I’m always happiest when I’m either traveling or planning for my next trip. So even though I just got back from my last adventure, not to mention the one before that, I’m getting ready for another one, which starts in just a few weeks. And this will be my longest trip yet: three months in…
Once again (and for the last time on this trip) I am having to sacrifice writing anything interesting in order to get something posted before I get home. So here’s an overview of the post-trip extension of my OAT tour to southeast Asia. There were just five of us out of the sixteen who were on…
I am now in Hanoi, and I have so much to share about my time in southern Vietnam and no time to do it. Our schedule has been jam-packed, and the Wifi at our hotel here has been sporadic. So once again I’ll provide a quick overview and hope to update this with more detail…
The challenge of blogging while traveling overwhelmed me in Siem Reap. I published a very abbreviated version of this post while I was in Saigon. But now I’ve fleshed it out, maybe with too much detail. But there was so much to experience in Siem Reap and the ancient city of Angkor.
My visit to Phnom Penh was a mix of great joy and intense sadness. Here’s my attempt to unpack all the emotions I experienced in just two days. I’ll start with the sad things and get them out of the way, even though it’s not chronological.
After a too-short visit to Vientiane, the capital of the Lao Democratic People’s Republic, I have had to say farewell to this surprisingly beautiful country and its friendly people. (I am writing this from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.) So here are a few final thoughts about Laos. And here are my photos from Vientiane, which you…
Luang Prabang is a delightful city. I was there for just a few days, and while it didn’t feel like nearly enough time, our OAT group crammed so much into the time we had. I could tell many stories. I had the opportunity to laugh and to cry, to be exhausted and invigorated, and to…
My time in Thailand is coming to an end. What a fascinating country this is! Beautiful people, complicated history, exciting energy, and great food! Not to mention the architecture. Bangkok is a brilliant city of skyscrapers, and tucked away amid the urban landscape are stunning monuments to Buddhism and to the past. Even more, the ancient…
There is a bridge over the River Kwai in Kanchanaburi. But the River Kwai is actually the Khwae (rhymes with “hay”), and there are two branches; the bridge crosses the Khwae Yai. The other branch, the Khwae Noi, merges with the Khwae Yai to form the Mae Klong. The Khwae Yai (which means “Big River”)…
Even though this post is about Chiang Rai, most of the time I was there, I wasn’t there. What I saw on the way from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, and what I saw when our group did pretty much an all-day outing to the Golden Triangle dominated my experiences in the last two days. Here’s…
If you walk around the street markets in Chiang Mai, you’ll find an amazing variety of artifacts. Wood carving, silk-screen prints, paintings, t‑shirts, and so many other items. Of course there is some cheap, tacky stuff, and there are also some very nice pieces of art and handicraft. The common theme among all of them…
I’ll start with a disclaimer: I’m not a beach person. I don’t like lying on the beach under a hot sun. Taking a dip is nice for a quick cool-off, but then I’m done. And I don’t drink a lot, so a lot of the nighttime activities associated with beach resorts are of no interest…