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nickkembel - Nick Kembel

Nick Kembel




40 Countries and Counting!

Svalbard Spain United States of America Antarctica South Georgia Falkland Islands Bolivia Peru Ecuador Colombia Venezuela Guyana Suriname French Guiana Brazil Paraguay Uruguay Argentina Chile Greenland Canada United States of America United States of America Israel Jordan Cyprus Qatar United Arab Emirates Oman Yemen Saudia Arabia Iraq Afghanistan Turkmenistan Iran Syria Singapore China Mongolia Papua New Guinea Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Malaysia Tiawan Philippines Vietnam Cambodia Laos Thailand Burma Bangladesh Sri Lanka India Bhutan Nepal Pakistan Afghanistan Turkmenistan Tajikistan Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Japan North Korea South Korea Russia Kazakhstan Russia Montenegro Portugal Azerbaijan Armenia Georgia Ukraine Moldova Belarus Romania Bulgaria Macedonia Serbia Bosonia & Herzegovina Turkey Greece Albania Croatia Hungary Slovakia Slovenia Malta Spain Portugal Spain France Italy Italy Austria Switzerland Belgium France Ireland United Kingdom Norway Sweden Finland Estonia Latvia Lithuania Russia Poland Czech Republic Germany Denmark The Netherlands Iceland El Salvador Guatemala Panama Costa Rica Nicaragua Honduras Belize Mexico Trinidad & Tobago Puerto Rico Dominican Republic Haiti Jamaica The Bahamas Cuba Vanuatu Australia Solomon Islands Fiji New Caledonia New Zealand Eritrea Ethiopia Djibouti Somalia Kenya Uganda Tanzania Rwanda Burundi Madagascar Namibia Botswana South Africa Lesotho Swaziland Zimbabwe Mozambique Malawi Zambia Angola Democratic Repbulic of Congo Republic of Congo Gabon Equatorial Guinea Central African Republic Cameroon Nigeria Togo Ghana Burkina Fassu Cote d'Ivoire Liberia Sierra Leone Guinea Guinea Bissau The Gambia Senegal Mali Mauritania Niger Western Sahara Sudan Chad Egypt Libya Tunisia Morocco Algeria
Map Legend: 15%, 40 of 263 Territories
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I am about to embark on a grand journey from Europe to Asia via the Middle East. In the next 6 months I intend to travel through some of the most controversial regions on this planet, my primary intention being to develop an experience based understanding of some of the most misunderstood cultures in the world, with an intentional lack of attention given to any commonly held and media influenced (mis)conceptions about the regions I intend to visit.

I am a Canadian boy who became disillusioned with the North American dream, and instead chose a life of wandering to beautiful places. I have a degree in Anthropology and Religious Studies, with a focus on Buddhism and Tibet. I have taught English in Thailand, South Korea, China and currently I reside in Taiwan. I began this blog about a year and a half ago when I decided to leave Canada indefinitely.

To see all of my travel photos on FLICKR, click HERE

Or, to see my travel blog, scroll down!

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Joined on: December 16th 2008
Last Login: November 4th 2009

Blog Entries: 33
Photos: 908
Recommended by 6
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Blogs & Travel Journals

by nickkembel, order by Date newest first.

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I think my experience of Turkey is better summarized by my photographs than any description I could compile, so I will provide only some brief context. Turkey is a fascinating nation where Europe and the Middle East meet, and the culture, food, costs and social customs that I encountered there were a reflection of this. Islam is universally practiced, but Turkey is secular and European in its outlook, and Muslim restrictions are extremely liberal. In one day you can shop in an ancient Bazaar, take in ancient Roman ruins (of which Turkey has more than Italy itself), follow prayer call to [View Full Entry]

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584 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 39 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: October 29th 2009 | 257 Views | [diary=439328]

Kitty below Mardin Citadel, Eastern Turkey
Mantis, Atilla's Getaway, Selcuk
Goreme Open Air Museum

By nickkembel
October 23rd 2009
The New Iraq Middle East » Iraq » North » Arbil
Before you read ahead, forget everything you know about Iraq. The ancient Mesopotamian ruins of Ur and Nineveh, where civilization began and writing and law codes were invented, the site of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the purported location of the Garden of Eden, and capital city Baghdad are all scratched off my Iraq travel itinerary. I am going to the ‘New Iraq’, a relatively safe and stable, visually stunning, and quickly developing semi-autonomous state in northern Iraq, occupied by some of the friendliest and most hospitable people in the world. My exposure to Iraqi [View Full Entry]

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3009 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 33 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: October 25th 2009 | 199 Views | [diary=447539]

Kurdish Man
Welcome to Iraq!
Dohuk, the first major city as you enter Iraq from the north

One week was simply not enough time for me to completely adjust to the face of modern Lebanon, a face that still bores many of the scars from decades of civil war and violent disputes with neighboring countries. Only three years ago Israel was laying waste to Beirut and southern Lebanon, which resulted in the loss of over 1000 Lebanese civilian lives, in retaliation to Hezbollah kidnappings of Israeli soldiers, an event which occured, I might add, while I happened to traveling in Israel. And so upon arrival in the capital city I was not terribly surprised to see so many [View Full Entry]

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815 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 15 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: October 15th 2009 | 101 Views | [diary=443410]

The old Holiday Inn, ridden with gun shot holes, awaiting demolisment
Better make sure those families don't get too out of control with their Haagen Dazs
Wartorn Beirut...This is what your apartment looks like after it gets bombed...

