Photographer Tanveer Badal spent 101 days traveling Asia and Africa, and in so doing created one of those blogs that sears your eyeballs with its ridiculous beauty. It's a good place for a quick dose of vicarious travel, or many lost moments bathing your brain with images of pretty places. World feeling small? Not hardly! Look!
So anyway, Badal recently posted about the unexpected highlight of his extensive travel in Southeast Asia: Laos, AKA, "'that thing' between Thailand and Vietnam." He explains how Laos took him by surprise with its beauty, ruggedness, the friendliness of the natives, and above all, that mysterious sense of enchantment that accompanies all indescribably great experiences. He describes their first day in Laos: "...some of us went on a long hike to explore caves at a nearby national park while others napped. (And that’s what I like the most about SEA and extended travel in general. You can either go on an adventure or you can nap. And it’s totally cool either way.)"


It seems like a kind of travel Rorschach Test -- Answer quickly, without thinking: adventure or nap? I'm no psychiatrist, or even a travel agent, but I'm going to go ahead and say you should probably, for optimum health, think both. Adventure and naps are the yin and yang of life, the alpha and omega of recreation, the peanut butter and jelly of leisure. True for any of us enjoying a free moment, whether we're cooling our heels in a Laotian bungalow or kitty-cat-curling-up on a sunny couch, whether by adventure we mean long hike in caves or an afternoon making sand castles at the beach. And it's totally cool either way.

For more on Badal's photogenic adventures (and naps), visit his site.

Read More:
The 8 Secrets of Budget Travelers
10 Places to Visit Before They're Gone
The 23-Year-Long Road Trip

Three weeks ago, Oprah issued a love challenge to Kingsland, Georgia, and her love coaches went straight to work. While they've been helping settle town feuds and setting up town singles, they've realized something...that spreading the love might be more work than they thought.

Tune in to Lovetown, USA this Sunday at 10/9c on OWN and watch as Oprah and her love coaches transform a community.

Perfect for "fat days," this strategically paneled dress makes you look ten pounds lighter. 

It's Friday again! That means it's time to take a moment and say thanks for...




The simple acts we should take a moment to take in

Student activists make a huge, eco-friendly change in the Los Angeles Unified School District (via GOOD)

Now this is just cuteness overboard: 11-month-old twins dance to their dad playing guitar (via MSN)

Got a question about haircare, skincare or makeup for O's beauty director, Val Monroe? Now's your chance! During the month of August, Val is answering your burning beauty questions!

Jody asked: I'm looking for a new fragrance for fall. What do you recommend?

See Val's video response:



Do you have a question for O's beauty director Val Monroe or O's creative director Adam Glassman? Ask away here!

This is a coat that makes an entrance: The metallic fabric, quilted inner layer, and on-trend anorak shape are so gorgeous, it doesn't matter whether you're wearing jeans or sequins underneath. And at $215, this is one high-fashion garment that looks much more expensive than it is. 

Photo: Thinkstock

Be good. It sounds like such a simple command, and one we would think we know how to obey. I will be good today, I'm sure of it. I will pick up after my dog. I will work hard. If I leave a snarky comment on someone's blog, it will be anonymously. I would never break the law, but if a friend confessed to having, say, looted a ship and buried pirate gold, I probably wouldn't tell anyone: is that wrong?

Men! What are they thinking? We can't always answer that, but we'll be posting our favorite glimpses into their world in this space every Thursday.

Photo: Candice Milon/Vlamboyant

* Artist Candace Millon photographs classic outfits from film history—and without their famous stars filling them out, they're a lot less instantly recognizable. How many can you figure out? (Vlamboyant)

* Maybe you're a fan of The BFG or you count yourself as more of a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory loyalist. Either way, these mugs featuring Roald Dahl quotes and illustrations are too good to pass up. (MSMugs)

* The Wall Street Journal goes in search of the perfect shave. (WSJ)

"As the video on the Jumbotron panned across the kids’ faces, all of whom looked to be between 8 and 12 years old, and as [United States Tennis Association president Jon] Vegosen talked of tennis as "the sport of opportunity," I couldn't help but shed every fiber of cynicism from my body."—Rembert Browne, who grew up in Atlanta occasionally dreaming of tennis stardom, makes his first trip to the U.S. Open. (Grantland)

"We're all part of this great mysterious outpouring of love," Sufi mystic Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee tells Oprah under the oak trees at her home in California. Center yourself this Sunday as the two discuss love, longing, and the source of true happiness on "Super Soul Sunday" at 11 am ET/PT on OWN. You can also watch from anywhere in the world on Oprah.com, Facebook.com/OWNTV or Facebook.com/SuperSoulSunday.