Machu Picchu, Peru - Sep 2009

In my opinion, you can only really appreciate Machu Picchu if you've hiked to it. 3 full days of hiking, camping, visiting ruins, and not showering leads up to possibly one of the most spectacular views in the world overlooking one of the most culturally significant places in the world. Even though by this point you're at around 7900ft / 2408m elevation, but it's not the altitude that takes your breath away.

This is why I travel.

Taishan, China - 3 Jul 2007

It was surreal being in this small corner of rural south China (http://tinyurl.com/yzqjuqy). Beautiful, rustic, and barely any signs of the mass modernization that was sweeping across the eastern coast. My dad pointed out that the biggest change was the increased number of motorized vehicles and roads. In the old days he would have the entire family on a single bicycle. The videos below are the tour my dad gave me of the house my grandfather built in the 70s. My nuclear family lived there until they moved to the US. I had never been there till that day.