ROZZ

ANNYEONG HA SHIM NI KA! greetings from the eastern port city of wonsan, a bumpy 5hr drive from the capital pyongyang, north korea. fun fact: this sleepy beachside resort town doubles up as a missile/artillery/weapons test site - in fact two missiles were fired a day before we arrived. 😓 anyhoos heres a rare photo of me standing in front of one of the gazillion mosaic murals featuring the two kims. and cuz the kims are revered like gods i had to adhere to many rules before this photo could be taken: no selfie. no poses. no smile. stand 10m away. crop out the skeleton face on tshirt. but i like the skeleton on my tshirt! ☠️✊🏼 #rozzinDPRK #wonsan #northkorea #darktourist #shotoniphoneXs #portraitmode . .

I DID IT!!!!! I FOUND TRUE NORTH!!! after hiking for about 140m from helidrop point, a fellow expedition mate from china found it 2m from where i stood and we all rushed towards him to borrow his phone for a photo. this 90° north location lasted all of 30seconds before shifting again because the earth is constantly rotating. many have thought i was crazy to pay USD21,000 for a 3-day expedition to spend only 1hr at the north pole. ill admit it was a painful decision that i took months to be ok with, simply cuz im not financially stable or floating in cash. but i figured ill prob not make it to mars or explore outer space in my lifetime so why not visit at least one of the earth’s poles upon which it spins? there is nothing to see out here. its a barren desert of snow and ice. but theres something quite special about being at the top of the world, where every step you take is south. everyone on my expedition team has only one goal: to locate 90° north. after being here i realized the mad logistics and expertise required to transport people to the north pole. a single plane ride already costs USD100,000. im convinced that in order to explore extreme locations, id have to commit a little more. its not for everyone thats for sure. only 200 people make it to the north pole every year. we heard that the expedition team last year only managed 89° north cuz of where they had to land, and one year before that 90° north was located over a body of water!! so we were extremely fortunate this year! im so giddy from joy right now i dont know if ill ever recover from this high, or ever go back to mundane city living after having had a taste of the extremes this world has to offer. ill be having major withdrawals for months to come. and if/when i become broke, ill look back on all my photos and videos and smile. #rozzin90degreesnorth #geographicnorthpole #UncharteredAdventures #WorldClassAt30KFeet .

I DID IT! thats me scuba diving for the first time in a dry suit, in melted glacier water between two tectonic plates in the silfra rift! one hand's holding on to the eurasian plate, and the other is holding on to the north american plate. this is possibly THE MOST AWESOME THING ive ever done in my life - right up there with skydiving. big thanks to my boys at www.dive.is for makin my bucket list-worthy experience such a beautiful and stress-free one! book with them if you're gonna be diving in the silfra, aka one of the top 3 dive spots in the world! #rozziniceland #silfrarift #drysuitdive . .

i laughed, danced, painted, perspired and had heaps of fun. here’s a lil peep into the wondrous world of @hermes. #rozzinparis #hermes #drawntocraft #shotoniphone

who else finds kindness challenging… #rozzquotes

its been a wonderful 4D3N at @pimalaikohlanta, a member of @smallluxuryhotels. thnks fr th mmrs ✨ lets not gatekeep: drop your “this is where i go to relax” destination here now.

we’ve put a lot of thought into maximizing our weekend away together. we wanted an animal encounter experience for the toddler, and preferably access to pristine beaches and private pools. so we settled on krabi… but didnt wanna be in ao nang. so we made a lil extra effort and headed to ko lanta and stayed at @pimalaikohlanta. the journey to the hotel was an adventure in itself. from the moment we stepped out of airport baggage claim we were greeted by a hotel representative. from there its a 1hr drive + 10min boat ride + 40min drive on private transportation that was seamless, comfortable and took us through local towns and mountain roads. our home for 3 nights was the hillside 2 bedroom private pool villa (rooms 801 and 802) that came with a living room, full kitchen and a pool looking out to the stunning andaman sea. other than a visit to @followinggiants which was a short 10min drive away, we pretty much stayed in our villa and shuttled between breakfast, beach and room service lunches. thanks for the wonderful weekend, Pimalai, a member of @smallluxuryhotels #rozzinthailand #kolanta #pimalairesortandspa #smallluxuryhotels . .

