Grand Canyon: Through the Air & Along the Water

After a restful night at the Hualapai Ranch, I woke up the next morning eager to see more of the Grand Canyon. The day was thus employed with a Helicopter ride over the canyon and a boat cruise along the Colorado River. It was my first Helicopter ride and I got to sit at the front, right beside the pilot. Let me just say this: U-N-B-E-L-I-E-V-A-B-L-E! This experience was beyond incredible and I highly recommend it to those who plan on visiting the Grand Canyon. Here, I compiled a few black and white photos that I took that day and I hope that somehow you will catch a glimpse of the beauty that awaits you.

Happy Travels!

Thanks for reading!

To Conquer and Be Conquered

I could have stood there forever. 

As the sun dipped beyond the western horizon and bathed the canyon in it’s fiery glow, a humbling and utterly overwhelming sense of awe filled me. I could have stood there forever and marveled at the beauty of this world that shouts the glory of the one who made it. It was incredible. The depth, the breadth, and the length of the Grand Canyon was mind boggling. I felt so tiny before that consuming vastness, overpowered and conquered. Yet at the same time I felt such a rush standing at the edge of a precipice with seemingly all the world stretched before me. That must have been what rulers felt when they looked upon their kingdoms. Atop the canyon, as far as my eyes could see, I stood level to those towering rocks before me like an equal. It was a completely new experience. I felt conquered and like a conqueror at the same time. It’s for moments like these that I keep traveling. To feel life all anew.

Yes, I could have stood there forever.

Thank you for reading.

Snippets & Musings II

I am a summer person. The warmer the better. Add a few palm trees and the sound of the waves then I’m all happiness. But funny enough, I currently love this winter season. I am even hoping for more snow to fall. As I browsed through my iPhone gallery, I saw a pattern in my pictures. There’s a balance of white and black, of light and darkness, which goes to show that even in the darkest and coldest times, there’s light and warmth to be found. 

A few snippets of daily life this season.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Color of Shape

In a complex world of color and noise that constantly bombards our senses, I welcome the stark bareness of a white building. The simplicity of nothingness, that straightforwardness of a facade devoid of color leaves me to appreciate other aspects to greater extent. Like the curve of a stairwell, the size of a dome, or the rigid uniformity of the windows. Sometimes when you look at something less, you see all the more. 

Wishing you all a wonderful and fulfilling year ahead.

Location: Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles

Admission: Free

Thank You for Reading!

Mornings Far Away

There’s something wonderful about waking up in another city.  Suddenly, the sounds that gently nudge you from your slumber are unfamiliar and somehow unreal. Did I just hear someone calling out in Spanish? you ask yourself, as your drowsy mind tries to make sense of reality. And since when did you hear sharp whistles for a cab at this hour of the day? It takes a while for consciousness to sink in and for you to fully awaken to take in the  newness of your hotel room. 

Then the adventure that a new morning brings starts to unfold.

I love tiptoeing in the dim light to draw back the curtains to reveal another world framed in the window. A bustling street scene of Barcelona, the rhythmic movement of the ocean, an expanse of towering buildings in New York, or the mountains of the Austrian Alps — all the possibilities of the world hidden beyond an enchanted curtain. And all that magic right at the start of a day. 

As I crack open the window or step out onto the balcony, another whole wave of sensations fill my senses. How could the smell of mountain air be so fresh or the salty ocean breeze be so inviting? How could the crisp chilly air of the north transport me right back to my earliest childhood memories? Everything seems surreal. 

Oh yes, how wonderful it is to wake up in another city, where your soul arises as your body awakens. Everything is recognized more keenly. The foreign sounds and smells are perceived and not merely overlooked. The beauty of the world is appreciated and not just ignored. Each morning brings hope and excitement. Life is lived intimately. 

And all begins with mornings far away.

Thank you for reading!