How on earth do you cover one billion people and more than five thousand years of history in one short article? I am afraid I won't be able to answer that question in regard to writing something about India. I can do no more than give you my week's worth of roaming about in northern India, a country which I found as diverse as it is huge and old. Just to get primed for the speed at which life proceeds in much of this country, our train to … [Read more...]
Niagara Falls–Is it Worth the Trip
For years Niagara Falls has been one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States and Canada. Visitors from abroad and North America cannot seem to shake their desire to visit this dramatic aquatic spectacle. But why exactly? The falls are not particularly convenient to any major U.S. city (apologies to Buffalo), which means visitors to the US will need at least two days to fit in a visit to Niagara. Furthermore besides the … [Read more...]
Afghanistan: More bakeries here than anywhere else in the world
I have always been asked about the safety situation in Afghanistan and, by now, might have a word or two to offer. During our stay there, we were limited mainly to Kabul and its immediate surroundings, such as valleys or canyons that could be reached within a couple hours of driving. Keep in mind that right now is also the height of winter and many roads become impassable for extended periods of time. While I can't personally speak for the rest … [Read more...]
Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth…the code of the Pashtuns
Peshawar, Pakistan December 2005 Some of you have wondered what has happened to us in the wilds of Pakistan and Afghanistan, since it's been a while that I wrote. Well, we have since made our way across Pakistan into the Northwest Frontier Province. If there is any "Wild West" left in the world, then this frontier area of Pakistan and Afghanistan is it. And the town of Peshawar has got to be the "Dodge City", then. Far larger and spread out … [Read more...]
The Land of Men with Flaming Orange Beards
As soon as we stepped out of the shiny terminal of Lahore International Airport in Lahore, Pakistan, my uncle Waheed and I were overcome by the smell of kerosene. I thought at first that there must be a spill nearby, because it was so strong. Eventually we found our ride among all the cabbies and rickshaw drivers, who were jostling among themselves for customers. It was a twenty or thirty minute slog to get into the city from the airport. It was … [Read more...]
Where can you find Islands the Shape of Palm Trees?
All my preconceived notions about the rigid cultural conservativism of countries in the Arab peninsula were thrown out the minute I entered Dubai, a sprawling and mushrooming megalopolis rising up between the fringes of the Arab deserts and the Persian Gulf. Saudi Arabia may still be the country of chokingly strict laws, but Dubai seems to be the total opposite. Actually it is one of two major cities in the United Arab Emirates, a country roughly … [Read more...]
Swiftboating the Mekong River
Pnomh Penh, Cambodia Dec. 19, 2004 After a hot and sweaty bus ride south from Saigon, I thought we reached the South China Sea when we first came across this open body of water. Then the driver filled us in that this was the Mekong River, still sixty kilometers inland from the sea. It is a truly massive river, a good deal wider than the Mississippi River down by New Orleans. From its headwaters in Tibet it has traveled about 4300 kilometers … [Read more...]
Malaysian Malls & Singaporean Housing Estates
Although now deposed from their reign as the tallest buildings in the world by Taiwan's "Taipei 101 Tower", the Petronas Twin Towers of Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur still command an attention and respect. Like the late World Trade Center, they are identical twins, but unlike the World Trade Center, they are shaped almost round and taper to two mighty sphere topped spires at a lofty height of 452 meters (1483 feet). Day and night they gleam and … [Read more...]
Sydney Beaches, Fun in the Sun
Whether you're up for a Crocodile Dundee adventure or you'd just like a taste of the Australian sun, the beaches in and around Sydney can offer you all that and more. Being in the southern hemisphere, Australia's seasons are reversed from those in Europe, North American, and much of Asia, so if you're looking for good beach weather, make sure to travel some time from September to May - that is, spring to autumn. The Sydney shoreline encompasses … [Read more...]
Young Female, Traveling Alone
Embarking on a Holy Adventure I had a strong grip on the seat in front of mine. I could have felt my stomach shrinking in fear and moving upward, toward my chest. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing some turbulence. Please keep your seat belts fastened until the seatbelt sign is off," announced the pilot. I looked around. I was the only female in the vicinity. The Indian men kept staring at me. They had been looking since I got … [Read more...]
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