An Act of Faith

Posted on September 25, 2015 by Joel Centano

“Faith,” said Saint Augustine, “is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” National Geographic’s current Your Shot assignment, Faith, has me thinking a lot about the subject, Saint Augustine’s words, and this photo, taken at Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

After traversing the Old City’s Via Dolorosa (the path Christ is believed to have walked to his crucifixion), a pilgrim stands for a moment to behold the spot where her savior is said to have been laid to rest. What is she seeing, what is she believing at this moment, presumably one of the more powerful of her life? What is her reward? That this pilgrim is partially shrouded in shadow feels appropriate: Beyond any religion, faith, I believe, is personal, its power and presence lies ultimately in the individual experience.

Photographers: NG’s Your Shot assignment ends October 3. Post your pics and see all other submissions (9,529 and counting) here, and view a few more of my faith-inspired photos, from Jerusalem’s Old City to the Andean cloud forest, at my new Faith gallery.

Bangkok: Blessed and Buddha-ful

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Joel Centano

The best travels teach us something, and today my lesson is this: It’s an absolute shame that I scheduled only a single day in Bangkok to conclude my week in Thailand. “Bangkok is no longer a bookend destination,” asserts Jason Friedman, GM of The Siam hotel where I’m staying, as I concede my misstep and hear his suggestions for exploring the surrounding Old Town. “It is the destination.”

So true, I’m quickly finding. Today, all before dinner, I’ve stepped into The Siam’s professional ring for an authentic Muay Thai lesson; wandered secret (read: tourist free, aside from me) alleys, temples, and street food markets in the historic Dusit district; and streamed up and down the Chao Phraya river in the hotel’s water shuttle en route to Bangkok’s night flower market and Wat Pho, or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha.

At roughly 150 feet long and 50 feet high, Wat Pho’s immense, gold plated statue portrays the passing of the Buddha into nirvana, or his release from suffering and the cycle of rebirth. The state sounds perfectly blissful, I confess, but not before I have the chance to return to this city – something I now hope to do as many times as I can.

For more photos of the Reclining Buddha, Bangkok’s Old Town, and my stay in the Golden Triangle, visit my Thailand gallery.

120 Minutes in Myanmar

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Joel Centano

If achieving longstanding goals is truly good for the soul, then today I’m pleased to have realized two: 1) visiting Myanmar, and 2) arriving in a country by walking across its border – rather than simply “parachuting” in via its airport (see numerous criticisms in the Paul Theroux canon).

Thanks to a guided tour provided by the Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort in northern Thailand, I had the fortune – all in a single day – to visit thirteenth-century ruins in the surrounding town of Chiang Saen, take a long-tail boat ride along the Mekong for a stop on the Laos island of Don Sao, and cross a bridge spanning the Ruak River from Mae Sai on the Thai border to Tachileik for an exceptional – albeit brief – two-hour glimpse of eastern Myanmar.

So much bustle, chaos, and dust stirred from tuk-tuks and motorbikes in both border towns eventually led to some stillness and peace at Phra Jow La Keng (shown above), a 90-year-old Buddhist temple that doubles as an orphanage. I’ve posted a few more photos of the chaos and peace I experienced today – mostly as a reminder that I need to return for a more thorough stay – in my Myanmar gallery.

Sacred Space: Japan’s Miyajima Island

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Joel Centano

It’s been five years since my visit to Miyajima, but after dusting off this image for the VIP department of August Virtuoso Traveler, I was reminded of how powerful a place this is. Located in the Seto Inland Sea, Miyajima (or “shrine island”) specializes in spirituality, abounding in both Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, all made more beautiful in autumn when the island blazes with brilliant maples.

Wading in the water on its long heron’s legs, Miyajima’s towering O-torri gate welcomes both living pilgrims and the spirits of the deceased. On the shoreline, seemingly floating on the sea, lies Itsukushima Shrine, a massive Shinto complex dating back to the sixth century. At Daisho-in Temple (shown here), visitors spin prayer wheels, light candles, then slip off to some other world during an intense meditation session where monks beat drums and chant sutras in Sanskrit. You can visit this realm more readily via my photo gallery.

The above VIP page was designed by my close friend and colleague, Jay Carskadden, an artist of many talents (among them: painting, web and graphic design, and metalsmithing – incidentally, she also designed this website and the engagement ring that I gave to my wife, Adrienne, on this same trip). Jay works tirelessly to help produce Virtuoso Traveler every other month, and has posted a collection of additional VIP pages on her own website. See these and some of her other design work at jaycarskadden.com. Her paintings and jewelry can be viewed at jaymetalsmith.com.

Jerusalem: Hitting the Western Wall

Posted on July 29, 2012 by Joel Centano

“Does God exist in the heart of the devil?” Clad in somber black attire and embellished by a long, white, waterfall of a beard, the rabbi and author Gutman Locks stood before Jerusalem’s Western Wall and patiently awaited my reply. Behind him, orthodox Jews bobbed, chanted, wept, and pressed written prayers inside crevices of the wall as the setting sun lit its stones in a warm, golden glow.

“Yes,” I answered, thinking it mattered little that my response was mostly theoretical, or that our definitions of “god” and “devil” most likely wouldn’t match. I hadn’t traveled 7,000 miles from Seattle to Jerusalem to debate or dismiss anyone’s beliefs, but to witness the devout pursuing and communing with their own versions of the divine. As I arrived at the Wall, surrounded by scores of the faithful and greeted by the rabbi’s question, I knew I’d found what I was seeking.

“You’re a smart man,” Gutman told me after I’d given my reply. “God is infinite and everywhere at all times.” Later in our discussion, after I’d confessed to being a travel writer, he added: “You should tell your readers to search out the things that they can best learn from each place they are visiting. The specialty of this place, Jerusalem, is God. That’s what we know best.” (See Gutman’s side of the story – and a picture of me taking a picture of him – at the rabbi’s blog, Mystical Paths.)

While I don’t believe any human being can fully comprehend – or any one place encompass – what “god” may or may not be, it is experiences like this that keep me traveling to the world’s “holy lands.” From Fátima in Portugal to Miyajima Island in Japan, those places where the sacred is celebrated most ardently, whether peacefully or in conflict, reveal much about our species and an existence we all struggle to understand.

Jerusalem’s Old City is no exception. With its Western Wall (a remnant of Herod’s grand temple and one of the holiest sites in Judaism), Dome of the Rock (the place where Muslims believe Mohammed ascended to heaven), and Via Dolorosa (the path that Christians believe Christ followed to his crucifixion and ultimate resurrection), the pursuit of the divine is on full display here. If my words have failed to do this place justice, I’m hoping my photos might help.