Aleppo Ancient Citadel
Aleppo Ancient Citadel
Oldest living city in the world with an 8000 year old continuous culture
At the time that the events of the New Testament were taking place, the earliest written records of Damascus and Aleppo were already 2500 years old. Evidence suggests that these two cities have been continuously inhabited for as long as 8000 years, making them the oldest living cities in the world. Over time they have been incorporated into the Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, Roman, Ottoman, and French empires. I am baffled by this thought as I peer from my 10$ Aleppo hotel room balcony, observing a group of street cats eating garbage, men smoking nargileh (shisha), and little boys shining [View Full Entry]

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802 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 18 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: October 11th 2009 | 85 Views | [diary=443407]

Street of Fruit Stalls
Maleam, a University student that I hung out with for a day in Aleppo
When visiting ancient ruins, I aquire the ability to jump really high, sort of like Mario with Game Genie

By nickkembel
October 8th 2009
Faces of Syria Middle East » Syria » North » Aleppo
As I travel through this part of the world, a region that for most people in the West first and foremost stirs up visions of war, instability, and fighting, I have made this question of violence and safety my foremost topic of conversation with local people. But not in the way that you might think. I have not been asking people, “why is your country so turbulent?” or “why do these streets feel so unsafe”, but rather the complete opposite. What I really want to know is, how is it that I can find myself in the core of what is [View Full Entry]

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1225 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 21 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: October 8th 2009 | 159 Views | [diary=443293]

Syrian Girl, Damascus
These kids asked me to take their photo
And so did these guys...

Which words do I use to summarize one of the most beautiful places I have ever been? I have wanted to go to Greece for as long as I can remember, and Santorini was always the part I wanted to visit the most. The tiny C shaped island is composed of the remains of an enormous volcanic eruption some 3600 years ago that is thought to have contributed to the downfall of the ancient Minoan civilization by sending an enormous tsunami to neighboring Crete. In the center of the C sits a small black island which is actually the volcano's caldera, [View Full Entry]

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434 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 17 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 21st 2009 | 243 Views | [diary=437312]

The Colors of Santorini
Red Beach
Orthodox Priest, Oia Village

I am going to take a break from writing on this one and just let the photos speak for themselves. Enjoy! Nick [View Full Entry]

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22 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 33 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 17th 2009 | 89 Views | [diary=434593]

Bread Vendor, Athens
Maintenance Crew, Parthenon, Athens
Nick over Athens

In December of 2008 there were huge riots in every major city in Greece, with frustrated protesters taking to the streets and pillaging public property. Living under the shadow of the glorious ancient past that most of the world still associates with this Mediterranean nation, the modern urban Greek lives on an average of a mere 500 Euros a month, in a nation where costs of living are soaring in an unprecedented manner. This is only one of the many new things I learn about this country as I chat over a bottle of raki, the locally produced fiery liquor distilled [View Full Entry]

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956 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 13 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 12th 2009 | 141 Views | [diary=435795]

Political Grafitti, Crete
Convo, coffee, cigarettes and beers, the favorite Greek passtime
Snoozing Horse Cart Driver, Chania

This summer, for the first time in my life, I felt like a tourist in my own country. I don't know if it was simply due to being away for so long, or the fact that being away for that long made me appreciate the beauty and diversity of my own country in a way that I never had before. Either way, the summer flew by, and I can't believe how much fun and exploration I squeezed into those 7 short weeks. Only days after arriving home, I did a roadtrip with Leanne and friends to South Country Fair near Fort [View Full Entry]

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411 Words | 0 Comment(s) | 33 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: September 5th 2009 | 186 Views | [diary=433327]

Tour Boat below Niagara Falls
Peace, Kensington Market, Toronto
Crescent Falls, Nordegg Region, Alberta

By nickkembel
August 18th 2009
All Roads Lead To... Gelato! Europe » Italy » Lazio » Rome
I am publishing this blog as my summer days in Canada fly by, and I am counting down sleeps to my looming return to the great city of Rome, from where I will begin my overland journey from Europe to Asia. Following my grand introduction to Europe at the stunning city of Venice, my travel companion Hannah and I continued our Italian journey with a stop in Verona, a most quaint and pleasant city located in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Famous as the setting for Shakespeare's most famous tragedy, Romeo & Juliet, Verona provided the perfect atmosphere for casual [View Full Entry]

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360 Words | 1 Comment(s) | 26 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s)
Published: August 18th 2009 | 142 Views | [diary=429059]

Obelisk, Rome
Verona Streets
Hannah peers over Florence



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