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My name is Kien and I’m an international photographer and filmmaker. Over the last 10 years, I’ve traveled to 70+ countries to find the most wonderful things to check off my bucket list. I hope to share that experience and what I’ve learned to help you do the same.
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Let's Be Adventurers
Bucket List: Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Flight Over Montserrat
Once upon a time, I was asked by a client if I could fly to Barcelona to shoot a short film.
Bucket List: Piccola Cir Via Ferrata In The Dolomites
If there’s one thing you must do in the Dolomites, it’s a via ferrata climb on of the mountains. And while there are so many options, it’s hard to beat a summit of Piccola Cir which takes you on a spiraling upward route around the peak that feels like you’re going vertical the entire time and yet is doable for most people with the right guiding.
Bucket List: The Price Of A Perfect Sunset On Nusa Lembongan
There are days for adventure and excitement, the ones with stories you share over a beer and reminisce about from time to time.
Bucket List: That Time I Fell Into The Amazon River While Peeing
The Amazon rainforest is a beautiful and wild place. It’s also quite big, so while most of it is in Brazil, you can still visit from within Colombia, Equador, Venezuela, Bolivia and Peru.
Bucket List: Off The Beaten Path In Bagan
From my personal journal. “Our days are split in two. We go to sleep twice and we wake up twice. This morning, I’m up about an hour before dawn just as Evie is also waking.
Bucket List: Skydiving At A Place That’s Had 16 Deaths
This is how my first skydive happened. Friend: So the Pho here is actually pretty good. I’ve been craving Vietnamese food lately.
Bucket List: How We Broke A Guinness World Record
I’ve always wanted to break or set a Guinness World Record ever since I found the 1994 edition in the school library.
Ultimate Guide For Visiting Hobbiton In New Zealand 2024
Latest Status: The Hobbiton Movie Set is currently open and operating normally in 2024. Tickets should be booked in advance due to popularity of the tours.
Travel Thoughts & Tips
Why Quitting My Six Figure Job Was Easier Than Choosing An Ice Cream Flavor
Growing up, my family didn’t have much money, so we never took any holidays. What I knew of places like Paris, Cairo, New York, or Venice, I learned from hopping from one casino to the next whenever we drove from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
The Ultimate Guide To Eating In Sayulita 2024
Updated April 2024: Between each of my last visits, a surprising amount of new places opened, while others have closed, rebranded, and/or opened in new locations .
What To Do If You’re Sick Abroad While Traveling
Travel to enough places, and you’ll eventually find yourself writhing in extreme pain from a bout of food poisoning, or some other illness.
The Best Place To Eat Tafelspitz In Vienna
High on my list of things to do whenever I’m in major European cities is to find the best national dishes to eat.
Why I Hate To Travel Alone
I know it’s a strong statement, but before you make that face, know that this is a companion piece to my other post:
Couchsurfing Horror Stories And 7 Tips To Avoid Them
This is not a click-bait article. I have plenty of reasons why you SHOULD couchsurf, but these are my legitimate thoughts and some reasons why you SHOULDN’T couchsurf.
Ultimate Guide BEFORE Hiking The Annapurna Circuit Trek 2024
If you’re in Nepal, you’re most likely here to do some trekking and there’s no trek more grand than the Annapurna Circuit that takes you up 5416m (17769 ft) and across 220 km (~137 mi) of mountains and villages in a circuit that begins in Besisahar and ends in Pokhara.
9 Common Travel Scams To Avoid When Traveling In Europe and Asia
There are scams almost everywhere there are hordes of tourists. Your chances of encountering it comes down to just where you are and how many other tourists are around.
My Travel Photography Gear For 2024
At the end of 2020, I’ve made a complete switch to Fuji’s X-System to cut down size and weight on my travels.
Top 16 Things To Do In Sayulita
Sayulita is a gem of a town in Mexico known for its surfing, but there’s plenty of other things to do if you are tired of sunbathing and want to burn off some of the calories from all those late night tacos.
How To Visit Iceland’s Vatnojokull Glacier Blue Ice Cave In March
Deciding to go to Iceland is the easy part. Choosing the time of year to go is much harder. During the summer, you can get nearly 23 hours of daylight, which opens up all kinds of possibility for traveling at different hours of the day.
Bucket List: Piccola Cir Via Ferrata In The Dolomites
If there’s one thing you must do in the Dolomites, it’s a via ferrata climb on of the mountains. And while there are so many options, it’s hard to beat a summit of Piccola Cir which takes you on a spiraling upward route around the peak that feels like you’re going vertical the entire time and yet is doable for most people with the right guiding.
Hotel Marmolada: Review Of Corvara’s Best Hotel
Where do I begin? The Hotel Marmolada, summed up, feels like staying with a family friend, if your friend was a millionaire and had a beautiful cabin in the mountains with one of the nicest pools and spa in the Dolomites.
Iceland Bucket List: Dry Suit Snorkeling Silfra In The Winter
It was a little hard to wrap my head around it at first, but in the middle of Iceland is a fissure filled with some of the clearest water in the world.
How Far In Advance Should You Book Your Flight?
I’ve been asked many times if I should book my flight far in advance. My rule of thumb is this: book as soon as you are sure about your travel dates.
All The Times Things Fell Through And I Never Told Anyone
I’ve had some amazing experiences and projects that have taken me to some grand and odd corners of the world. Quite a few things happened by luck, like my private audience with the Dalai lama, or having my first travel video go viral.
Switzerland Bucket List: Hiking Seealpsee And Ascher Restaurant In Wasserauen
A couple of months ago, I snuck away to the town of St. Gallen in Switzerland to do some editing. Despite the Swiss Alps just a short train ride away, I managed to stick to my plan to sit still to edit.
How To Get To Lago di Sorapis In The Dolomites
If you’re looking for a very manageable sunrise hike, without the crowds, while staying in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Lago di Sorapis is an exceptional choice.
Is “The Fork” A Legit Deal Or A Scam?
You might have seen The Fork pop up from time to time when researching restaurants in Europe and the UK with discounted deals for eating at certain restaurants.
Lost Luggage And Spanish Deodorant: A Guide To Staying Calm When You Lose Your Shit
Shit happens. On the road, there’s enough going on that small things going awry can cause more damage than it should.