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…
Saturday, 08:15 Central Standard Time I’m at Guadalajara Airport awaiting the departure of my Alaska Airlines flight to LAX. This is the first of four flights that will take me to Ao Nang, Thailand. So my plan, to help pass the time between flights, is to write about my journey from Ajijic to Ao Nang.
It feels like I just got back from my last trip (and in fact, I did), but I am less than three weeks away from my next adventure. OAT calls it “Ancient Kingdoms,” but that doesn’t explain a lot. So I just tell people I’m going to Southeast Asia. To be specific, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia,…
Here I am at the end of a five-week trip. I started in Rome, where I had eleven days on my own. From there I went on an OAT tour with fourteen other travelers to Greece, Albania, and North Macedonia. And at the end of that tour, I decided to treat myself to some solitude…
I spent four days in North Macedonia to finish my OAT tour. Now I’m back in Greece, on the island of Naxos, to finish my trip with some quiet and solitude. The North Macedonia portion of the trip consisted of two nights in Охрид (Ohrid) and two nights in the capital, Скопје (Skopje). (I’m done…
