The phrase "fake it till you make it" is so deeply ingrained into the fabric of modern pop culture, that it stands as a mantra and battle cry for millions of people. One only has to look at the countless influencers, hustlers, so-called experts (from crypto bros, to NFT bros, to now AI bros) and the millions of dollars flowing into the industry of influencer marketing to see this reality in practice. However only one man can be considered the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) to ever have faked it till he made it. He is a man whose reputation has not only persisted but also grown in the century since his time, whose death seemed too impossible to have actually occurred, and whose actions had ramifications not just in his country, but in the actual history of the world. The man's name was Rasputin. A note from the writer: this is a pre-pandemic tale. Grigori Rasputin was born on January 21, 1869 in the remote Siberian village of Pokrovskoye. To gauge how far that village is...

Owing to its status of being arguably the center of the modern world, New York has become a true melting pot for cuisine; showcasing Michelin-star gastronomical masterpieces, world-famous restaurants, food trucks, and holes-in-the-wall from almost every culture on earth across its five boroughs. At the time of this trip (back in good ol' 2016), we had the opportunity to go on the Best of Brooklyn Food and Culture Tour, one of Tripadvisor's most highly-rated activities in NYC. * And apart from the fantastic dishes that we got to enjoy that day, we got a solid sightseeing tour of Brooklyn, NYC's most populous borough. A note from the writer: this is a pre-pandemic tale.

When one thinks of the word "megacity", Singapore definitely comes to mind. No other city in Southeast Asia, maybe even the world, balances the skyline, technology, and infrastructure of the first world, with the intricacies of its multi-cultural inhabitants, as well as Singapore has. And all this happened.. only in the last 40 years!  * Hard to believe that this whole country was once just a swamp-filled jungle. Today, Singapore's world famous Merlion is the figurative "king of the jungle" and the country's most famous tourist attraction. A note from the writer: this is a pre-pandemic tale with additional photos post-pandemic.

At the center of the famous Spanish UNESCO World Heritage City of Cordoba stands an interesting structure known as the Mezquita; a building that has to be seen to be believed.  In a stunning reversal of the Muslim practice of converting captured churches into mosques, as with the case of Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock and Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, the Mezquita was the former Great Mosque of Al-Andalus.. turned into a grand Catholic cathedral! * Officially known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, the Mezquita looks nothing like your typical Christian place of worship. A note from the writer: this is a pre-pandemic tale.

Europe in the 1700s was a time of extravagance. The various royal houses of Europe were pretty much consolidated and stable within their borders, and while wars did break out between the major powers, some of the more interesting fighting happened in the realms of prestige and grandeur.  This was a period when royal courts competed over the best scientists, artists, entertainers, and philosophers to come and pretty much hang-out in their respective palaces. And this certainly was the period when they argued over who had the best, most "fabulous" home in the whole continent. * Thus this is the story of the Peterhof Palace and Gardens, a palace complex commissioned by Peter the Great. A note from the writer: this is a pre-pandemic and pre-Russia-Ukraine-War tale.

The following are musings from over a decade of travels, expressed by self-made toy brick sets.

Airports are among my favorite places in the world; full of chatter, employees working purposefully, mishaps, and people buzzing at the thought of their upcoming trips. That excitement is palpable and contagious! However getting to one's departure gate is but the end of a long list of steps to tick from the to-do list. The following are musings from over a decade of travels, expressed by self-made toy brick sets.