Amazing Photojournal Idea: Leading Around the World on Imgur

Documenting trips around the world is one of my biggest passions. Combining writing and photography can make a big difference. One constant that I like to have in all of my photography is people. I enjoy capturing what makes all of the places around the world so special. And that is mostly the people. Yes, landscape, skyscapes, and all other -scapes are incredible and I love photographing them, but the ones that resonate just a bit more emotion to me are photos with people within the frame. This imgur album titled "leading around the world" is something I stumbled upon and I love it.

The theme is not people -- but rather a person. This is a loved one that's wanderlust, nomadic, adventurous, fun and wanting to share the experience -- quite literally, hand and hand. Having someone to share the magnificent wonders of travel, test your limits and patience in unfamiliar territories, and challenge you daily as you expand your comfort zones is not only a treasure to a globetrotter, but it is a rarity. I connected closely to this user, makemisteaks', album. I brings back incredible memories of traveling with a companion and forever having those experiences together, like a tattoo seared into your memory. We tried to do a running photo series while traveling, but instead of hands holding, we used our loving little stuffed panda bear as our featured motif through the China landscapes.

This "leading" album is beautifully made (unlike the half-hearted attempt we made in China), and although the HDR quality can be a bit distracting, it is necessary to see all of the subtle features and details of every single photograph. Look closely at every photo and see recurring themes and what things change (fingernail polish, braclets, hairstyle, background and colors). All of these things go "hand-and-hand" with the feeling of each photo, almost as if you could tell what the expression on the woman's face is in every photo.
Truly a fascinating album and genuine idea to do a point-of-view album that encompasses travel photography and nostalgic memories for those within the photo and those just viewing it.

Love this one... reminds me of a tree near the temple I lived at in Bangkok.

12 Days of Thankfulness: Well Made Videos

Sitting at a computer for most of the day allows for YouTube videos and others to land on my double monitors. Sometimes I need a little motivation to keep working through the day. As I am not a coffee drinker, I typically look for something else to give me some energy or excitement.
Very often I find myself watching a YouTube video to grab my attention for a bit. So for this post, I am thankful for videos that produce some emotion and are a cut above the regular Tosh.0/America's Funniest Home Videos/viral garbage out there. In the world of Google and YouTube, there is plenty to be distracted by, so why not make it meaningful and interesting: whether it be well designed/directed short films, great eye catching trailers, interesting music videos, or simply something that you get a truly genuine emotion out of rather than your average "laugh at that person fall off a bicycle" reaction. Just as I look for my photography to create an emotion, I look for artists to do so with video.
So is a list of some of my favorite videos recently:

Bangkok By Night: My friend Cole, who is currently teaching in Bangkok at my old employer, has a knack for catching the everyday nightlife of the great capital of Thailand. He captures the speed yet laid back feel that Bangkok has when the city lights turn on. The nostalgia is incredibly powerful with this video he made.

14 Days of Thankfulness: Earth/Space

Today I am thankful for earth/space. Not for the normal reasons like giving us life or being a really cool area in the sky to look at. Those are a given, I'm thankful for living and thankful for the fact that earth indeed exists in space.

I'm thankful for earth/space because of videos like this (below). Fortunately I was shown this video from my good friend, Matt, as his appreciation to amazing photography, video, films, music, culture, writing, etc is very similar with mine.


Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

The video itself is a majestic look at earth from the International Space Station orbiting around our planet, our home, our everything, really. The time-lapse panorama footage boggles my mind as I can watch it hundreds of times over, staring at the connecting lights of urban plots and various colors that our planet projects out into space so beautifully. It's something that I feel every person should watch at least once to get a true understand of how special a place we live on and how much we can learn from it. I have to steal Matt's quote on this because its perfect...

"I feel lucky to have this. It’s a perspective of the earth — our home — that only a few years ago wasn’t possible. Think of everything that had to happen to make this video possible: all the years of  science and research that made sustained space orbit possible; the capital — human and gold — spent to put a station in the sky; the convergence of communication, video, and social technology that created the platforms for these images to be shot, edited, and broadcast to our virtual networks. We see a camera above the clouds mapping our physical networks — cities, highways, structures — broadcasting its images along our virtual network in the digital cloud. I think it shows that even in something as ephemeral as a viral video, there is a lot for which to be thankful."