private sunset cruise and snorkel to Koh Haa with @pimalaikohlanta. there were only 8 of us on the boat and we were the only ones at the island so felt very luxe like we booked the whole national park for ourselves. highly recommend this experience when you book a stay at Pimalai Ko Lanta, a proud member of @smallluxuryhotels. #rozzinthailand #pimalairesortandspa #smallluxuryhotels #kolanta #shotoniphone . .

we wanted an animal encounter experience that didnt exploit animals, was a short flight away, and preferably close to pristine beaches. @followinggiants, an ethical elephant sanctuary in ko lanta, ticked all those boxes. we booked the 2hr morning hike which was really the perfect duration esp with a 2 year old toddler in tow. it was meant to be an easy walk but unfortunately for us the eleplants were grazing uphill where the slopes were steeeeep asss fucccckkk - lets just say hiking poles wouldve made the descent much more enjoyable. PRO TIPS: bring cash to pay for entry, credit cards incur a 3% surcharge. mud boots are provided so do bring socks or ud be slipping and sliding in them. bring a heavy duty raincoat in case of rain. and a neckfan cuz its super hot and humid even in the morning. a good mozzie repellent is also a must. we stayed at @pimalaikohlanta so a free hotel pick was included. from there its only a 10min drive to the sanctuary. 10/10 recommend this experience. if you cant make it to Ko Lanta, theres another @followinggiants sanctuary in central Krabi. #rozzinthailand #kolanta #followinggiants #elephantsanctuary elephant portraits shot on #sonyA7C 85mm f1.8 lens videos #shotoniphone . .

Krabi… but make it @pimalaikohlanta the journey to get here from Krabi International Airport may have been as long as our flight from Singapore but it was smooth and worth the effort! so thankful we didnt settle for the low hanging fruit of Ao Nang beach because this semi-private Bakantiang beach that sits in front of @pimalaikohlanta was so peaceful and pristine. @pimalaikohlanta is a member of @smallluxuryhotels and awarded 2 keys by the @michelinguide. more photos to come. watch this space. #rozzinthailand #kolanta #pimalairesortandspa #smallluxuryhotels . .

life-changing moments dont always stem from grand, dramatic actions. most times a profound change happen in the seemingly insignificant everyday experiences that enhances your quality of life. being out here on a sunset walk by the ocean enhances my quality of life. eventho it may seem silly and small it is life-changing. compared to just 30mins ago before i started my walk, my life is significantly better. never forget that theres still a lot of life to be had in between those big milestone events. stay gold. #rozzinUSA #california #malibu #rozzquotes #shotoniphone #DJImavicpro2 . .

the most spectacular @apple store i have ever been in: Apple Tower Theatre. i was there just a week before the store got broken into and looted during the most recent DTLA riot. heart-wrenching to witness but also relieved i got out of there - my hotel was just right beside! anyhoos glad i got to experience this wondrous space that once housed the first theatre in LA to show talking movies back in the late 1920s; then sat pigeon-infested and vacant for decades before @apple turned it into a retail store thats also part museum and conservation project. i sat upstairs for close to an hour just taking everything in before getting up to take pictures. i love how there’s balance in the attention to detail: the modern aesthetic so synonymous with @apple’s branding, alongside the orginal neo-baroque architecture of the tower theatre. cool fact: i was told that every original piece that was removed during the epic upgrade process was meticulousy photo-documented, cataloged and stored. will it ever revert to its original theatre form? probably not. but at least its preserved for generations who wouldve never known of this historical building if it hadnt become an apple store. (myself included) so if you somehow find yourself in DTLA definitely pop in for a peek. according to mayor.lacity.gov the curfews have been lifted since a week ago. and on the @apple website it seems like today@apple sessions are still taking place in-store as planned. stay safe out there! #rozzinUSA #losangeles #shotoniphone . .