A guide to giving alms in Laos, South East Asia

by Jessica Festa on




Giving alms is an important part of Laos culture and occurs in many South East Asian countries. When I took a trip to Luang Prabang, I was actually traveling with a Thai woman named Jaeb who asked me if I’d want to take part in the tradition with her. While I shuddered at the thought of waking up at dawn, I was excited to get the chance to be a part of a local tradition and get a deeper look into the culture.

Almsgiving is a religious ritual where the community gathers around the monastery at 5:30 AM to give food to a silent procession of monks. Monks are not allowed to cook or hoard food, so for many this is their only daily meal. The monks do not eat for pleasure, but to sustain their bodies, which are conditioned and trained to live with very little materials things, including food. I was also told that not having to think about food later on in the day clears the mind of distractions.On the sidewalk, women kneel down on mats holding baskets full of sticky rice balls and bushels of bananas while the men stand around them. While the setting is of a peaceful nature, you still need to be careful, as local women looking to make money off tourists will literally throw you down onto a mat and shove food in front of you before telling you to pay a ridiculous amount of money. The problem with this is not only will you be getting ripped off, but you are often given low-quality food. Only the best food should be given to the monks, so buy fresh fruit the night before or have your hotel prepare some sticky rice for you.

There’s some etiquette for women that goes along with the giving of alms, as well. Women should never touch a monk or their pots. Otherwise, the monks will have to go through a purification process. Also, a woman’s head should always be lower than the monks and shoulders and knees should be covered, although this goes for whether you’re in the presence of a monk or not.

So, what can you get out of the experience? To me, it was about more than just feeding the monks. Almsgiving really showed the sense of community in Luang Prabang, and how easy it really is to give to others and let go of addiction and neediness. If you attend with an open mind and make sure to be respectful of the customs, the tradition of Almsgiving can be a very worthwhile and eye-opening experience.

Toronto, Canada, hotel features a new kind of art using sexy male athletes

by Jessica Festa on

While you can usually expect a nice landscape painting or maybe even a piece from a well-known abstract artist on your hotel room walls, the Hôtel Le Germaine Maple Leaf Square in Toronto, Canada, puts a new spin on hotel art by featuring sexy portraits of athletic male bodies in the rooms.

Because the hotel is part of the Air Canada Centre, Canada’s premier sports and entertainment venue, the company knew it wanted to have sports images in the rooms of players doing the things they usually do. The trick was combining the elegant and refined ambiance of the hotel with the rougher side of sports.

Matthew Plexman, the photographer behind the project, explains, “The idea was, because it’s a sports complex, to bring some sports figures into this, and not necessarily showing faces but to focus on their bodies. Kind of the engine under the hood, so to speak.”

That’s great for the ladies, but what about for the men? Apparently, the blinds on the shower open from the outside of the bathroom.

For a look at how the photo shoot went, check out this video:


Mies Container restaurant in South Korea is the new Hooters for women

by Jessica Festa on

While men have always had Hooters to satisfy their craving for good food and scantily clad women, it seemed that the ladies were left with nothing to ogle but their hot wings. Thankfully, the people of Seoul, South Korea, felt the same and decided to open Mies Container, a new factory-themed restaurant that employs only masculine men.

One step inside the uniquely-themed eatery and you’ll realize why so many women are flocking there, not even minding to have to wait for a table. All of the waiters are young and hot, and while the restaurant claims they do not hire based on looks, they do say that the three qualities the staff must have are being a male, being energetic, and being masculine. To add to the ambiance, the restaurant design, which won the Reddot Design Award in October, is made to look as though you are actually in a factory, with tools, oil drums, chains, and lots of steel (the furniture and the abs). And if that’s not enough, the food is tasty, filling, and budget-friendly, with meals ranging from about $8-$17.

You won’t find an official website for Mies Container, as the company is relying on viral marketing and visitors writing about it on their blogs. I guess it’s working.

[image via Mies Container design blog]

10 best photography apps for travelers

by Jessica Festa on

Sometimes, your basic camera just doesn’t cut it. With all of the advancing technology we now have, the possibilities for travel photography are endless. Before your next trip, make sure to download these ten photography apps that will help you capture, edit, and share the perfect picture.

Pro HDR

Pro HDR is perfect for people who want to take high dynamic range shots without investing in an expensive DSLR camera. It’s also extremely helpful when the scene you’re trying to snap contains a lot of contrast. What’s really useful about the app is that it has a manual mode for you to choose where you want to adjust brightness and darkness in your shot, as well as an automatic mode. Final images are shown almost instantly, and you can save, edit further by adjusting the brightness, contrast, saturation, warmth, or tint, or discard your finished product. There is also an option to e-mail your photo to others.