I couldn't have put it better myself (hence why he was Editor in Chief and I was Managing Editor). Thanks, Matt for allowing me to publicly thank you and our good friend, Earth.
PS- and to make the rest of your appreciate Earth even more, I suggest watching this video below as well. It's remarkable:

The Mountain from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

22 Days Until Thanksgiving: What I am Thankful For

As there are 22 more days until Thanksgiving, I figured I would start a little tradition and put what I am thankful for as my status each day (somewhat stolen idea):
Today, I am thankful for all of the support of friends, family, colleagues and co-workers of W Michael Tirone Photography. Your presence in my life keeps my passion strong. Without all of you, I would not be so fortunate to have websites, galleries, books, and photo shoots and also an outlet. My appreciation of your support is beyond words and I am truly thankful for that.

"Happiness [is] Only Real When Shared": Do Yourself a Service

When hard work pays off, it truly feels incredible. We deal with so much pressure and stress in this world already, so when you put all of your effort toward a goal, it is incredibly important that it is successful. The weight of a deadline or anxiety of making good impressions are all logical reasons to perhaps not try to take risks or set difficult goals.

Within two weeks time I will be have completed two fairly monumental things in my life. Everyone has had events that impact their life significantly and during those “ah ha” moments you reach clarity. I remember back in 2008 I volunteered to do Hurricane Katrina clean up with Spring Break Outreach in New Orleans. Before my group left, we had an orientation that featured my good friend, John, as a speaker. He gave a speech about what it meant to volunteer your time to a good cause. He said that doing service is a time in which you see the face of God and He is ever-loving, therefore your heart is filled with love, compassion, and joy by doing said service. I was affected by John’s speech (and musical selection to play Ben Harper’s “Blessed to Be a Witness” song) and its groundwork has stuck with me for a very long time, especially because he was right, volunteering did show me love.

"Life, Love and Pursuit Of..." gallery premiering Oct. 3rd

"As free human beings we can use our unique intelligence to try to understand ourselves and our world. But if we are prevented from using our creative potential, we are deprived of one of the basic characteristics of a human being."  ~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama

My largest and most exciting photography gallery Life, Love and Pursuit Of: Daily Interactions with the World will be premiering on Monday October 3rd, at Brewer's Art. The gallery graciously has asked for me to fill their entire back dining room with over 20 large photos from my collection and will have the gallery up until January. Brewer's Art will be providing free appetizers and happy hour drink prices all night for the event and will also include a free print of one of the images from the gallery, given randomly to anyone who attends the event. So you get to come look at some great images and hear the stories behind them, eat some delicious food for free, drink Baltimore's best beers for cheap, and potentially win a free piece of art. That doesn't sound too terrible, right?

I have put in more time, money, countless hours of lost sleep, energy, and extreme amounts of patience to make this gallery. It is one that I am incredibly proud of and cannot wait to show everyone. My motivation and inspiration behind this exhibit was one that I found while traveling throughout Asia and Africa over the past three years. I realized that I wanted to capture daily life, whether it be doing a job shift, at home with family, traveling around the country, or celebrating your passions. Every person lives their lives in an unique and interesting way, and I only hoped to have captured some of those idiosyncrasies to show that although living on completely different ends of the planet, everyone has love, everyone has emotions, everyone has the pursuit of something important to them; ie- money, peace, happiness, etc. But overall, it's life. We are all living life and this gallery is to celebrate that.

One of the best parts about finalizing this exhibit and waiting for the materials to arrive is that today (September 20th) is World Peace Day. This gallery hopes to give, show, spread peace to people that see the images and are somehow affected by them. Remember that peace is not just a liberal-minded belief or unreachable attainment. Peace can be found within yourself and within the world, I only hope that this gallery may guide you towards that peaceful direction.

"Because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. This is not just a dream, but a necessity." ~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Be sure to head to my website michaeltirone.com and take a look at just a few images that will be displayed at the Life, Love, and Pursuit Of... gallery (I obviously can't show you them all!) Also remember to sign the virtual guestbook on the website AND the actual guestbook once you get to Brewer's Art on Monday, October 3rd!

Combine my Passions and Guarantee Me a Memorable Experience

*-Editor's Note: My former boss recently addressed to me over a Facebook status I posted, that there are very specific things in my life that bring me happiness. I realized that I am a bit transparent in my passions, but I feel that is a good thing. This post covers a large part of the things I love in life.

There is nothing that goes better with good music than great photography...

