Month: March 2020

Nyepi is a Balinese day of silence that is dedicated to meditation and introspection. There’s to be no sound, no light, no eating, no leaving the home, and they even turn cell towers off, so there’s no Internet, for one full day. This is strictly enforced by police, which might sound a bit harsh at first, but really, it’s a gift.

Can you imagine? A day of forced introspection for everyone? A united day of meditation and stillness. I can only imagine what amazing things it does for Balinese people who really go deep.

I happened upon this holiday on accident a couple of years ago while passing through Bali just for the day. I’d had no idea until I was taking off for the flight that I was about to arrive into a silent, dark Bali. What else could I do but surrender and go all in?

I kept

Ancient myths and legends have interpreted the northern lights to be spirits, a firefox’s tale, and even a battle of dragons. These days we know that the Aurora Borealis is actually disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by solar wind, but after seeing the lights in person, it’s easy to understand why so many legends have been made about its existence.

To see the colorful night sky is an experience so breathtaking that you’ll question if what you’re seeing is actually real. The mythical magic of the lights draws thousands of tourists every year. 

Planning an aurora hunt is more than just going north and waiting for the night. The northern lights are never a guarantee; you have to consider weather, place, season, and a lot of other factors in your destination. That’s why I decided to list the seven best places in the world to see the northern

Thermëa spa in Winnipeg can be the perfect winter oasis, and the perfect spot for relaxation in the summertime, too. Surrounded by nature and providing a variety of saunas and pools, this is how to get the most out of Thermëa Winnipeg:

A Brief History of the Nordic Sauna

The first sauna was created by Finnish nomads nearly 10,000 years ago. Its first form was primitive, just a pit dug into the earth which was heated and then covered shut with animal skin. Over time, though, these holes in the ground evolved to become little stand-alone huts, usually made of wood. Today, saunas are a huge part of Finnish culture; in fact, estimates claim that the country of 5.3 million people is home to 2 million saunas! According to a traditional, 2,000-year-old Nordic practice, one should follow time in a sauna with a plunge into an icy

If you’ve always dreamed of seeing the Northern Lights, or have seen them already and know how incredible they are, you’ll know it’s a beautiful phenomenon that gets addictive. The more you have seen them, the more you want to again.

When the skies are dark and clear, the sun storms put on a dazzling lights display that has enchanted humans for millennia. Are they on your bucket list? Here’s everything to know about seeing them in Churchill, Manitoba, one of the best places in the world to view the Northern Lights:

Why Churchill for the Northern Lights?

Given Churchill’s proximity to the auroral oval in the remote subarctic, it has the perfect conditions in the dead of winter to see the lights: Darkness, clarity, and a perfect position affording an excellent opportunity to see them even with a Kp index as low as 1. A higher Kp

Myanmar’s Kakku Pagodas showed up on my Instagram feed when I was elbow deep in research for my Myanmar trip. Near-ish to Inle Lake, the Mwe Taw Kakku Pagoda Complex seemed like the perfect off the beaten path alternative to the usual lake and temple tour.

Like a corn maze of intricately decorated stupas, varying in color from white to gold, pink, and orange, these 2400+ stupas are arranged in such a way that you can weave through them, getting gloriously lost in a twinkling, bell-sounding forest of Buddhist devotion.

Most of the pagodas were constructed in the 17th and 18th centuries, and many of them have been restored after suffering earthquake damage.

As you walk through you’ll notice that some appear to be even older. It’s believed that some of the stupas date back to King Aluangsithu, the 12th century King of Bagan (even some claims have

Alright, folks, it’s time to be frank: the present state of Mother Earth isn’t looking good. The planet needs us more than ever before. We have a pretty serious situation on our hands as a result of climate change, and now I’ve found myself asking — as I’m sure many of you have, too — what do I do now? How can I help?

You may have heard of something called “carbon offsetting.” This term has begun to appear more and more in climate change conversation, and is shrouded in controversy as well. Is it legitimate? Let’s take a look.

What is carbon offsetting?

The World Economic Forum provides a graphic (source: graphs.net produced by GOOD and Deeplocal using data from NRDC, US EPA, Clean Air Cool Planet, and The Discovery Channel) that does a great job of breaking it down: The concept of a carbon offset is