhabitants did not realize my presence till I was already gone.

Baby Burmese.

Crab Curry.

Houseboat.

Next Stop – 1948 !

Offerings To Lord Buddha.

Burmese is written in one of the 19 Sanskrit alphabets.

Next Stop – 1648 !

Searing heat bakes the riverbed,now 20 feet above the current waterline. By August this spot will be under 20 feet of water.

Lunch Break.

May 7th
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For thousands of years, life in Bagan has revolved around Lord Buddha.

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The Myanmar Government may have moved the Capital hundreds of miles North to Naypyidaw, but most business still takes place in once sleepy Yangon – now awakening to be the next Asian Tiger. However it is still Old Asia – gracious and spiritual.

Lord Buddha Meets Ganesh at the Military Pagoda.

The Time is 1920 – British Empire Architecture.

Yangon, and the whole of Myanmar, has a large Islamic population.

A delicious dinner of river prawns.

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Bagan is surrounded by tiny villages where life changes very slowly. On a silent electroscooter and GoPro strapped to my head I was able to coast through villages almost undetected quickly gathering everyday scenes. Since upload time is too slow here in Yangon , still clips will be posted for now.

Along the mighty Ayarwaddy. In monsoon season this spot will be thirty feet under water.

Water is hauled from a common well by oxcart.

1960s PLA Surplus.

More pictures to come, internet excrutiatingly slow. This much has taken over an hour !

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Shortly after sunrise I rented an electric motorscooter and set off to explore the searing hot plains of Bagan, and visit some of the thousands of temples built over hundreds of years – each a tribute to Lord Buddha.

Temples large and small stretch as far as the eye can see.

Along the way I came upon a ” Community Service Project . ” Local villagers dig a giant hole by hand, which will fill with water in the coming rainy season – attracting animals to drink there. Each person is expected to carry a number of loads equal to their age.

Lord Buddha is the Center of Life.

Styles changed throughout the centuries.

A $100 bill will get you 97 of these. 1000 kyat notes are used for everything and this stack will last a few days. Breakfast was 700 kyats – 70 cents. MOtorbike rental was 8000 kyats, a little over $8.

ArcticTropic has many more shots and incredible video. The hotel has wifi but upload speeds are like dialup , so video may not be uploaded until we return Stateside.

Mar 15th
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Yesterday ArcticTropic arrived in Yangon, Myanmar ( formerly Rangoon,Burma ) after flying 25 hours from New York via Frankfurt and Singapore. After a delicious lunch we flew onwards to Bagan ( formerly Pagan ).

Baggage being unloaded from Air KBZ in Bagan. As of this writing it is 7:30 AM and off to explore the sacred temple city.

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ArcticTropic arrived in Namibia on Saturday, but only now has adequate ( but still very slow ) bandwidth to upload photos. We also have excellent video , which will be impossible to upload until at least South Africa at the end of this week.

A pleasant two hour flight form Johannesburg to Windhoek.

We are here for ATWS 2013 where the top Adventure Travel companies in the world gather to do business and explore the countryside. Here delegates ride horses in the desert.

Oryx on the open range.

While officially half in the tropics, Namibia’s climate is extreme. We went from baking sun in the desert to cold fog on the coast.This past August much of the country was buried in heavy snow.

In Windhoek, local Himba tribeswomen sell handicrafts in the marketplace.