Restless Ben

After a year backpacking around Asia I return home to the United States. From the Himalayas in Nepal to the Tetons in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, I set foot back into the working world and check off a bucket list item, to become a ski bum.

From the undersea world of thresher sharks and sardine schools I make my way north to explore the higher altitudes of North Luzon. With my visa extended, there was no excuse not to give the Philippines a proper lap.

The brothers Orndorff reunite in the Philippines to make a pilgrimage to the oldest tattoo artist in the world. A few storms add some water to the mix but fail to rain on their parade.

Tracking down a stolen GoPro and some remote surf breaks keeps me busy in the Philippines.

In pursuit of the Philippine’s best beaches I travel through the autonomous region of Muslim Mindanao.

After a brief stay at a Buddhist monastery, I realize meditation and enlightenment are trickier than I thought.

Getting back into my hostel the hard way, downhill mountain biking, and posting up at a hippy, Ewok village. After Myanmar, I set my sights on northern Thailand to cool my heels for a bit.

My buddy Joe and I take a boat east along the Indonesian Archipelago, from Lombok to Flores. We climb Mt. Rinjani, dive with Mantas, and check out the world renown surf.

Hot air balloons, Buddhist temples, and hill tribes. As if preserved in a time capsule, Myanmar’s cultural treasures are still remarkably unadulterated by outside influence.

Traveling the Indonesian archipelago, my buddy Joe and I hike a volcano, visit Komodo dragons, and rub shoulders with manta rays in some of the world’s top dive sites.