Author: ki’une
-

Travel Hacking: Skipping The Resorts In Cuba
I love travel. But I don’t love all-inclusive resorts. They never truly represent the countries they reside in, catering to generally indifferent tourists and showcasing a country’s culture in a pre-packaged form (i.e. cultural shows). At the same time, I can understand the necessity for them as many people prefer to lie safely on a beach…
-

Dean Potter – A Memorial, And Living Life Awesomely
Extreme athlete Dean Potter recently passed away on a BASE jump alongside fellow wingsuiter Graham Hunt. As an avid climber, I’ve followed him pretty extensively as he’s prominently featured in several climbing videos dating way back to the late 90’s. His awesome moonwalk video was only released a few weeks ago, and he topped that with a…
-

Prints For Nepal – 100% Donation To Red Cross
Nepal holds a special place in my heart. Several years ago, I had a life-changing journey there. It was one of those countries that really feels like somewhere else once you stepped off the plane – hectic, ancient, minimally westernized – all the same time, accompanied with amazing people. For sure, Nepal is…
-

Adventure Photography – Zion Narrows Silky Timelapses And Daunting Canyons
The Narrows hike in Zion National Park is probably my choice for the best bang-for-the-buck National Park hike. It’s a huge slot canyon, stunningly beautiful, not particularly difficult, and is fun as heck. When it’s not raining and the flash flood danger is low, it’s a not-to-be-missed hike in Zion. I’ll write some tips down
-

Why I Stopped Reading The News – A Year In Review
99.99% of what happens is not on the news. I didn’t know Joan Rivers died. I didn’tknow the Oscar Pistorius trial came and went. I shamefully didn’t know there were a number of terror attacks on foreigners in Syria either. But should I be ashamed for not knowing any of this? As some of you…
-

#5 One Fear A Day – Having No Travel Plans
I used to travel like this. I’d get 3 weeks off from work to take my annual vacation, then I’d pad the vacation with unpaid days off, accumulated unpaid overtime, or long weekends. I’d pore through a recommended guidebook, then scribble out an agenda. So, for example, going to Turkey: Day 1 – Land in Istanbul…
-

#4 One Fear A Day – The Fear Of Making BIG Decisions
One of the things I joke about with my Japanese friends is how I find some Japanese to be yujufudan (優柔不断) or indecisive, to which they all wholeheartedly agree. It could be out of their innate politeness, but whenever I ask questions such as “What do you want to eat?”, “What do you want to do…
-

My 62-Year Old Chinese Aunt Attends “Heidi” Concert Solo, Turns Out To Be Hedley
Meet my Aunt Helen. She’s 62 years old, recently retired, and soon to be a grandmother (I would say overdue, in fact). She’s also rocking out at concerts solo. Here’s the deal. I’ve always known that Aunt Helen has been watching concerts since her recent retirement, but I assumed it was the typical montage for…
-

#3 One Fear A Day – Forgiveness And Fear
I was talking to an acquaintance recently, and she recanted a story to me. Her father had died in a retirement home a while back, and she felt very strongly that the caretakers were to blame. As I heard the story, I understood that yes, there was the possibility the caretakers held some responsibility, though…
-

#2 One Fear A Day – 5 Small Fears To Face Early This Year
Facing fears isn’t a simple task at all. Why is that? Often times, we think that facing fears means doing something big and daunting, like changing careers, confronting a bad relationship, or moving to another country. In my slice of reality, I find that tackling small fears on a daily basis is the better way…