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New Zealand: Queenstown

January 1993 the ground zero of youth Queenstown, New Zealand on the end of lovely lake Wakatipu overlooking the Remarkables (a mountain...

Mexico: Puerto Vallarta

City Square Cathedral October 2011 The official founding story of Las Peñas (and thus of Puerto Vallarta) is that it was founded by...

Kansai: exceptionalism

Temple guardian, Ninnoji, Kyoto. 1986 [from FB post: January 16, 2012] Just found out my neither of my mobile phones will roam in Japan. ...

Czech Republic: Plzeň

Main Square, Plzeň. July 2019 Beer Hajj Pilsner (also pilsener or simply pils) is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from the...

Bahrain: Novotel

March 2015 hotel voyeurism At one time or another everyone has become a "hotel voyeur" - stopping by to see a hotel property with no...

Oman: mosque in Salalah

March 2016 Aqeel Mosque, which was built in 1779, is the oldest mosque in Salalah. https://www.omanobserver.om/article/31638/Features/mos...

Sendai: farewell speech

Sendai YMCA. March 1987 If I ever felt conflicted in my life, it was leaving Japan. I went for a two year stint and extended almost...

China: Lama Temple, Beijing

April 1998 This was my third visit to Yonghe Temple because along with the Forbidden City, it was high on anyone's list in Beijing. The...

Malaysia: Georgetown, Penang

December 2005 [from FB post: January 9, 2011] Just arrived in Penang, Malaysia. Look forward to see my old friend M and eating some good...

Laos: falls of the Mekong

Khone Pha Pheng Waterfall, Mekong River. August 2007 We flew to Pakse and arranged a car to take us Khone Pha Pheng Falls, one of the...

Vienna: Egyptian Collection, Art History Museum

April 2019 context The Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum is among the world’s most important...

Qatar: West Bay, Doha

March 2015 I remember my Saudi friend Meshal used to be the lone member of our coffee clutch from Java Beans in Abha who traveled...

Slovakia: Devin Castle

July 2019 Highly recommended by MS, fellow world-traveler and photographer, I went out to visit Devin Castle on my second visit to...

Vietnam: China Beach, Đà Nẵng

December 2007 the persistence of media Vietnam has some spectacular beaches. One of the most famous is in Đà Nẵng. In the case of...

Cox's Bazar: a local beach resort

Carved up, dried fish crab designs March 2012 Then and now The modern Cox's Bazar derives its name from Captain Hiram Cox, an officer of...

Germany: Burg Hohenzollern

March 1993 On Matt's First Big Trip to Germany, the first place MAP and I visited after I was settled in Stuttgart was Burg Hohenzollern....

England: Cambridge University

Emmanuel College. King's College Chapel. April 2012 an afterthought... I had begged Adrian FVdR to go with me to Ely to see the...

Sri Lanka: the Hill Club, Nuwara Eliya

December 2003 The Hill Club was founded in 1876 by W.H. Walker, J. Wickwar and H. Saunders and started with only a billiard room and a...

Bukittinggi, West Sumatra

April 1997 One of our favorite places in Indonesia was the Minang Highlands around Bukittinggi, West Sumatra. Brian and I had fallen in...

Istanbul: Bosphorus

August 2020 [from FB post: March 6, 2014] As far as I know, Russia is now defending two seaports which seem to be somewhat irrelevant in...

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Samsara

Observations of Life

"A stone with no moss" has been my motto.  My experiences and commentary from travels both near and far.  No hate, unfiltered.

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