MOMENTS

BY RHETT ARENS The paved trail rose and fell as it wound through the verdant jungle along Cat Ba’s southern shore. Our bikes weren’t exactly tuned for performance but with a little extra oomph we soon found ourselves peddling into the tiny Vietnamese village of Viet Hai. Unexpectedly the next few hours would hold a…

BY SAM MUMFORD For two months I have been travelling Southeast Asia. I’ve met people from all walks of life and from all over the world. The majority speak perfect English, making conversations seamless and deep connections inevitable. Jokes land, stories are entertaining and comfort is abundant. However, upon my arrival to the bustling metropolis…

BY JOSEF BUERGI The dust of the Karakoram Highway has barely settled on my boots, but the fragrance of saffron tea and the haunting echoes of the Muqam melodies remain as vivid as ever. In March 2025, I embarked on a journey to Southern Xinjiang, a region that feels like a gateway to a different…

“在立陶宛沒有邊際的綠色時空裡，你的願望會突然變小，縮小至一塊石頭、一朵蘑菇、一顆野莓，再也無所謂塵世與理想。”

BY SYLVIA FURRER & HOLGER HOFFMANN The idea of the “rainforest” is associated with green hell. For me, it triggers the opposite: in the more than 45 years that I have been exploring our planet, I have never felt such euphoria, neither in the mountains, no matter how high and spectacular their peaks may be,…

BY ELENA SEROSHTAN Our plane was slowly moving toward the runway, passing the glass facade of the brand-new Yangon Airport—which now stood like a ghost in the shimmering hot air. I glanced at it for the last time. Every time I left Myanmar, I thought it might be the last—but this time, it definitely was.…

BY HOLGER HOFFMANN & SYLVIA FURRER There could not be a greater contrast between the bright red clothing worn by Kyrgyz nomadic women and their harsh everyday lives. For a long time, they lived in isolation on the high plateau at Lake Chaqmaqtin in the farthest tip of Afghanistan. Now a dirt road leads to…

BY ALEXANDER ELISCU I had been rolling in anxiety for several days. Week after week, I was told of the innumerable dangers of trekking alone in Brazil’s Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetlands. At night, eyes reddening, I remained glued to the computer screen, clicking every Youtube link on the latest news since the onça-pintada…

BY BRIENNA CARTER On the way to the train station, Abdulkhamid told me he failed his English test. We’d spent the last couple days preparing for it, and he’d been nailing the new vocabulary about gift-giving and bag-packing. He could tell you what he’s going to buy his wife for their anniversary (jewelry), and he…