Malaysia, Truly Asia
“Malaysia, Truly Asia” The television commercials had been singing their message to us for months, “Malaysia, Truly Asia.” It’s a great ad campaign, with captivating images of white sand beaches, rivers flowing through verdant jungles, orangutan and proboscis monkeys, and glimmering, modern Kuala Lumpur. We longed to get to Borneo, to find the perfect spot […]
Jogja On My Mind
No trip to Indonesia would be complete without a visit to the island of Java: not just to sample the coffee but to see how a true Indonesian city feels. After a quick fifty minute flight from Bali, we arrived in the city of Yogyakarta, Jogjakarta or, locally, Jogja. Our best-laid plan for accommodation was […]
Capital Border Town Vientiane
Our journey from Luang Namtha to Luang Prabang was over one of the few paved roads in Laos, and it was rough. The rainy season wreaks havoc with landslides, bridges out, chunks of road cracked or missing and overflowed rivers and streams. We saw plenty of examples, and felt lucky to have made it safely […]
Wat’s Your Pleasure?
Bangkok was a surprise. Maybe it has do do with the neighborhood we stayed in, or the activities we chose, but we didn’t find the chaos or danger we’d heard so much about. Yes, the tuk tuks whiz up and down, weaving precariously through heavy traffic. Yes there are scams to watch out for. Unscrupulous […]
Guilin: Forest of Sweet Osmanthus
Guanxi Province is known for its stunning natural beauty: green rivers meandering by lofty, tree-covered hills and jagged, gray karst spires that reach into the sky. There’s a national forest, subtropical mangroves, and miles and miles of farmland. The province is also home to several minority ethnic groups, Yao, Miao,Dong and Zhuang. Its history as […]
No Spitting Allowed
Twenty-four years after visiting Hong Kong with my family, I wondered how things may have changed. I was a teenager then, and had been living in Japan as an exchange student. My family had come for a visit, and took the opportunity to see Hong Kong as well. It was the late 80s, and Hong […]
Suzhou: How Does Your Garden Grow
Suzhou (Sūzhōu) is a quick, half-hour high speed train ride north of Shanghai. Once home to over 100 gardens, now there are about a dozen. It’s still known as Garden City, and is a popular stop on the tourist trail. A number of the classical gardens are UNESCO World Heritage listed, combining man-made features with […]
Shanghai-ed
Shanghai: A Great Place to Refuel After a month or so of wandering China, Shanghai was a wonderful place to rest up. It’s very much a modern city, with all the bright lights, shopping, dining and entertainment venues one could ever want. It’s also got pockets of history, tradition and cheap eats if you wander […]
Rest for Royalty and a Place to Pray
Located northwest of the center of town, the Summer Palace was a retreat for royalty trying to get away from Beijing’s stifling summer heat. It began as imperial gardens, and was developed and expanded by Emporer Qianlong in the 18th century. Later, it was damaged in several wars, rebuilt, renovated and made into the huge […]
Bike Sokcho
Our lodging, The House Hostel offers free bikes to guests, so an afternoon of cycling was a must. The port serves as the terminal for Russian ferries (the only one in S. Korea), and the signs in this area are in Russian and Korean. One friendly local kept trying to welcome us and (unsuccessfully) strike […]