JAPAN: Kyoto – Peaceful? Not Really! – Rainy? Yes!
I blew into Kyoto after dragging my heavy gear through the Tokyo metro, and then finally onto the bullet train that would deliver me to Kyoto. A quick taxi ride brought me to my hotel for the next nine days. The thing that surprised me is that I expected a peaceful backwater out in the […]
JAPAN: Tokyo – A Civil Alternate Universe
Tokyo is a most overwhelming metropolis with so many diverse districts that you could spend months here, and just begin to scratch the surface. Once again I am grateful for my perpetual world travel status because I have no need to cram everything into this visit. I’ll just stop by on my next swing through […]
SOUTH KOREA: Seoul 65 Years of Peace
In July 2018, South Korea will celebrate sixty-five years of peace. The Korean War was relatively short but exceptionally bloody. Nearly 5 million people perished. More than half of these, about 10 percent of Korea’s prewar population, were civilians. This rate of civilian casualties was higher than World War II’s and Vietnam’s. 227,800 South Korean soldiers […]
CHINA: Shanghai – Just Another Impersonal Metropolis?
I highly recommend all who travel internationally to follow the guidelines for airport arrival. Make sure to arrive at the airport three hours ahead for an international flight and two hours for a domestic. I would even stretch that domestic arrival to two and a half hours ahead if traveling between big cities or countries […]
CHINA: Chengdu – Giant Pandas & So Much More
Good news for a change, people! Pandas are off the endangered species list due to the efforts of the Chinese, as well as major improvements in the difficult task of breeding the wondrous creatures. Okay, buckle up, it’s time for some cute animals, new adventures, and a city with a lot to offer. XISHU GARDEN […]
CHINA: #101 – Land of Surprises – Bejing
China certainly has surprised me right off the bat. Far from being mere enablers to America’s consumer culture, they have a burgeoning consumer culture of their own. You just need to go the requisite steps to enter the country. Once you jump through the hoops of securing a visa and supplying proof of hotel and […]
THE MALDIVES: Dharavandoo – Baa Atoll
Well people, the moment I have waited for has finally arrived. May 22nd. is now and will forever be the day that I celebrate visiting my 100th. country! It also just happens to be the birthday of my awesome son in law, so Happy Birthday Steve while we celebrate on opposite sides of the planet. […]
SRI LANKA: Hikkaduwa – Former Home of Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke, writer of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” lived here in Hikkaduwa from 1956 until his death in 2008. I figured if it was good enough for Clarke, it would prove to be a fine place to base myself in Sri Lanka. A lifelong fan of his work, I thought it might be nice […]
INDIA: Srinagar – Dal Lake
Promises of a week of Himalayan hiking and glorious nature has turned into a lost weekend on a dying body of water, due in part to a fast talking travel agent, a discombobulated host called Nabi, and the floating vendors of Dal Lake. Basically, my innkeeper is a nervous wreck with high blood pressure so […]
INDIA: Agra – The Taj Majal
It’s not as easy as getting on a plane in Jordan, and arriving at the Taj. There’s a cab to the airport, a flight to Abu Dhabi, a red-eye flight to New Delhi, an overnight in a hotel, and finally a train which will take me to Agra. There is also the issue of the […]
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