Come to think of it, a good drink is always a lovely addition as well.

I skipped out of work early a few weeks back to catch a glimpse of a legend on the rise and a structure bound to crumble. The three hour bus ride from Baltimore up to New York City was dark, sleepy, chilly, and rainy. I awoke in New Jersey to see that the beautiful Maryland sun that I left was long gone and the NJ/NY region was rain soaked.
It didn't tamper my excitement.
I got off the bus to torrential downpours outside of Penn Station, enough to keep me trapped in the Old Navy store for at least 20 minutes to plan my next move in the terrible weather. I arrived early enough to catch up with my brother who works in Manhattan, but that plan failed due to the inclement storm.
But that didn't kill my buzz for what was coming.
A paid five dollars to a man who was wondering the wet streets of Manhattan screaming out "five dollas! UM-BRELLAS! Five dollas!" He must have doubled as a hot dog vendor at Yankee Stadium with his projected voice and pockets bulging in wet cash. He knew how to work the crowds. Sadly his product was not as useful as his selling production. The flimsy umbrella gave me just enough coverage to walk the two blocks into Penn Station so that not only my legs and feet were wet but really only my head was dry.
Still didn't break my cool.
I sat on the floor of the main corridor of Penn Station waiting for my friend Matt to get out of work so we could get to the show in the upper, UPPER west side of Manhattan. I put my things down, iPod headphones on, and pulled my camera out. I always believe that if you want to catch the everyday occurrences, especially in New York City, you have to spend some time sitting in one location.
Homeless men came over digging in the trash can I sat beside and looked at my camera, then at what I was shooting at, and then back at me. They looked perplexed by the normal things I was finding behind my lens, as they see them everyday. I snapped and snapped away while doing my best to ignore the gazers and to NOT listen to the band I will be seeing perform live in a few short hours on my iPod. (A rule of thumb I put the test earlier in the day via Facebook poll... still my thesis is undetermined.)
My headphones were ablaze.
Fyfe Dangerfield's "Barricades"-- snap -- Friendly Fires' "Hawaiian Air" --snap snap -- Frank Ocean's "The City" -- snap snap snap.

Penn Station commotion

Penn Station: I heart NY

New York, New York, Yankees

Finally, Matt arrived and we grabbed a slice at the pizza joint I had been smelling for the past hour. We caught up, talked about life as we stuffed our faces with overpriced dough and under-flavored beer. It was perfect. We knew the show would be a hike by train and we didn't want to miss any of it so we left early. The humidity poured into the subway platforms, although above our heads were water covered streets with Fahrenheit levels much lower than in the stuffy underground.  Sweating was not an option, it was the rule.
I went from cold, damp, and hungry to hot, full, and sweaty in a matter of minutes.
Still didn't bother me.
We hopped on the A train to get all the way up to 175th St. in Washington Heights. Practically into The Bronx. We jumped out of the train and up to ground level to luckily see the rain had stopped. We encountered two cabbies having an argument directly in the middle of an intersection and to then realize that the region we were in was predominantly Dominican. We spotted United Palace Theatre across the street which is where we would be seeing the great Bon Iver in concert in about an hour or so.
The theatre was old, decrepit from the outside. Looking at it closely, there weren't even signs of a concert to be had there that night. The marquee didn't mention a concert and I had to ask Matt, "is this the theatre? It looks like a rundown church." He confirmed and we went to find a place to grab a beer in the meantime.
I didn't care if I was to see Bon Iver in a shack or from an airplane above the theatre, I was too excited.
Matt and I stepped into a local bar/restaurant and immediately the amazing smells of rice, chicken, and beans slammed our faces as hard as the gaze from the locals upon us two unsuspecting white boys. We sat at the bar, order a round of beers and some tequila, to liven things up. We enjoyed a few more rounds, got a bit of a buzz going, and closed out our tab to head to the show.
We walked through the theatre doors, showed one person our tickets and instantly, it was as if we had stepped back a century in time. The main corridor of this theatre, which was built in 1930 was magnificent. Intricate detail on all the walls, religious/motivating quotations painted under sprawling archways, chandeliers hanging from the extremely high ceiling, and incredible statues surrounding the entire area. It was something out of a Roman cathedral. Two reviews of the Theatre/Cathedral which is owned by the United Church Science of Living Institute both give a widespread idea of its design.

