Category: STORIES
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Who is Buddha anyway?
More than 90% of people in Thailand are Buddhists, and if I was going to be in their presence and visit their temples, I needed to learn more about who Buddha was and what Buddhism means. A small disclaimer: I don’t claim to be a historian or an expert – this is what I learned,…
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BANGKOK | Lucky charms, a buddha in repose, and monks in training
I had started my first day in Bangkok at the magnificent Grand Palace. Spectacular, yes, but it was also filled to capacity with tourists. Suffice to say, I was not unhappy to be back on the streets and heading for good fortune. The amulet market, that is. What’s not to love about a whole market…
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BANGKOK | Sa wat dee kah (hello), Thailand!
Behold Bangkok. Full ceremonial name: Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit, aka, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon. Translation: “City of Angels.” Resident population, 8.5 million. Tourist population, 24.5 million per year. This was my first day in the exotic, boisterous, quirky, sweltering, exhilarating city of Bangkok. I had arrived from Dubai the night before. …
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DUBAI | DESERT DAY TRIP
Even though I was only in Dubai for two days, with at least four days worth of places I wanted to see, I was determined to find time to go to the desert. When would I have another opportunity to be in the desert in the Middle East? Furthermore, the way the Dubai metropolis was…
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DUBAI | Open doors. Open minds.
I only had two days in Dubai, so I knew I had to plan my time meticulously. It was the perfect time to try out tripomatic.com, a travel site that plans itineraries for you based on the places you want to see. Now let me just say, this is a great website…for travelers with reasonable…
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DUBAI | The souks
Remember the scene in the “Sex and the City 2” movie when SJP glides through the shadowy souk (wearing a full-length taffeta skirt, Dior t-shirt, and Manolos), amidst stalls that are draped with vibrant textiles and bursting with exotic merchandise? Well, that was the picture I had in my mind when I left the glitz…
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DUBAI | Magnificent metropolis
I’ve wanted to go to Dubai for a long time, so after days of worrying about snowstorms delaying my flight, a harrowing drive to the airport on roads slick with black ice, an altercation with the check-in agent about carrying on my suitcase (I won), I was at JFK airport, and I was JAZZED. The…
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GUEST POST | Puglia, Italy | Anita Dore
One of the perks of writing a travel blog is that I hear from people around the world. Anita Dore is a designer and painter, living in Luxembourg. She and her husband, Dave, recently traveled to the region of Puglia, Italy, in the “heel of Italy’s boot.” It is the one part of Italy I…
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The pen is mightier than the sword
On January 7, 2015, Islamic militant gunmen killed twelve people at the Paris office of French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, presumably in response to controversial cartoons published by the magazine. Philip Gourevitch, The New Yorker: “The French cartoonist Stéphane (Charb) Charbonnier liked to say, when jihadis repeatedly threatened to silence him, that he’d rather be…
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Iceland | Impassable
The sign at the foot of the glacier said, “Impassable,” but that didn’t stop us from heading onto the frozen plateau and into a treacherous adventure…but let’s start at the beginning. A couple years ago, my son and I went to Iceland for Christmas, and I thought it would be a memorable experience to take…
