The Hubble Ultra Deep Field in 3D

Pagan Dreams of a Romantic Spirit, Avebury

Photography by El-Branden Brazil

The Purpose Of Life

Zen Garden

Symphony Of Science

Carl Sagan - A Glorious Dawn (Featuring Stephen Hawkings)

Climate Change Solution - A Fable From the Himalayas

Sunrise On The White Desert Horizon, Egypt

Photography By El-Branden Brazil

Sunrise at the Ganges - Karunesh

Indigenous Native American Prophecy

We Are All One

Inside A Black Hole

A Lotus At A Zen Temple
Photography By El-Branden Brazil

The Universe

For as long as I can remember, the universe has intrigued me. When I was a child, I would sit out in the garden and stare endlessly at the night sky, marvelling at the seeming infinity before me. Sometimes, I would feel lonely and insignificant. Whilst at other times, I would feel honoured and integral to the scene above.

I enjoy chasing ideas about perception and mind in relation to space. I believe that the universe, while it may seem expansive beyond imagination, is much closer than our senses dictate to us: That the sense of physical reality is only an illusion, manifested by sensory-selected stimuli required for our survival. Our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and fingers allow us to peer into a universe contrived for our prime needs. However, there is so much more that is out of range of our sense organs.

The dimensions of space, I believe, are deceptive. We can perceive its vastness through our eyes. We can perceive its separateness from ourselves through touch. But, intuitively, I am certain that our place within the universe is far more convoluted and involved. In many ways, the Aborigines may well be correct in their assertion that the universe is being dreamt into existence. As Edgar Allen Poe noted, 'All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.'

Have a look at this illuminating video:

Tales Of Snakes

Right: The Mystic Traveller gets intimate with a python in Thailand.

On my various journeys, I have come across snakes, whether wild in the jungle, caged up at zoos, or kept in a snake charmer's basket. Here are a few of my serpent encounters.

When I visited Bombay (Mumbai) in India, I stayed at a hotel in Colaba. After a month staying at $2 a night dives, it was a pleasure to stay at somewhere a little more plush.

Outside the hotel was a snake charmer, crouching near a low wall. As soon as he saw me, dollar signs must have been popping into his line of vision. Without a second's pause, he lifted the lid of the little basket in front of him, at which point, a cobra darted up and out of its weaved home. Instead of staying magically transfixed by the pipe of the charmer, it obviously saw a good chance to escape its humiliating circumstances.

As it quickly tried to slip away, the charmer grabbed it by the tail, forcing the snake to do what it does best in such situations: BITE! Repeatedly, the snake tagged the charmer's shoulder to my horror. However, it soon became apparent that the snake had been treated in some way, perhaps having its fangs removed, because the snake charmer just remained calm and did not seem to care in the slightest.

When I visit Thailand, I feel drawn to see a snake show from time to time. I cannot explain what the attraction is, but there is something fascinating in seeing snake handlers provoke cobras to strike; if somewhat unethical and unnecessary.

In Bangkok, I have seen several times a show that involves a King Cobra - the largest venomous snake in the world. One time, while the performer was busy focusing upon one snake during the show, another cobra decided it had had enough of the camera flashes, and obviously thought it would make a swift exit. It was only when the snake started crawling up the audience's seating area, and people started to move away quickly, did the snake performer take note of his escaping reptile. To everyone's relief, the truant fanged animal was quickly brought back under control.

Unlike the cobra in India, they were clearly still very dangerous; a fact made apparent after a venom-milking demonstration. The process involves forcing the snake's mouth over a rubber bladder, which it punctures with its fangs to release poison into a glass container. This venom is then used to produce vital antivenin for neutralising snake bites. Seeing that yellow gloop did not for a second change my mind that perhaps a cobra bite would not be a whole lot of fun!