"Its architectural style is described by the AIA Guide to New York City as "Cambodian neo-Classical" and by David W. Dunlap as "Byzantine-Romanesque-Indo-Hindu-Sino-Moorish-Persian-Eclectic-Rococo-Deco."" ... we agreed with both descriptions.

We selected the one beer option available, a tasty blonde micro-brew, and made our way through the bustling crowd to take some photos. The lighting was dim, giving the entire atmosphere a very special feel. Every single person entering the theatre's main doorway had the exact same expression of pure shock and flabbergast. Cameras were whipped out immediately from every stereotypical Bon Iver fan walking in, which presumably hurt the memorabilia booth selling band t-shirts right near the front door.
We had to walk to the second floor to enter the concert hall only to be told that our drinks (the ones we just purchased) were not allowed past the stairway to the hall.
This still was not going to kill my months of build-up to this show.
I chugged, threw away my cup and walked up to the steps surrounded by purple walls and golden trim and into the main hall.
Within twenty minutes of stepping off the Spanish speaking streets of New York City, I had been shocked by architectural beauty, not once but twice. The theatre was just as breathtaking as the corridor. The stage sat far below the balcony as the concert hall was ominously huge and mysterious. Matt and I had the very last seats of the balcony. The furthest away from the stage as possible. The fragment of disappointment in how far away we were disappeared immediately as the band begin the first chords of "Perth" and the acoustics shook the building, echoing all the way to the ceiling which we practically sat at.

The show came and went in a blink of an eye. Each song corresponded perfectly with the venue and the energy of the building. Justin Vernon's words spoke in reverberation throughout the empty and winding hallways in the back of the theatre. Organization of the seats was terrible: odd numbers and missing letters allowed for confused concert goers to need the ushers' flashlights and assistance in finding their assigned seats (although it seemed neither two parties really knew where the seats were located). The slope of the seats left taller heads obscuring people's views of the stage, where as the back seats allowed for Matt and I to stand if we felt the need. We even discussed what kind of headache it must have been decades ago, sitting behind a woman donning her large Sunday's Best hat. The former "movie palace" is still today used as a church which can occupy a capacity of over 3,200 people. The show at times could play second fiddle to the beautiful landscape of the building. It was easy to get lost in the structure and various ways the stage lighting reflected off specks of mirror and glass within the walls. Sitting in that theatre was a dream for a variety of society; musicians and music lovers, architects and artists, historians and theologists.

The final two songs of the Bon Iver set arrived: "The Wolves (Act I and Act II)" and "Skinny Love". Both songs included the crowds participation immensely. Vernon happily requested for the sold out audience to sing and clap along to both songs, respectively. Have 3,000 people scream -per request of Vernon- "what might have been lost" in a crescendo of volume made this concert a communal experience during "The Wolves".
I left the concert hall screaming "my my my, my my my" and clapping in beat to the snare-drum in "Skinny Love" (my favorite song) with the rest of the crowd as we all rushed as fast as possible to catch the last train going downtown to Penn Station.

I might have said my goodbyes to United Palace and Bon Iver in one fell swoop and sadly didn't show my appreciation with a round of applause. But the memories of one of the greatest concerts I've ever seen and at (hands-down) the most amazing venue I've ever been to will keep me going to shows, taking photos, listening to music. And having a beer when it's allowed.
Months of build-up and excitement and still I try not to let any misfortunes ruin my passions.

**Some other photos from that trip from Hoboken: located here and below

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Trains in China

In light of the tragic train accident which happened in China's Zhejiang province just a week ago and the eerily ironic timing of this blog series of transportation in countries I have traveled to, I had to write about China's trains.

But first, do remember those who lost loved ones in that accident in Zhejiang province, the accident took 39 people and injured almost 200 more. 

Clean up from the worst train wreck in China since 2008.

In a country where at any given moment in time, there are at least 1 million people riding a train in China, you know how heartbreaking an incident like this can be to a nation. 

The most populous country in the world is interconnected by its railway system. It has 74.438 kilometers (46,235 miles) of train track, making it the most prolific railway builder in the world with addition 6,000 kilometers of track at year. Nearly 2 billion passengers use the railway today and the numbers are growing more and more.

In my personal experiences with Chinese trains (as I spent nearly five whole days in combined travel time on Chinese trains while there in 2008), they are like no other mode of transportation I've ever experienced. 

My first experience with one of the most popular lines in the country was within my first 24 hours within China, in Guangzhou in the southeastern corner or the country. I was riding up to Shanghai for what was said to be an 11 hour journey.

