August 13, 2006
Why Blog
It's a quiet Sunday morning...as Sundays are in Oaxaca...people home with their families. I often think of this blog...and other blogs...and wonder what is the value of putting so many...Read this update
June 05, 2006
A Field Guide To Getting Lost
My son, Josh, the little weasel, asked me what it felt like to be living alone in Oaxaca. It got me to thinking. Then I picked up a book at...Read this update
April 03, 2006
Smile Yoga
I practice smile yoga... My gift to everyone. "Sabaidie," I say Not knowing their condition Hearts open Feeling Divine....Read this update
March 04, 2006
The World A Playground?
A friend recently emailed me asking what it is like to have all the world as my "playground." This was my very brief answer: Well, the best thing about traveling...Read this update
December 23, 2005
More On Mao
We are grounded by the subway strike so have been reading more of the biography of Mao by authors Jung Chang, the author of the wonderful three-generation epic "Wild Swans,"...Read this update
December 14, 2005
"Anyway"
The other day I was sorting through my hundreds of little pieces of paper crammed in my backpack during the last three years of travel and came across this poem...Read this update
November 27, 2005
Deep Into Mao & China
It's cold and snowy outside and right now I am deep into the recently published biography of Mao Tse Tung by Jung Chang who also some years ago wrote the...Read this update
June 12, 2005
Perfect Memories
What A Perfect Day...It's Such A Perfect Day...And Then We Go Home Have been re-reading a book that I have been dragging around with me for the last year....Read this update
October 17, 2004
Great Days Great Wall
E found the website (www.wildwall.com) and the adventure offered intriguing potential...off the beaten track, away from the Chinese tourist groups that follow a guide with a microphone and colored...Read this update
October 02, 2004
End of a Disastrous Experiment
I want to emphatically state (and I think Bob would concur) that I have nothing but admiration for this proud and resilient people who have survived 70 years of...Read this update
Lingering Images of Russia
Siberian countryside with endless kilometers of grassland and golden pine and white birch trees... small wooden, weathered, unpainted, picturesque, single story bungalows throughout Sibera with blue painted shutters-the banya...Read this update
July 12, 2004
The Case For Solo Travel
Friends often ask why we want to travel independently and when they do, it sets off a flood of thoughts and images. Being a wanderer, crossing different lands among people...Read this update
The Case For Solo Travel
Friends often ask why we want to travel independently and when they do, it sets off a flood of thoughts and images. Being a wanderer, crossing different lands among people...Read this update
December 31, 2002
Perspective On China
China is big. The population is staggering with a billion and a half people. It's a matter of getting perspective. Our home state of Oregon only has about 1.5 million...Read this update
December 15, 2002
What We Miss About Home
I have been asked about this so here it is: After nearly a year, the thing I miss the most about living in the States is EFFICIENCY. Everywhere in the...Read this update
November 20, 2002
Secrets I Will Never Know
Major Cities We Visited "The opening up of China is a stirring idea," Lonely Planet says. A foreigner traveling alone today is privileged to see more of China than...Read this update
October 17, 2002
The Myth of "Nam"
The male fantasy of Saigon that was nurtured in Graham Greene's "The Quiet American" written in the 1950's is recreated superficially in bars in Saigon with names like Apocalypse...Read this update
May 20, 2002
On The Road To Zambia
May 20, 2002 Up 5 am and out 6:30. Most of the day is spent traveling to Zambia. A bridge is out on the road south so we have...Read this update
May 19, 2002
Time, Walking, Women
Time, Walking, Women, Waiting, Matatus and Plastic In Africa these things work together in a synchronous whole. Rattle-trap matatus-minibuses that serve as public transportation-all seats and the space in between...Read this update
April 30, 2002
Search For Truth In Egypt
Cafes and Food You can have what Bob calls "mystery meat," which in Egypt is called kebab-lamb or chicken sliced from a vertical spit-very good in pita bread. Kofta is...Read this update
March 23, 2002
The New Young Brits
In the train, before crawling into my compartment, I stood out in the hall and had a great conversation with a bright energetic young Brit (Richard) attending Cambridge. He had...Read this update
March 22, 2002
What Travel Reveals
Before we began our first round the world journey, a friend asked us to "report back to us at home what your travels reveal about the human heart and what...Read this update