“So, you’re going to Vietnam? Can you pick up an ‘ao dai’ for me while you’re there?” If a casual female friend ever says this to you, politely decline. Say you’re sorry; you’ll be too …
June 26, 2012
Go Abroad!
Saigon: Be Careful What You Shop For
Dope and Diarrhea in Afghanistan: A Sordid Tale
Dope and diarrhea were the two main topics of conversation during my brief sojourn in Afghanistan back in 1976-77. The first everybody wanted, the second everybody had. Back in the day, before anyone had even …
June 21, 2012
The Pirate Streets of Koh Phi Phi
After riding elephants in Krabi, Thailand, it was time to leave that madness behind. So I hopped a ferry for the island of Koh Phi Phi. Midway though the hour-and-a-half-long ferry trip, ominous clouds could …
June 15, 2012
A City Divided: Nicosia, Cyprus
Dusk. Empty street. Barbed wire. Bombed-out buildings. These are my first memories of Nicosia, Cyprus. Cassie and I came to Cyprus for the week of Kurban Bayramı, a religious holiday. We were both English teachers …
June 14, 2012
Hyderabad: A Taste of Southern India
Hyderabad, India, located in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, is a juxtaposition of old and new unlike any other city in India and often overlooked as a tourism destination. The 400-year-old Cyberabad district with …
June 9, 2012
Khaled Waleh, owner of Zia’s Afghan Café in North Park, helps me find his dad
‘He’s gone back to Afghanistan,” says Khaled Waleh. “He left last week.” It’s a shock. I’d come looking for Zia Waleh, famous for his intimate Zia’s Afghan Café in North Park, closed now but much …
June 6, 2012
At the World’s End: Lake Tōya, Japan
Lake Tōya in Hokkaidō, Japan, is a small tourist resort nestled among mountains and active volcanoes. Known for its serene landscape and relaxing onsen spas, it also has a darker side; in 2000, the majestic …
June 5, 2012
Enchanting Chiang Mai, Thailand
The Thai rainy season greeted me in the form of monks in flowing orange robes holding little umbrellas. Their smiles beamed at me through the thick mist as I sauntered through the old section of …
June 2, 2012
England's Eclipse, 1999
“That’s eet, then?” With that summation, the last total eclipse of the millennium ended after 40 seconds under an overcast sky on Dartmoor for a young Manchester woman with two cranky kids. “I kood ‘ave …
May 31, 2012
The Maldives
Located in the Indian Ocean between the Arabian peninsula and India, the Maldive Islands are as romantically isolated as any island chain known to travelers. It's not impossible to get here, however. A three-hour flight …
Made in Taiwan: Great Food
The first thing that comes to mind when Taiwan's brought up is the FOOD. Its amazingly cheap street food is fresh and made to order. You can find anything from sushi to pancakes to dim …
May 19, 2012
Rio Beauty Salons
I picked the wrong year to stop sniffing glue – but of that, later. The following post makes me vulnerable A) because I'm not given to beauty salons anywhere, and B) you'd never find it …
May 15, 2012
Tel Aviv: The White City
The so-called “White City” in central Tel Aviv, Israel, is home to the largest concentration of Bauhaus buildings and a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. The Bauhaus style (also referred to as Modern or International …
May 15, 2012
An Apartment in Paris
It's funny how traveling somewhere foreign changes our tolerance for things. For a month-long sojourn to Paris, my family of three rented a cramped one-bedroom apartment in Montmartre. We – who are oozing at the …
May 10, 2012
Manila Nights
This story begins while I was watching a game at Tilted Kilt here in San Diego. A friend hears of my plans to visit the Philippines and immediately, without pausing, utters two fateful words (that …
May 8, 2012