Chris Kermis

03/09/2024

Varanasi (वाराणसी), is the most holy of India's holy cities.

It's a place made famous here on YouTube and in the media due to the Aghori, a sect of ascetic Shaivite sadhus who practice a unique and extreme form of Hinduism.

They're known for their strange and unconventional practices such as staying on cremation grounds, covering themselves with the ashes, using human skulls as utensils, and cannibalism.

Any videos you see on here will focus in on these images - I'm here to speak to real people and show you the truth, not the sensationalist lies.

I'll show you the real Varansi and the real Aghori people - It won't be what you expect!

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The great people I met, who taught me so much about the Varanasi and the Aghori:

Nandan Bharat (https://pragyabodh.com)
Rajan Upadhyay (https://www.facebook.com/karunendra.upadhyay)

I strongly recommend you get in touch with these guys if you're coming to Varanasi and want some really interesting tours beyond just tourist sights.

19/12/2023

Asilah أصيلة located on the coast of Morocco around 30km south from Tangier is a beautiful historic seaside town!

Its medina or historic center, is enclosed by exceptionally well preserved 15th-century ramparts and gates, originally built by colonial Portuguese.

Although small, its medina is a hub for art, known for its murals and Moussem Culturel International d’Asilah, an annual art festival.

In this video I'll show you around and you'll see why it's well worth a visit from Tangier if you have time.

Asilah أصيلة located on the coast of Morocco around 30km south from Tangier is a beautiful historic seaside town!Its medina or historic center, is enclosed b...

28/06/2023

04/06/2023

In this video I'll take you around Bangkok's กรุงเทพมหานคร amazing Chinatown (Yaowarat), along with it's historical and picturesque sub-district of Talat Noi ตลาดน้อย.

This isn't just another street food tour video, there's plenty of those already! This is all about exploring the sights and the places, and getting a real feel for the life of the area.

We'll start in Talat Noi, a historic ethnic Chinese-Thai community area that's becoming a popular tourist destination with it's Instgram perfect spots and street art combined with traditional life. From churches like the The Holy Rosary Church, also known as Kalawar Church วัดแม่พระลูกประคำ กาลหว่าร์, to Chinese temples and shrines, to hipster cafes, it's a real gem of Bangkok.

From there we'll take the boat on the Chao Phraya river up to Wat Arun, The Temple of Dawn just outside of Chinatown in the old center of the city, before heading back on the metro into the real heart of Chinatown เยาวราช (ไชน่าทาวน์), the busy main street and getting lost in the Old Market ตลาดเก่าเยาวราช

We'll go as far as the Ong Ang Walking Street ถนนคนเดินคลองโอ่งอ่าง before finishing the day at the street food stalls which get gradually busier as the sun goes down.

To me, this is really one of the most wonderful ways that you can spend a day in this great city!

29/05/2023

They always say, “Don’t stop in Manila, just pass through on the way to anywhere else in the Philippines”. In this Manila vlog I'm not taking that advice!

I spent a week in Manila determined to find out what this huge mega-city can offer.

In this video I’ll head to Binondo, the oldest Chinatown in the world and my favourite part of Manila. I’ll also step over to the district of Quiapo next door, to see some incredibly mixed local life.

I’ll show you all sides of Binondo and Quiapo - Churches, a mosque, a beautiful Taoist temple. Traffic, people, lively markets, poverty and affluence. Oh yeah, and they’ll be some amazing Chinese food of course, it’s pretty special here!

It’s quintessential Manila, and while a little edgy it parts, it’s well worth exploring.

Come with me and discover why Manila is worth visiting!

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21/05/2023

They always say, “Don’t stop in Manila, just pass through on the way to anywhere else in the Philippines”. I’m not going to take that advice!

I spent a week in Manila determined to find out what this huge mega-city can offer. We start out in the colonial historic center of Intramuros, the former capital of the New Spanish Islands which is filled with buildings from that period.

There’s amazing Spanish-era landmarks like the central Manila Cathedral and beautiful San Agustin Church, along with Fort Santiago, with a large stone gate and a shrine to national hero José Rizal.

What better place to start discovering why Manila is worth visiting!

In the next video I’ll head to Binondo, the oldest Chinatown in the world and my favourite part of Manila.

14/05/2023

In this video I’ll show you the sights and places that you cannot miss if you’re visiting Taipei, the capital of Taiwan!

Of course we’ll visit the iconic sights of Taipei 101 to see the incredible views from its observation deck as well as Liberty Square with the beautiful Liberty Square Arch 自由廣場牌樓, National Theatre, National Concert Hall and the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall 國立中正紀念堂.

But of course there’s so much more to the city than just the big tourist sights!

You can’t come to Taipei and not try Xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) where it all started at Din Tai Fung Xinyi Branch
鼎泰豐 信義店.