Being unable to speak Mandarin fluently (or Cantonese in the southeastern province) was very difficult. Life was fast paced and aggressive. Train stations (in major cities) were crowded and stuffy. There were no English signs or assistance anywhere and a very dog-eat-dog world, where if you didn't raise your voice and throw your cash at the ticket collector, you didn't get a ticket. Simple as that. I saw a very elderly woman get physically pushed to the ground while in line by a younger man just so he could catch his train in time. They barked at each other while waiting for the next person in line but no one got anywhere due to the very poor organization.

The train station in Dunhuang (northwestern province), a much quieter, less bustling station compared to Guangzhou, Shanghai, or Beijing.

Once finally getting my “hard sleeper” ticket and paying a premium price for it, I arrived at the train terminal to wait for the train to arrive. As soon as it was seen pulling in, the fighting began. Every single person began pushing, shoving, yelling, and forcing their way to the edge of the platform with such furiousness that I backed away. I didn't feel like a) dealing with the tension b) fighting for a seat I already had (or thought I did) and c) risk getting pushed onto the track with the train coming through.

The train stopped and doors opened and the people inside the train had no prayer of trying to get off before the swarms of people wormed through them to get onto the train as if it was to leave in 4 seconds.

What I saw shocked me, but I knew I had a ticket so I took my time. Bad decision.

I got onto the train to find that there were no seat assignments. My ticket had numbers on it, but they didn't mean anything. They over booked the train with ease, not even close to accidentally. There were no seats and if seats were somewhat open for perhaps half a cheek to squeeze on, they pushed me off with force. So instead of thinking I was getting a sleeper bed or at least a chair for this 11 hours train ride, I got a small corner of the train directly in front of the rancid toilet room. Which really should be described as a hole to the tracks that has crap and urine peppering the rim of it.

The train took off and I saddled up on top of my backpack as the floor itself was sticky and dirty. A bunch of men began smoking and playing cards next to me in the extended halls toward the train doorways. They kept the doors open for a bit but once the flies started coming in, and the sun went down, it began to get cold and they shut them. The smoke filled the small cornered room I sat in, which was almost a blessing in disguise as the toilet room just stunk of foul odors, especially since the bathroom door did not shut fully, so it stayed swinging open and slamming back against the frame each swaying of the wobbly train. The men began gambling with their card games and go aggressive. At this point I decided to say “mai pen rai” and embrace the moment. I tried communicating with them and tried watching what game they played on the floor. Cold shoulders and a brush of the open palm to “shoo” me away brought me right back to when my older siblings were playing games that they didn't want me to join. It was a bit disappointing but I could still watch (and take photos).

The men sitting next to me crammed into the doorways to play a loud, aggressive game of cards which was highlighted by slamming the cards down with force onto the table and shouting. Perfect sleeping conditions paired with their chain smoking.

After about seven hours, and and nighttime falling, and handfuls of the neighboring men falling asleep and snoring, and hundreds of people kicking me as I sat on the floor, all I wanted to do was sleep. No. Way. That was happening. I looked for open seats but as soon as someone got up to go to the bathroom, another would steal their seat for the moment and then argue who's seat it was when the person returned.

The water fountain was to my right above my head, and it spat out luke-warm water or steaming hot water for tea. Every person on the train carried their own special glass canister with raw tea in it. They would fill the canister with piping hot water which occasionally splashed onto my head as I read my book (which was dangerously the Dalai Lama's autobiography that I carefully folded the front cover over as it is illegal for his publications to be in the country or be read, but I took the risk). 

I hadn't eaten anything since boarding and there were no food carts of any sorts. I was thirsty, tired, hungry, and annoyed. The bathroom door slamming. The men smoking. The people kicking me. The water splashing me. The yelling. The smells. The uncomfortable position on the floor. It all was waring on me and I hadn't been in the country for more than 30 hours yet. 

Come about nine hours into the trip, it got worse. An epidemic began to spread through the train and lines began to form outside of the bathroom, right at my feet. At first I was too delusional to realize what was going on. It was not until someone ran up to the fountain near my head and began vomiting into it when I realized that half the train was getting ill. And they all were coming to MY bathroom to get sick in. 

With an empty stomach and the smells changing from wretched to unbearable, the train ride definitely reached a point of no return. The thoughts came streaming into my head:

“how am I going to survive this country for a month?”

