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...
