Parts of the West Coast of Oregon, get so much rain, they are considered "rainforests," defined as a forested area that gets over 80 inches of rain a year.
This hike of Sweet Creek Falls was undertaken in January, during the winter, and the green barked trees, in fact covered with moss were stunning.
Though this are is closest to Eugene, about 60 miles away, if you are in the vicinity, well. the pictures speak for themselves!
Los Angeles isn't all concrete jungle and Hollywood. About an hour outside of West LA, in the Malibu area, are the highest peaks of the Santa Monica Mountains. The trail we took is the "Solstice Trail" (Take Yerba Buena Road way up the hill from the Pacific Coast Highway if you are interested.)
I went on this hike at the end of May, before the summer heat wilted the flowers, and browned the vegetation.
The amazing rock formations with the Pacific Ocean acting as a backdrop, made for spectacular vistas, and allowed my mind to relax into a meditative state, as I gazed at nature's beauty.
Bee pollinating cactus flower
okay, it's not Mount Everest
Vista
poison oak- do avoid!
Awesome rock formation and photo!
So, if you are going to visit the Los Angeles area, and you like being in nature, do consider venturing out for hike in through the mountains.
PS- thanks to my friend Annelize for the first few pics! We were both on photo duty, and she's a wonderful photographer.
Until now, bungee jumping, has somehow evaded my fairly lengthy adventurer resume.
Using a pulley system, we ascend two hundred feet into the air in a man made platform. I fully expected myself to be laughing at the top. I’m an experienced skydiver, regularly parting ways with airplanes at 13,000 feet. This was going to be easy. This was gonna be a breeze.
Unfortunately, I forgot my intense fear of heights, and looking down at the ground from two hundred feet is far more frightening than skydiving altitudes. (It seems more real.)
“One, two, three, GO!” yelled the jump master.
But I hung onto the railing, the unfamiliar feeling of fear aching in my body.
“It’s safe right?”
“One million percent,” he replied.
Let it loose! I jumped up as high I could and felt the exhilarating feeling of acceleration pull me downward. I have to say, I LIVE for that feeling! The aliveness, nothing else is present, except for the RAPIDLY approaching earth.
“Aaahhhhhh!” I let a scream, but it was pleasure. This feeling is what I live for! I felt pumped for hours afterwards, I’m definitely doing it again.
I suppose that is why I went jet skiing after I got back to my hotel. Going fifty miles per hour on the open water, jumping waves, the spray in your face is absolutely exhilarating. This is living!
My stay in Pattaya lasted three days. Not that it’s not a nice vacation, relative to say, Lincoln Nebraska, but of the places I have been to in Thailand, it’s the place I would be least likely to return to. Sure, you can jet-ski, parasail (which I also did, believing as I was flying through the air I was Peter Pan) but on the whole, I’d recommend skipping Pattaya.
Many people go to foreign countries for cheaper medical care and cosmetic surgery. The Czech Republic is pretty high in the list I am told.
Near the Smichov Mall in Prague 5, I ran into a business with such an elegant yet simple interior design (a laser teeth whitening clinic,) I decided to stop in and take a gander.
here is quick tour of Smille
The Czech Republic is infamous for poor customer service, where it's normally "buyer beware." This is not the case at Smille, as the owners invited me out for lunch, and described how they could make much more money if they used cheaper gels, but the customers wouldn't be getting as good a result.
"I don't want to come to work, and not give my customers the best that they can get," explains one of the partners, "We offer a money back guarantee if they're not happy with their procedure."
"Really, that flies in the face of other experiences I've had in the Czech Republic," I state, thinking of several times businesses seemed much less forgiving towards their customers.
"It's just good business," she explains, "Happy clients bring me more customers. Plus I feel so good when I go home at night, knowing that people are truly happy after they have had the procedure done."
"That's very noble," I answer nodding my head. She nods back, pleased with the conversation; She's genuinely upbeat, which isn't the most common attitude found in this country.
meet Maria, Smiling Smille receptionist
Though my time here was short, I did witness one girl walking out from her laser teeth whitening procedure, beaming. For however long it lasts, she felt good about herself, more confident. The receptionist is smiling as well as the customer exits.
"It makes you happy?" I ask.
"Yes," she replies, "She got such a nice result. her teeth look much better. It's a nice job."
It's nice to see some businesses in this former Eastern Bloc country that operate on such a premise. I think I'm writing this as gift, not only because they took to lunch in the mall, but in leaving the elegantly designed reception area, I did so with a smile on my face.
If you are in Prague, and looking for a cheaper place than in America or Western Europe, that gives top quality care, to get your teeth whitened, then I highly suggest you visit
(I did not get paid for this, unless you count my meal. This is a very sincere endorsement, and the only one you'll find in the entire 125 + entries in my travel adventure blog. Just something I felt like doing)
Here is their new address and phone #Tel. +420 257 941 296
Situated 80km outside of Prague, the town of Kutna Hora is renowned for its bone church, a small cathedral containing the remains of 60,000 souls, most of which who had fallen victim to black plague in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Kutna Hora
Coming here you’ll believe your vehicle was equipped for time travel. The buildings are ancient, and its citizens move slowly, in no apparent hurry. Today the streets are largely empty as the wind howls voraciously, it's unseasonably cold on this early spring day, the temperatures hovering precariously just above zero.