“how am I going to survive this train for two more hours?”

“I plan to travel on trains throughout the entire month, please tell me they won't all be like this.”

“No. They can't all be like this. It can't really get much worse than this.”

I had to start thinking on the bright side of things and saying, “well, at least the worst ride will be out of my way, once its over!”

The eleventh hour hit and I saw not a signal indication that we were close to Shanghai at all. I met a man who spoke a little English and saw I was holding a ticket. Someone I stuck a deal with him to pay me 150 yuan for my ticket since he did not have one and was afraid of being caught without one. In exchange he would let me sit in his seat until we arrived in Shanghai as he was going to Beijing, so it was a better deal for him to have his seat saved by me for the next few hours. He was kind enough to pay me although he did try to just take my ticket without paying me at first. I asked him what time we would arrive in Shanghai...

“One or two more hours right?” I asked.

“Ha!” he shook his head, and pointed to a number on the ticket and then to his watch which read 5:30am. The time on the ticket said 11:00 which is what I thought was to be the total time in hours, but really it was the arriving time. Which meant the train still had about six hours left, so a total of 15 hours. 

Oh boy.

My worst nightmare had come true, and my train from hell was extended to overtime. By that time I assured myself these two things...

“The rest of the trains WILL NOT be as bad as this one,” and “I'm making sure I get a sleeper for the rest of the trains, even if it kills me.”

… the nine more trains including ones totaling 15, 17, 13, 24, and 19 hours respectively were actually much more tolerable. Thank goodness. But I learned all my lessons on my first train ride in China, pack food, prepare for delays/the worst, stay hydrated, pay premium for beds, and just take in the journey. It's very difficult not to let the trains be a part of your journey when nearly a quarter of my trip was on one.

*Below are some random photos from China, some on trains and some attributed to the trains taking me there. Either way, they all peace together my trip.

My traveling panda who was captured on all parts of the trip. Here he is taking in the views from outside of Jiayuguan on the overnight train. It was a bit chilly outside but he was warm near the heater.

Two images from the gardens in Guilin.

The longest train ride to get here but the greatest reward; Jiayuguan. This is the last fort of the Great Wall of China stretching 5,500 miles from the seas near Beijing all the way across the Gobi to Jiayuguan, finally ending with that last fort in the background in the most removed and unknown place I've ever been. Truly amazing and only 24 hours on a train to get there.

The motorbikes lined up along Shanghai streets.

A woman prays at the world famous Jade Temple in Shanghai.

Two women holding incense sticks at the Jade Temple in Shanghai.

A wet flower in the Panda Sanctuary in Chengdu.

Planes, Train, and Automobiles: Planes in Laos

“It's not where you go, it's how you get there.” ~ Anonymous

When traveling; whether internationally, domestically, to work, from work, wherever, however-- you have time to contemplate your Point A and your Point B.

But sometimes the beauty of both points is the in between. I sometimes can recall modes of transportation more vividly than the actual places that I visited, and I find that truly fascinating.

It's been more than a year since I've gone on a fairly substantial trip. So to fill my void, I have another travelog broken into three parts.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles:

Today's post: Planes: 

Just recently I flew back home to New Hampshire for an extended weekend. I typically enjoy making the 10 hour drive from Baltimore, but decided against it this time with gas prices and the length of time it takes. I arrived at BWI ready to get home and see my family. But then my flight was delayed due to bad weather in New England (although beautiful in Baltimore at the time). So I sat in the terminal and did some photo editing on the free computer tables with A/C plugs by my gate. As I was getting onto my plane, I saw my flight attendants, gave a smile and grabbed my seat. I turned my phone off, grabbed my iPod and listened to some music before taking off. As Baltimore started to fade into flickering lights below me, my headphones melodically played Beach House's “Teen Dream” album and the flight attendants began asking for drink orders and happily handing us peanuts. By then I reflected back on past flights I've taken abroad and one stuck out in my head.

September of 2006, I went on the most life-changing trip (at the time) throughout the heart of the most underrated, unknown, unappreciated, unbelievable country in the world: Laos. Ten days backpacking by myself, meeting the coolest people, eating the most delicious foods and taking some of my best photographs to date. My last day in Luang Prabang, the northern capital of the country, was an emotional roller coaster. I was ecstatic waking up to see the city but knowing by the end of the day, I would be back home in Bangkok with all my friends I missed so much. I then decided to try and save my photographs from my ten days traveling before my cards filled up on my last day. I went to a shop with my new travel-buddy, Anja. She saved her photos on their quite old computer. Then my turn came and went without anything happening but my digital card being unreadable. After a second try, the computer corrupted my entire card, all 1,000+ photos throughout Laos lost. Completely.

