FAREWELL INDIA

Oh, India. We have had such an amazing time here, we don't want to leave.  It seems we've hardly scratched the surface of all this incredibly intense, sprawling country has to offer. And we certainly have not drank nearly enough lassis.

From the boat trips, the sadhus, the handlebar mustaches to the incredible food, the Taj, the camels (did we mention the camels?), and the incredible people we met, India is a one-of-kind destination that exceeded our expectations on so many levels.

We will be back...someday.

Incredible handlebar mustachioed man at the milk market in Jaipur.

Kip and friend Alex go native in Jaipur.

Liz takes a dip (to the ankles) in the Ganges.

And of course, we leave you with the obligatory goat in a sweater on a busy street. This place was mind boggling.

A goat in a sweater.  'Nuff said.

VARANASI: A PHOTO BONUS

Considering it's one of the oldest cities on the planet, Varanasi is pretty photogenic. Here are a few shots from our two visits...

We know, another sadhu photo. 

This kind-faced boatman offered us a ride.

It's not all pretty. Cows, dogs, and a man in a blue t-shirt dig through a pile of garbage in the street.

Just one of the many amazing murals that cover the concrete walls along the Ganges.

A pilgrim sits on the side of his boat. No doubt he is "healthy breathing."

The fire and music show that takes place on the Main Ghat each evening at dusk.

An artist captures the "washing of the buffalo" on canvas.

CLOUDS SWALLOW THE HIMALAYAS

Watch clouds engulf Lobuche's 20,000-ft peak.

The Himalayas tower far above everything. Even clouds often struggle to reach the summits of the world's tallest mountains. 

Yet, in the right conditions, a quick-moving storm can engulf the highest of Himalayas in a matter of seconds, as seen in the time lapse series of images above.

One of the images from the time lapse video showing Lobuche 

It was sometime before midnight on a blustery night two days' trek from Everest Base Camp. Bundled in all our clothes, we hiked a few minutes from camp to check out the stars before bedtime. Here above 16,000 feet, the wind chill was near zero. The cold, thin air made breathing difficult. 

After watching a cloud bank crawl slowly through a nearby valley, we set up the camera to try out time-lapse photography. Every 30 seconds for 15 minutes, we took a photo of the scene above, as clouds engulfed a pair of 20,000+ peaks before our eyes. 

Pros typically use a tripod and a remote control for time lapse shots...we used a pile of rocks, a wool hat, and a frost-bitten finger. The results, while not exactly pro-quality, we felt were worth posting anyway.

Hope you enjoy.

If you like this one, here are a few others (taken by pros) that are way better: time lapse nature photography. 

JAZZ FEST IN BORNEO

The U.S.-based Johnny Rogers Band jams at the Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival. 

Before we travel somewhere, we usually send emails to nonprofits or charitable organizations operating in the city/town/village where we're heading, in hopes of finding a volunteer opportunity.

For example, before we got to Kota Kinabalu in Borneo, we sent messages to local groups such as Habitat for Humanity Borneo and to the organizers of the Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival, an annual music festival that raises money for numerous local causes.

Sometimes, our emails will go unanswered. Others, like the one to the festival, get a positive response.

As it turns out, the jazz festival folks were working with the U.S. Embassy in Malaysia to promote the upcoming event, to help with fundraising, as well as to highlight one of the acts performing there, an American group called the Johnny Rogers Band. They needed an extra hand with their marketing efforts and asked if we could do some photography and writing for them while we were at the event.

Count us in.

While there, we took tons of photos for the organizers and the embassy, we got to interview bands, and we managed to have a little fun in the process. Afterward, Kip even published an article about the event for the Huffington Post.

Check out the story and photos here.

Us with jazz guitarist and co-chairman of the festival Roger Wang.