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Canada: the trans-Canadian railway

July 1989 PROLOGUE Only after starting to work at NYU did I understand that I received six weeks of paid vacation per year! That easily...

Australia: Brisbane

April 2006 too late We arrived in Brisbane, rented a car, and headed south immediately. Our goal was Byron Bay [see: Byron Bay] via a...

West Bank: the Bethlehem Barrier

June 2018 what makes a wall famous? The security fence that runs across Israel's own territory divides Israel from the West Bank (which...

Italy: Baths of Diocletian, Rome

door, Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri Carthusian Charterhouse...

Philippines: Bacolod

Capital Park Negros Oriental Capitol Building San Sebastian Cathedral. June 2016 turning around perceptions Bacolod was my first solo...

York: Barnett Bobb House

November 2020 I remember visiting this house (along with the nearby Gates House and Plough Tavern) in elementary school. That experience...

Lebanon: Al Nourieh Shrine, Beirut

June 2019 Sayyidat al-Nouriyyeh An old shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary was in a room on the ground floor of a building in Souk...

UAE: Abra, Dubai Creek

October 2019 My absolute favorite thing in Dubai is riding the abra across Dubai Creek. From my point of view, if a visitor to Dubai...

Air & Space Museum (Dulles)

July 2019 On my final return to Iraq from the USA, my brother was the one to take me to the airport (Dulles, Washington, DC). We agreed...

Netherlands: Amersfoort

Koppelpoort. July 2017 The Netherlands on the Cheap No two ways about it, the Netherlands is expensive. It is also an amazingly easy...

Spain: Alcalá de Henares

June 2018 On my week of daytrips from Madrid, Alcalá de Henares was high on the list to visit. An old Roman city halfway between...

Jordan: Paris Square, Amman

June 2018 Writing I Textbook as Travel Guide (Part II) On my second trip to Jordan I requested NH to take me to Jebel Al Webdeh because...

Arab Street

January 2014 This is what Singaporeans and the Singapore government say about Arab Street: Arab Street is a hippy neighborhood which...

Araden: Sultana Mahdokht Church

July 2020 very old Sultana Mahdokht (died January 12, 319) was the daughter of Pholar, the Prince of Dorsas. Together with her brothers...

USA: Arches National Park, Utah

July 1988 Arches National Park was my first real "Western National Park" and holds a special place in my heart. I had been in Denver to...

China: Hangzhou

April 1998. 上有天堂,下有苏杭 [Literally: up there is Heaven, down here there are Suzhou and Hangzhou] dreams On my famous first trip to Shanghai...

Jakarta: Cafe Batavia

Taman Fatahillah main dining room Sate down to the lobby. September 2014 Cafe Batavia was a total sensation in Jakarta in the mid to...

Morocco: Fez Souk

December 2019 Fez was high on my list of places to visit in Morocco, but I will admit to some trepidation before going. Fez was also...

India: Jewtown, Kochi

Synagogue, Jewtown, Kochi. February 2010 ... it was believed that the earliest Jews in India were sailors from King Solomon's time. It...

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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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