I broke down. Was beside myself. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. It sounds crazy but my photos are my life and that trip couldn't have been captured more perfectly than in those images. I sought refuge my just exploring the city with Anja anyway, trying to clear my head. We went to the city's oldest temple, the most sacred, Wat Xieng Thong. I fell in love with the old architecture, the beautiful open feeling of it all and the view along the water. I took a deep breath and let the temple wash over me and I meditated for two hours inside the temple, praying to clear my head of the negative feelings I had about my card being ruined and photos being lost. I left the temple with a more at ease mindset.

Inside the Wat Xieng Khong, my refuge for a few hours.

The amazing architecture of one of the oldest temples in Asia.

Its gold and bronze stands out above the rest of the temples in the city. Its history is so visual.

I arrived at the Luang Prabang Airport ready to go home to my bed. To sleep and forget about my photos and be distracted by my close friends and move on. As I sat in the “waiting room” of the airport the size of the men's t-shirt section of a Wal-Mart, I wanted to call someone; my girlfriend, my mom, my dad, my sister, anyone who could help me talk out the rest of the bad in my head from earlier in the day. But I didn't own a phone and couldn't contact anyone until Bangkok. So I sat and waited on my own.

I walked along the tarmac to board the pond-hopper. I stepped up into the plane, went to my assigned seat and saw there was a large British man sitting in my seat. I asked him if it was his seat, he replied, “Yes it is.”

I then asked him, “Ok, well that seat next to you with your bag on it, is it ok if sit there since this is my row?”

He snapped back, “No.”

By this time the planes doors have closed and the flight attendants were going through the safety instructions in their native tongue. I wasn't sure what to do. My extremely heavy backpack was weighing down on my shoulders and the brim of my forehead was sweating. The plane began to move into position for take off and this man who was sitting beside his luggage on my seat was not allowing me to take my own seat! By the time the flight attendants realized I was not seated, the plane's engines were ready to go. One attendant rushed up the aisle to me, pushed me up to the front of the plane and told me to “stand here” and pointed at the wall facing the first row of seats. In the current state of shock from earlier in the day, having her tell me to stand upright, as we were about to take off, somehow did not surprise me.

The plane picked up speed as the glares from the passengers at the sweaty “farang” man standing in front of the cabin increased. I looked over to the flight attendants sitting in their own seats buckling up for take off as I stood there: all alone, my backpack still on my shoulders, my legs tired, and my mind confused.

I could feel us leave the ground and I did my best to stay balanced. Tje last thing I wanted was to fall onto the first row of passengers who watched me struggle to stay upright. Imagine standing on a full subway train in New York City nowhere near a safety pole to hold onto and bracing for the momentum from the train's G-forces in your entire body. Then multiply that by about five and you'll understand how outrageously awkward yet grueling this task was.

The plane finally reached its planned altitude and leveled out. My legs never felt more relieved. The attendant asked me why I did not sit down in my seat and I explained to her I was trying to but the man I sat by did not allow it. She seemed baffled. And rightfully so. It was a bit odd, but in all my travels, I never assume.
There is always something that isn't as planned but I knew I'd get to Bangkok one way or another, whether its in a seat or hanging by the wing. The attendant escorted me to my seat and told the man to move his luggage for me to sit down. He huffed and snarled at me as if I ratted him out to his mother. The next two hours in the air were silence. The tension radiating off his body because I took his oversize suitcase's seat was raw. He was angry the entire flight. I could have cared less and just wanted to get home. Externally to him, I must have looked as apathetic as possible. But internally there was much more going on. There we sat, looking over the green mountaintops of Laos. One of us irately emotional and the other emotionally irate.

The most spectacular waterfall I've ever seen, the Kouang Si Falls outside of Luang Prabang.

The Luang Prabang traffic view from atop Phusi Hill.

Paintings laid along the roadsides of the Night Market.

Elephant ornaments at the famous Night Market in Luang Prabang

The Laos countryside up Route 13 north to Luang Prabang.

Incense sticks at Pak Au Caves in Luang Prabang