Monks, Meditation and Monasteries: 5 Days in Koyasan

Monks, Meditation and Monasteries: 5 Days in Koyasan

For 5 days and 4 nights, I stayed in the Koyasan (Mt. Koya) area of Japan, the center of Shingon Buddhism. The thing to do here, besides visiting the multitude of Buddhist temples, is to stay at one (or two, in my case). Temple lodging, or Shukubo offers guests a taste of a monk’s lifestyle, eating vegetarian (vegan, actually) monk’s cuisine (shojin ryori) and attending the morning ritual and prayers. Around fifty

Jen’s favorite country: Japan

Jen’s favorite country: Japan

Japan is the closest thing to a utopia to me; in many ways it’s the perfect place for me to be. It’s my favorite country so far and that’s certainly saying something, as I’ve visited more than 18 countries (and counting). I loved Japan so much that the two weeks we spent here in April weren’t enough. I came back to stay for the entire month of September. Japan does

This Can’t Be Happening: Buses in Cambodia

This Can’t Be Happening: Buses in Cambodia

  The following post was written by a former contributor to Chasing the Unknown. The views expressed are not those of the site’s owner. Before arriving in Cambodia, like any savvy traveler, I did my research and tried to learn about all of the possible scams we could potentially face as well as what it would be like to travel within the country. I read horror story after horror story

Living the Dream: Bartending on Utila

Living the Dream: Bartending on Utila

The following post was written by a former contributor to Chasing the Unknown. The views expressed are not those of the site’s owner. Three months ago, I would have never imagined that I would be walking home through Utila Town at 5am from my job as a bartender at an “after party bar (read: gets busy at 12:30am and the dance party doesn’t stop till after 4am),” named Coco Loco.