We’ll visit the beautiful Longshan Temple 艋舺龍山寺, originally built in the 1700s and honoring both Buddhist & Taoist deities.

Then it’s time for more of what Taipei does best… Food! We’ll visit the Guangzhou Street Night Market 廣州街觀光夜市, Nanjichang Night Market 南機場夜市 and finally a visit to the Ningxia Night Market 寧夏夜市

Come along and you’ll see some of the best of Taipei!

23/04/2023

Shilin Night Market is the one of the largest and most famous night markets in Taipei. Centered on Yangming Theater and Cixian Temple, it's a maze of alleyways filled with amazing streetfood and more.

In this video I'll show you around and of course try the food, including the infamous stinky tofu! Could I stomach it? You'll see...

16/04/2023

In this video I'll show you the beautiful village of Juifen and the famous Juifen Old Street (九份老街).

Legend says that it was the inspiration for the movie Spirited Away, with its tiny streets, red lanterns, beautiful temples and breathtaking views.

But it's also the most popular day trip that you can do from Taipei. A fairly easy bus journey that can be done in less than 2 hours.

Is it worth it?

Should you just skip it and avoid the crowds?

Take a look and this video should help you decide!

03/04/2023

I couldn’t watch!

02/04/2023

In the 19th and final episode of Paths Less Traveled - Iran, I’m back in Tehran and staying in the affluent north of the city before leaving.

I’ll stay and begin in Tajrish (تجریش), exploring and shopping in the Tajrish Bazaar (بازار سنتی تجریش) as well as visiting the beautiful Imamzadeh Saleh shrine (امام زاده صالح).

Next it’s off to see how the Pahlavi royalty lived at the Saadabad Palaces in the Saadabad Historical Complex (مجموعه فرهنگی تا‌‌‌‌ریخی سعدآباد) where we visit the White Palace, the Green Palace and the interesting Omidvar Brothers' Museum (موزه برادران امیدوار) dedicated to a couple of Iranian brothers, Issa and Abdullah Omidvar, who started a journey to travel the world back in 1954!

After the palaces we’ll head up to Bame Tehran (بام تهران) for incredible views over this huge city.

Then we head into Darband itself. Cool and nestled in the mountains with folks selling preserved fruits on the street, we go all the way up to the amazing Koohpaye Restaurant (رستوران کوهپایه) which I learnt about from watching Mr Taster celebrate his blue tick on Instagram there!

Come and join me for the end of this epic trip, and goodbyes to the beautiful people of Iran.

Iran is NOT it’s leaders! This was the real Iran - the people, the history, the culture and the food.

26/03/2023

In this 18th and penultimate episode of Paths Less Traveled - Iran, I’ve made it to the final destination of my journey around Iran before I’m back in Tehran.

After a visit to the incredible Ali Sadr Cave (غار علی صدر) - The longest water cave in the world where you have to travel by boat, we’ll head on to the city of Hamedan.

As with everywhere I visited in the Kurdish region at the time, things felt on edge due to the protests going on. There was a heavy police presence in the centre so we thought it best to leave and see the city in the relative safety of the morning.

The following morning, we head out into the city and I was in for quite a surprise, Hamedan is amazing! Vibrant and with an amazing rich history!

We started off at Imam Khomeini Square (پیاده راه میدان امام خمینی), the beautiful central square of the city as well as thoroughly exploring the wonderful Hamedan Grand Bazaar (بازار تاریخی بزرگ همدان) that runs all around. An incredible view on local life in the city and not shut down due to the protests as we saw in Khorramabad and Kermanshah.

We then visit the Tomb of Esther and Mordekhai (آرامگاه اِستر و مُردخای‎), an interesting ancient mausoleum thought by Iranian Jews (yes you read that correctly!!!) to contain the bodies of biblical Queen Esther & her cousin Mordekhai.

Exploring the bazaar and central area we discover the Golshan Caravansary (کاروانسرای گلشن) and others, showing a wonderful history back to the time of the Silk Road.

After that, we step just to the side of the centre to the Hegmataneh Complex, an ancient site that pre-dates even the Persian royal dynasties, as well as finding the unexpected Stephen Gregory Church (کلیسای گریگوری استیپانوس).

Time to leave the center so we head way out to find Ghorme Sabzi for lunch, a traditional Iranian stew of vegetables, beans and lamb.

After lunch we head to the Tomb of Avicenna (آرامگاه بوعلی سینا), the mausoleum complex featuring the tomb of Abu Ali Sina and its charming grounds.

As a last destination for the day we head to the Tomb of Baba Taher (آرامگاه باباطاهر), a vast memorial to the medieval Persian poet, along with the surrounding park.

Finally we see where all the LED lights go at the ice cream shops by my hotel, and of course have some of that awesome ice cream!

Come and join me and let me show you this surprisingly awesome city!