When I was night trekking in the Amazon, all I could think about was the Bushmaster, which has the dubious reputation for being highly aggressive and the owner of the largest fangs of any snake in the world. Continually, I watched my every step, carefully following the path provided by my Amazon guide. I flicked my torch light continually about, catching sight of large bull frogs. Suddenly, on the path ahead, the slithering body of a large snake came into view. In panic, thinking that it was a Bushmaster, I screamed out a warning to my guide. In all my years of travelling, I have never seen anyone jump so quickly backwards at Olympian heights, as he did.

To our relief, a biologist that was with us, quickly determined that it was a Rainbow Boa Constrictor; while not venomous, it could still provide a nasty bite with its recticular fangs. However, this did not deter our biologist from pouncing on to it and wrapping it around his shoulders to the horror of our guide.

Of course, inevitably when travelling through Asia, the adventurous gourmet will partake in consuming snakes. In China, I have eaten snake several times, in a variety of concoctions, such as snake soup, snake cutlets and fried snake skin. It is a hackneyed comparison, but once you get pass the bones, snake does taste just like a chewier chicken.

In Vietnam, they sell a ginseng wine that has a fully hooded cobra within the bottle. The snake's venom glands are obviously removed, but it makes for a pleasant drink. The Vietnamese sell souvenir bottles at the airport in Ho Chi Minh. However, any traveller who chooses to purchase one of these, should be aware that it may well get confiscated by Customs on arrival at most international airports, such as Heathrow or JFK.

When I was in Vietnam, there was government moratorium in place to stop the trapping of wild snakes for food, because the rodent populations had now got so out of control that farmers' crops were being severely damaged.

We have very good reasons to be wary of snakes, but they fear us more than we fear them. They deserve our respect, as they have always done. It comes as no surprise to find these magical reptiles being central in so many of the world's cultures, whether in the mythology of the ancient Egyptians, the Maya and Aztec, the Aborigines of Australia, the Buddhists and Hindus of Asia, or in the Edenic stories of the Jews, Christians and Muslims, alike. Snakes will continue to always be entwined into the human psyche.

Durian - The King Of Fruits...And Smells

The first time I tried Durian was in Vietnam. I had heard a lot about this fruit, and it was inevitable that some day I would get an opportunity to satisfy my curiosity.

A cyclo-driver, who became a friend, quickly managed to locate a Durian for me. The hard outer casing of the fruit is covered in spines, and watching my friend go to work with a large knife, concerned me no end, as it seemed very likely that a finger would be removed sooner than the skin of the fruit.

I found myself jolting each time the blade struck, expecting a scream to follow, as well as an emergency visit to the local hospital, where a detached digit in ice could be reattached! I wondered what the statistics were for Durian accidents in Southeast Asia.

Finally, my friend managed to break through, and a strong smell of vomit started to permeate the air. Durian is infamous for its odour. For those not initiated, the smell can often cause such a revulsion that the very idea of eating it becomes an unlikely proposition indeed. However, those brave enough to open their mouths and ingest the inner fruit, will find the taste very different from the smell. The yellow flesh inside is sweet and tastes more like a rich custard, rather than the discharge of an underage drinker.

Since that first encounter, Durian is a fruit that I always track down when I am in its geographical location. It comes highly recommended. If the fruit's smell seems overwhelming, then try some of Thailand's Durian flavoured chips; they smell like vomit and taste like...well...vomit.

Photography and Story by El-Branden Brazil

The Cicada Festival Returns

During the high summer months in Japan, cicadas return to fill the air with their high shrill chirping. It is an extraordinary sound that can almost hypnotise the listener.

Cicadas are found throughout the world in temperate and tropical climates.

Right: A cicada in China.
Photography by El-Branden Brazil

Unlike grasshoppers and crickets which produce their sound by rubbing their back wings together, cicadas create their unique song through tymbals at the side of the abdomen. With powerful muscles they rapidly vibrate membranes within, resonating the sound through their body.

You can hear the sound of Japanese cicadas HERE.

Giant Monarch Caterpillars In The Amazon
Photography By El-Branden Brazil

A Monkey Peering Out On Mount Takao, Japan
Photography By El-Branden Brazil

Lillies In China
Photography By El-Branden Brazil