• Dare to Dream

    Dare to Dream

    Somewhere around six months ago, I was sitting in my apartment talking on the phone with my mom. From just outside my window I could hear Buddhist monks chanting at Ninnaji, an enormous wooden temple […]

  • The Mega Trip Part 9 (The Great Wall)

    The Mega Trip Part 9 (The Great Wall)

    With the land-based portion of my adventure through China nearly over, I realized that I was still missing a significant piece of what I wanted to see before returning to Japan. Kung Fu. So, after […]

  • Into the Lion's Den

    Into the Lion’s Den

    How many of you have heard the name “Transdniestr?” Not too many, I’m guessing. Transdniester – also known as Pridnestrovie in Russian – is a small rogue nation occupying a narrow strip of land along […]

  • An Average Night Out

    An Average Night Out

    The following is not actually a single narrative of one continuous evening, but a composite of many. It’s written as a representative summary of my average night out in Kyoto. Nothing is exaggerated. It’s Saturday […]

  • Thaipusam: Masochistic Mayhem

    Thaipusam: Masochistic Mayhem

    Warning This post contains some graphic images. If blood makes you queasy, you may want to skip it. I’ve mentioned a few times how, although I do travel mostly without plans, I also do so […]

  • Bushido and Jump-Rope (VIDEO)

    Bushido and Jump-Rope (VIDEO)

    “They are an intriguing people. From the moment they wake, they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursue. I have never seen such discipline.” -The Last Samurai. Seeing that fantastic archery demonstration the […]

I was last seen 6 days ago in Narita, Japan.

Exploring Angkor: Sunrise and The Bayon

 Cambodia, Public  6 Responses »
Apr 052013
 
The money shot. Taken during my <i>second</i> attempt at an Angkor Wat sunrise (a few days later).The money shot. Taken during my second attempt at an Angkor Wat sunrise (a few days later).

In order to experience as much of Angkor as possible, I decided to buy a three-day pass. I assumed it would be more than enough time.

I was wrong.

The Bayon.The Bayon.

It’s simply mindblowing how much there is to see; even while trying to plan a route I felt overwhelmed by the sheer scale and scope of it all. Apparently at its peak, Angkor sprawled over 1,000 square kilometers – ten times its closest rival at the time (Tikal, Guatemala). Trying to cover even half that would be like trying to see Paris in your lunch break. It just can’t be done.

A cute pair of Cambodian monks. They sure were happy : )A cute pair of Cambodian monks. They sure were happy : )

…But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t gonna try 🙂
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All New eStore

 Public, USA  No Responses »
Feb 202013
 

I know it’s been over a month since I said I was about to resume blogging. Sorry about that. While I thought I’d taken care of all the necessary code changes and was ready to start up the content, a supposedly unrelated project ended up snowballing into even further sweeping changes, so I decided to hold back until getting those wrapped up as well.

This “unrelated project” was the implementation of a brand new, far friendlier eCommerce solution – now located at justin-klein.com/store. I’ve finally dumped the OpenCart-based store I’ve been using to sell my plugin since launching it more than 2 years ago, in favor of newer and greener pastures. Continue reading »

The Angkor Empire

 Cambodia, Public  16 Responses »
Jan 102013
 
Riding my bike around Angkor Wat at dusk.Riding my bike around Angkor Wat at dusk.

For most people, the name “Petra” evokes images of one thing and one thing alone: the treasury. Very few think of a necropolis so vast that you could spend days exploring and still not see it all.

Likewise, “Angkor” instantly reminds us of “Angkor Wat,” one of the most magnificent structures of the ancient world. But in reality, just like Petra, Angkor is far more than one single structure.

A local boy looking at a seven-headed &#8216;Naga&#8217;.A local boy looking at a seven-headed ‘Naga’.

Angkor is in fact a vast and sprawling metropolis, the remnants of the largest city in the pre-industrial world. In its heyday, Angkor supported a population of more than a million – at a time when London had just 50,000. It was the political, religious, and social center of Cambodia’s Khmer empire, and although most of its structures – built of wood – have long since decayed, literally hundreds of stone temples remain.
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Justin-Klein.com 3.0

 Public, USA  3 Responses »
Jan 082013
 
If you&#8217;ve ever wondered how I work from all over the world&#8230;If you’ve ever wondered how I work from all over the world…

Before I go back the better part of a year to start catching you up with my travels, I want to just briefly mention a few recent changes to this site. The last time I took such a long break from blogging I resumed by unveiling a major site-wide overhaul; this time the changes aren’t as apparent, but they’re perhaps just as widespread. That’s one of the reasons I waited a full 3 months after getting home to write even one word: I wanted finish all the groundwork changes while traffic was still low. And while I’ll spare you the boring technical details, I will mention just a couple things you might (or might not?) notice.
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Happy New Year 2013

 Public, USA  18 Responses »
Jan 072013
 
A group of soldiers preparing to bow at the feet of the eternal President Kim Il Sung and Dear Leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea. When I say 2012 was a crazy year of travel&#8230;I&#8217;m really not kidding.A group of soldiers preparing to bow at the feet of the eternal President Kim Il Sung and Dear Leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea. When I say 2012 was a crazy year of travel…I’m really not kidding.

Hello? Is anyone still out there?

If so…Happy New Year, and welcome to 2013 🙂

Some of my friends have been asking recently if Justin-Klein.com is dead and forgotten. Nope, it isn’t. But I can see why it would seem that way. Since creating this site way back in 2004, I’ve only ever neglected it once for this long – in 2009 when I spent the better part of a year working and studying at home. At that time there just wasn’t much of interest to write about.

This time, however, my reasons for falling behind are different: 2012 was quite simply the most crazy, intense, and memorable period of travel of my life.
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