The tragic events of 1945 can barely be appreciated without seeing the peaceful, dignified city of Hiroshima, Japan. Within minutes of stepping off the bullet train, a local resident offered us a free tour of …
Go Abroad!
At the World’s End: Hiroshima and Miyajima
The Big 5 in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) in Tanzania includes the Ngorongoro Crater, covering 8,300 square kilometers and the only place on earth where mankind and wild animals co-exist in harmony. This uniqueness earned it a UNESCO …
Medieval Life in Winchester, England
William the Conqueror was a busy guy in 1066 after successfully invading and taking control of England. After being crowned king in London at Westminster Abbey, William immediately took control of the town of Winchester, …
March 14, 2012
Looking Back: Day Trip up the Khyber Pass, 1998
There is a 19th-century Protestant church at the south end of Bombay’s Colaba Causeway. It has a disproportionately tall steeple, and before the skyline of Nariman Point was developed, it was the most prominent landmark …
Christchurch, New Zealand's International Antarctic Centre
In February 2011, Christchurch captured world headlines when New Zealand’s second-largest city was jolted by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, flattening downtown buildings and claiming 181 human lives in its debris-laden wake. Though parts of downtown …
March 9, 2012
A Great Escape, Part One
Capture “I rather expected to be wounded or killed or even drowned,” writes Navy lieutenant Edouard Izac. “It was only natural that…the [USS President] Lincoln would finally be torpedoed….But never once had the thought of …
March 7, 2012
Filipino Flair – The Philippines
“We’re the fun Asians.” After soaking in the aforementioned statement from a Filipino friend and almost three years of living and working with a multitude of friendly Filipinos here in San Diego, I had to …
March 6, 2012
At the World’s End: Chernobyl and Prypiat
I was two years old and living in the U.K. when the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, on April 26, 1986. Naturally, I have no memory of the event, but my mother assures me that …
March 5, 2012
Kimonos and Bonsai in Ōmiya, Japan
Located in the Saitama Prefecture of Japan, Ōmiya is just a 30-minute bullet train ride from Tokyo, yet the town feels much farther away from its hustle and bustle. Eye-catching features of Ōmiya include bonsai …
Three Nights and Three Pubs in London
My hotel, the Radisson Blu Portman, was in a good location just a few blocks from the high-end shopping area of Oxford and Regent streets. Weaving through the enchanting boroughs (the British word for neighborhood) …
February 27, 2012
Day Trip from Delhi: Taj Mahal and the Red Fort of Agra
The stunning architectural beauty of the Taj Mahal, built entirely of white marble, is particularly evident at sunrise and sunset. At sunrise the changing light casts shadows, and at night it seems to glow – …
Captivating Cape Verde: Locked in an African Wine Bar
I’m sitting in an African bar scratching a description of Praia, Cape Verde, into a notebook, sipping my third cup of passable Portuguese plonk. I don't know if it was my intense concentration on the …
Cologne, Germany's Love-Locked Bridge
Trains rumbled over the bridge and thousands of padlocks chattered in unison as I walked across the Hohenzollern Bridge in Cologne, Germany, looking at messages of love. Row after row of various shaped and sized …
February 14, 2012
Hip Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
"In Ho Chi Minh City, there are eight million people and five million motorbikes," my guide informed me as we slowly wound our way through this bustling city en route to the Củ Chi tunnels. …
Biking in Laos
When I arrived in Laos, I was delighted to find that bicycles are cheap, easy to rent, and can ride anywhere. Finding a bike was as simple as saying to my guesthouse owner, "Bike?" The …
February 1, 2012