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A Sangoma ceremony in South Africa

sangoma ceremony south africa

It was a weekend of celebration and amaXhosa culture at a Sangoma ceremony. Sangomas are traditional healers in South Africa and are highly revered in their communities. In May 2015, I had the honour of attending a friend’s graduation ceremony at her family home in a small village in the rolling hills of the Eastern Cape. A weekend I won’t soon forget.

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hills between Mqhekezweni and Qunu. I will remember the beat of the drum, the songs, the dancing and the laughter. I am incredibly grateful for this experience and warm welcome. To have spent a weekend immersed in their way of life, rich culture and traditions left me wishing for more.

A beautiful sunset in rural India

 

SunsetGanges
After travelling the Ganges River for 4.5 hours by row boat to our overnight camping spot, we were treated to this sunset. It wasn’t a formal campsite, just a spot on a sandy beach by the river somewhere near Allahabad, India. Occasionally we would see 1 or 2 people in the distance across the river or fishermen that rowed by. The following morning we were greeted by the rare and elusive Ganga bottlenose dolphins. This was one of my most memorable experiences while on a small group tour with Intrepid Travel in February 2015.

Life unfolds by the River Ganges in Varanasi, India

Life unfolds by the river Ganga (Ganges) in Varanasi, India. I captured this as I drifted by on a boat as the sun rose.

This was one of my most memorable experiences while on tour with Intrepid Travel in February 2015. I’m counting

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down my favourite experiences and images from my travels this year.

Thanks to IntrepidTravel and Toronto TravelMassive for taking me to India for my first time. I won a 15-day tour at Toronto Travel Massive’s 4th anniversary celebration.

Elephant Crossing, Kruger National Park in South Africa

elephant crossing the road

Elephant crossing.

A common scene in Kruger National Park in South Africa. Kruger is one of Africa’s largest game reserves at nearly 2 million hectares in size. It is 360 kilometres from North to south and 65 kilometres from east to west and extends into 2 provinces, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. It is home to diverse landscapes from the plains where the cheetah roam, to rocks and bushes where the leopard hide. You can self-drive from sunrise up to sunset. It is one of my favourite places in the world.

Buddha in the Sulamani Temple in Bagan, Myanmar

Each morning we are born again. What we do today matters most. – Buddha

Found this Buddha statue and a quiet moment at the Sulamani Temple in the ancient city of Bagan, Myanmar. This temple was originally built in 1183 and rebuilt after the 1975 earthquake. Today, over 2200 of the original 4000 temples/pagodas still stand. Each temple has many Buddha statues within it.

Menorah in the Musmeah Yeshua synagogue in Yangon, Myanmar

Yangon Menorah

In honor of the last night of Hanukkah, a menorah found in the Musmeah Yeshua synagogue in Yangon. It is the only synagogue in Myanmar and was built in 1896 for the Baghdadi Jews, the Bene Israel Jews and the Cochini Jews from India that arrived during Burma’s colonial-era. It is listed on Yangon City Development Council’s list of Heritage Buildings.

I come from a diverse family of various cultures and religions, from all corners of the world. One of my paternal great-great grandfathers was a Jew from Baghdad, Iraq. This was his synagogue. He and his family were prominent members. He is buried in the Jewish cemetery in Yangon.