I discovered Wonder View Trail during a research trip last summer, arriving at what I thought was the wrong time—6:30am felt absurdly early for a casual hike. But watching sunrise paint the Hollywood Sign gold while standing completely alone on Burbank Peak changed how I approach urban hiking forever. The trail locals call “The Golden … Lire plus
I stepped off the cramped ferry at Thanlyin’s crumbling dock, certain I’d made a navigation error. The boat captain gestured toward a weathered longtail bobbing in muddy water, its pilot chain-smoking beneath a faded umbrella. “Yele Paya,” he said, pointing toward an empty horizon. Twenty minutes later, rising from the Yangon River like a stone … Lire plus
I spent two decades photographing rainbow streets from Burano’s Venetian canals to Guatapé’s Colombian hills, chasing the perfect Instagram aesthetic. Then a Cape Malay grandmother in Cape Town stopped me mid-shutter: “Tourist, you see paint. We see freedom.” I was standing in Bo-Kaap, where 6,000 residents live among South Africa’s brightest houses—but these colors weren’t … Lire plus
Three years ago, I stood on El Nido’s crowded pier watching 47 boats queue for the same island-hopping tour. A weathered Filipino boatman named Mang Rico leaned over and whispered: “Tourist, you want real paradise? No permit from Linapacan police, no entry.” That offhand comment led me to Bolina Island—a permit-protected islet in Palawan’s 52-island … Lire plus
I still remember my first Washington DC sunrise chase—alarm set for 5:45am, stumbling through Georgetown streets with coffee in hand, convinced I’d missed the famous Tidal Basin crowds. What I discovered at 6:30am changed how I understand cherry blossoms forever. The Jefferson Memorial glowed pink in dawn light, surrounded by 3,800 trees in full bloom, … Lire plus
Perched dramatically on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Burgundy countryside, Châteauneuf-en-Auxois rises like a medieval mirage against the sky. This fortified village in France’s Côte-d’Or department isn’t just another pretty French town – it’s a remarkably preserved time capsule that transports visitors straight to the Middle Ages, without the overwhelming crowds that plague more famous … Lire plus
I discovered Nevada’s liquid rose-gold phenomenon by accident in 2023, chasing hot springs near Fallon. What I found changed everything: America’s only pink lakes where halophilic bacteria create colors more vibrant than Australia’s famous Lake Hillier, but you can walk right up to them for $0 instead of paying $400 for a helicopter glimpse. Standing … Lire plus
Green Island’s boat dock erupts with chaos by 9am—over 1,000 tourists jostling for beach space, snorkel guides shouting over diesel engines, and $220 reef packages that deliver 90 rushed minutes before the next cattle-boat departure. I’ve spent two decades exploring the Great Barrier Reef’s 2,900 individual reefs, and this commercialized mayhem represents everything authentic reef … Lire plus
I’ve spent twenty-five years photographing caves across six continents, but Croatia’s Blue Cave on Biševo Island stopped me mid-breath. This isn’t another sea grotto with pleasant blue water—this is the only Adriatic cave where underwater sunlight creates liquid sapphire, a optical phenomenon so precise that scientists measure it in 15-minute windows when the sun hits … Lire plus
I arrived at Perast’s stone waterfront at dawn, watching mist lift from the Bay of Kotor to reveal something impossible: two medieval islands separated by 200 meters of sacred water. Our Lady of the Rocks glowed pink in early light, its baroque church rising from what locals call “the miracle isle” — the only artificial … Lire plus