Da Mystik Homeboy

This out of the way spot holds the highest monastery in the world, in the basin of mount everest:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rongbuk_Monastery

This is one of the most beautiful places I have been to in my entire life. White beaches with spraypainted tanks in the sand, amazingly clear water for fantastic snorkeling, isolated spots on the island for hikes and more snorkeling, and at night the ocean is illuminated by bio-reactive algae that glow green when you swim.

The Jemez Valley is one of my favorite spots in New Mexico—it’s drive that takes you through some amazing villages and reservations, and finally into a wooded valley loaded with hot springs. While there are some more developed hot springs like the one at the buddhist center, there are others where hidden in the hills that provide you an amazing view of the sky and valley. As a bonus, it’s usually not terribly crowded either. Definately a mystical spot.

The pantanal is in a very desolate location - the nearest large town is hundreds of kilometers away. As a result, the night time viewing conditions are simply the most fantastic I have seen in my life. On a clear night, the sky here is primordial. Having no light pollution doesn’t mean just that you can see a lot of stars - it turns the night sky into a psychedelic astronomical aquarium you can spend hours and hours looking at.

Even camping in desolate regions in North America does not compare! I have never truly experienced the night sky before this! It’s sort of sad in a sense as after being here, I realized that most modern people will never experience this, or understand how much our atmospheric polution has changed the world, and how radically different life for people just a 100 years ago must have been.

Bihar is dangerous, filthy, hot, flat, mosquito ridden, and terribly conservative. What’s not to love??? This is a historic place filled with a lot of unique perspectives and ways of life.