Pro HDR is available for Android, iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. $1.99. A free version is also available that takes smaller shots. Instagram

This free photo sharing application is extremely popular among travel photographers and those who just enjoy taking pictures. Instagram allows you take a photo with your device, choose a filter to manipulate the look and feel, and then instantly send to Facebook, Twitter, or Flickr. There are tons of mood-altering filters, like 1977, Earlybird, Kelvin, Rise, and Nashville, to name a few.

Available on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Free.

TiltShift

TiltShift is a photography app that mimics a tilt-shift lens, transforming photos into miniature worlds. Basically, your photos will appear like small-scale models by manipulating different effects and contrasts, like creating a focus and blurring the surrounding area (as shown right). You can also adjust brightness, color saturation, and contrast and even choose a shaped aperture, such as a dollar sign, heart, or hexagon.

Available on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. $1.99.

iSynth

iSynth brings Photosynth to the iPhone and allows users to not only take great photos but also allows viewers to immerse themselves in the photos as if they were actually there. The app transforms photographs into 3-dimensional worlds that people can virtually explore. There are also different “modes” you can use, such as the Orbit Mode, which allows users to circle around the synth as well as move in all different directions on the screen in order to get the desired shot.

Available on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Free.

CameraBag

CameraBag is a filter app that uses many different camera and video simulations. The app gives you the chance to choose from a range of different camera styles all in one application, some of which include:

  • Helga- “Square-format toy camera with washed out highlights and old-school vignetting”
  • Cinema- “Dramatic, moody coloring with a widescreen aspect ratio”
  • 1962- “Dynamic, high-contrast black and white from the photojournalism of a bygone era”

Available on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. $1.99.

Luminance

Luminance allows for powerful and professional photo-editing for those on the move. With this app, you can easily add special effects to your pictures as well as edit numerous photos at one time. Filters include white balance, exposure, brightness/contrast, hue/saturation, tone curve, split toning, vignette, colors, and sepia. The app also makes it easy to crop and rotate photos, as well as share them via social media, Camera Roll, e-mail, copy, or print.

Available on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. $0.99.

360 Panorama

360 Panorama is a must-have for anyone looking to take panoramic photos. While many cameras and apps with a panorama feature have users stitch multiple photos together, 360 Panorama allows you to simply pan the camera around the scene that you want included in the picture. Sharing your photos is simple, as well, and no app is necessary for viewing.

Available on Android, iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. $0.99.

ShakeIt

ShakeIt combines modern day technology with old-school photo developing methods as users can watch as their instant pictures are developed slowly. To speed up the process, simply shake the photo. It’ll take you back to the days of dark rooms and photo labs.

Available on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. $0.99.

Camera+

Camera+ is one of the best apps there is for taking high quality photos as the shots appear to come from a SLR lens. With an array of features and editting capabilites, you can literally take the perfect photo. Another useful feature is the ability to set the focus and exposure separately by tapping the screen, allowing you to have the photo come out exactly how you want it. A photo flashlight to brighten photos, a stabalizer to fix blurry pictures, a grid to line up shots, a zoom feature, scene modes, and special effects make the possibilities limitless for your photos.

Available on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. On sale now for $0.99.

Camera Zoom 3

Camera Zoom 3 is perfect for those times when you see the perfect picture you’d love to take but are just too far to get a good shot. This app allows you to zoom in and out up to eight times by simply moving a slider. For clarity and focus, just tap the screen. There is also a useful anti-shake feature as well as an auto-adjust that sets the photo to its best quality.

Available on iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. $0.99. If you’ve got an Android, a similar app you can use is the Camera ZOOM FX, which is on sale right now for $2.99.

Love dogs? Check out Bau Haus dog cafe in Seoul, South Korea

by Jessica Festa on



When I say Bau Haus is a dog cafe, I don’t mean that there are cute dog photos on the walls or that it’s a meeting place for dog owners (although both of these are part of it) . The eatery is, literally, a cafe for dogs and dog-lovers to eat and hangout at. It is located in Hongdae in Seoul, South Korea, and canines roam around the eatery as visitors feed and play with them. You can purchase dog treats and pet presents, and there are small toys like frisbees lying around to use. Most of the pooches belong to the cafe’s owner and are very well behaved, although anyone is allowed to bring their dog to Bau Haus. And don’t worry about the animals making a mess as the employees at Bau Haus tend to the pooches, caring for them and cleaning up after them.