Looking from atop a monument, at the modest dwellings below, chickens can be seen walking around the back yards, providing eggs and fresh organic meat for the locals. In the city’s center are a few bars and restaurants, a profit center for the locals, frequented by the many visiting tourists. Our meals are simple, yet absolutely delectable, perhaps the best food I have eaten the entire time I have been in Europe, the freshness of the ingredients evident in the taste. I sit there and ponder how much nutrition and taste I miss out on living in the big city.
the town of Kutna Hora- picture not doing it justice
Surrounding the central village are magnificent creations, pieces of architecture from long ago times towering over us. I sit there, mouth agape, wondering how such beauty was created so many years ago, and despite our technological advances, we’re incapable as a society to create such wondrous edifices. Perhaps there is a downside to “efficiency.”
towering church wall
gargolyes
The wind howls, yelling for us to take refuge. We’d have loved to walk around longer, but Mother Nature is not being cooperative. We get into our car and drive back to Prague, my head over my shoulder, looking back, taking in a glimpse of the beautiful scenery one more time.
monument, man's head carved into stone- picture taken from long distance
I had heard from a friend of a church made nearly entirely out of human bone during the Middle Ages when black plague ravaged Europe and bodies piled so high in cemeteries, there was seemingly no place left to be buried.
The bone chandelier- every bone in the human body
Necessity being the mother of invention, enter in an early 16th century monk named “Solution.” He was kind enough to grant me this interview:
“Everyone dead, and I decided it was blasphemy to have the pews empty during Sunday mass, even if it might been God’s fault in a way. So I filled the church with 60,000 people, and although technically, not alive, or with any organs left, at least any that worked, when I said something amusing, as my audience had no vocal cords, you could hear a loud clattering of bones, a skeleton nod if you will of approval.”
Looking around the church today, the remains of 60,000 people piled to the roof in separate cages, skulls adorning the chapel as decorations, a chandelier made an entirely from every bone in the human body, one gains a sense of one’s own mortality. No matter where you are, what you do, your body is destined to act as a clattering approval mechanism for unfunny monk.
Live a little, Carpe Diem.
here is a video tour of the whole church- fascinating
Look at the pile of bones behind us, to the roof!
The bird's scientific name is "Eyeball Picker"- he is not popular
Phuket, a gorgeous island off the coast of Thailand. I had never stayed in the Patong Beach area, and in retrospect I wish I had gone to back to Krabi, which is one of the most stunning place on the planet, but lacking in waves, and after my success surfing the Balinese waters I thought Phuket would be a breeze.
Of course what I didn’t realize is that the waves are bigger off Phuket, and a lot less predictable. Frankly, I found myself to be unprepared for the “medium time,” the first day I had problems making it out past the break.
falling off the board
I woke early the next morning, with a sense of sheer determination, and paddled so hard during a minor lull in the waves, that yes, indeed I did “beat the break.”
Resting on my board I took a deep relaxing breath, knowing that I could afford to wait for the perfect wave. I paddled back in a few feet, and quickly realized that the distance to shore was actually greater than it was before. I rested on my board for a few valuable seconds, like an idiot needing confirmation that the guy with the knife and a crazed look on his face is in fact rapidly approaching him. Sure enough, I was getting mugged by a rip tide. If I did nada, I’d be sucked out to sea.
I paddled as hard as I could, and after maybe ten minutes, made it back to shore. Learning new things ain’t without its risks. I reported the rip tide to the Thai police, but they just laughed and did nothing. Typical.
I do however believe my Thai surf adventure to a success … if you define success as “not being eaten by a shark.”
If you haven’t been, I highly recommend you travel to Thailand. It’s cheap, a lot of fun, and if you go to the right places (Krabi) beautiful beyond belief. Peace.
I'm glad to leave Singapore- its draconian laws and secret police. The nightmare that I might somehow be framed with drugs and end up on death row would be much less vivid if I believed the island nation had any sort of due process or flexibility in meting out punishment.
I've flown to Penang, an island just off the Malaysian coast. The roads here are narrow, and as wealth has increased over recent years, so has traffic. A minute outside the airport my cab driver tries to sell me on the idea of hiring him for the next day, describing the attractions as far apart.
"Where is the Snake Temple?" I ask him.
"Right here."
I think he is joking. "Really?"
"What, you think I’m joking?"
"Wow, okay, can we stop? I'll give you a tip."
The car pulls over instantly.
“Can I go back to the airport and put my name in the queue? Then I’ll come back and pick you up.”
“Let me take my luggage out of the car in case you forget.”
Snake Temple in Penang Malaysia, outside
So, here I am at the Snake temple, where deadly pit vipers freely roam. It’s straight up an Indiana Jones nightmare, but I gotta see it. Although vipers are normally aggressive, devotees of the temple believe the thick clouds of incense smoke makes them tranquil. I would largely agree, with the minor exception that I was bitten by two of the serpents and told not to come back. "This our house!" I quote one of them as saying.
Deadly vipers of the Snake Temple
Legend has it that when the temple was first built back in the 1800’s, lethal snakes slithered into the house of worship from the surrounding jungle. The founding monk, who apparently drank a little too much wa-wa juice, deemed this to be a good omen, and the serpents were allowed to stay and breed ... this would not have been my solution.
Today, the snakes slide around the temple, looking for someone (anyone) to bite, but kept at bay by handlers who pick them up with a forked stick and place them in trees, either real or man-made.
a look inside the Snake Temple
Today with the urban development that has taken place, vipers no longer make their way to the temple from the jungle which once surrounded the grounds. The forest is all but gone.
You'd think this would be a welcomed development, but apparently devotees actively bring and donate these poisonous snakes to the temple on Chor's feast days.
I exit, grateful that I didn't get here on Chor's feast day. ("Look at my snake Rich! Isn't he a cutie? Go ahead, touch him, he doesn't bite.") My cab pulls up just as I exit out the building.
I see this as fortuitous event, now I'm hoping they keep anti-venom at the local hospital.
All kidding aside, if you're in Penang, Malaysia, you definitely want to visit the snake temple.
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