If life is a journey than, in India at least, it chugs along on two parallel steel lines, the railways. No reference here to the local trains of Mumbai, India's commercial capital, where citizens spend a substantial portion of their waking hours commuting increasing distances within ever expanding city-limits. This one is grand - a vast rail network criss-crossing the length and breadth of the country, spanning over plains and rivers, through … [Read more...]
Three days in Laos
Day 1 Greetings all from the heart of Laos! I'm writing from Vang Vieng, sort of a Gimmelwald of Laos... in other words the Laotian version of the Swiss Alps. I walk out of my hotel room onto a balcony that faces the most ethereal, exotic scene! Mountains in the shape of fingers and hands and what not jet up towards the sky, covered by foliage, and below lie palm trees, the village, and the river. Laos is the 10th poorest country in the … [Read more...]
Going Home
A traveler from Singapore finds his country's colorful past in present-day Kuala Lumpur. It's 9.50pm in Kuala Lumpur. Our 'time-travel machine' is here to take us home to 2003 Singapore. And for once, the KTM railway train arrived on the dot. 36 hours ago, we were standing at the tail of a long queue snaking from the departure gate to the main entrance of the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station in Singapore. The gate opened slightly after … [Read more...]
Lahore
If you take a fact file about Pakistan you will see the Islamabad is the official capital with its planned streets and neatly organized suburbs. You will also find Karachi mentioned as the economical and industrial capital with its huge twelve million people, bustling streets and polluted atmosphere. A city you may not find mentioned in that book is Lahore the cultural and spiritual heart of Pakistan. This ancient city on the bank of river Ravi … [Read more...]
Wacky Packi Northern Pakistan
The mere notion of coming to this country might send shudders up ones spine. But after my 2 months in Pakistan, the chills would be be because I'm so excited about the prospect of returning to one of the most beautiful countries one Earth. The initial excitement of entering the country via the dramatic Karakoram Highway subsides eventually, but a contentedness of being amidst the cool climes, stunning geography & welcoming locals sets in. … [Read more...]
7 Years in Tibet
Tashi Delek from Lhasa, The Holy City, at the heart of the Rooftop of the World! A wild & wacky week of travel covering maybe 2000 miles, countless mountain passes, and some of the planet's most beautiful terrain brought me here over a week ago. My route to Lhasa took me from the NW reaches of Yunnan north thru areas which are officially closed to foreigners by the oppressive Communist imperialists which have occupied Tibet for the past 53 … [Read more...]
A Thai Wedding Story
Sawasdee kha friends! Part I I find myself writing this email several hours after my brother's village Thai wedding, while sitting in the comfortably air-conditioned "business center" of our hotel. It's not often on my travels that I am left without words to describe my experiences, but for once I feel that this email can never fully articulate the feel of the last 24 hours. When we left Bangkok yesterday I was eager to return to the … [Read more...]
The Flood, The Tsunami Dec 26
If there is a Paradise on earth it must be here. We repeatedly confirm each other in that statement, several times a day. Mai's Quiet Zone is the name of the little resort where we live, here in the Northern part of Khao Lak. It is not a misnomer. With her husband, the Thai woman Mai has created an area where everything breathes idyllic peace. On the beach are some practical little red brick and bamboo bungalows. Two storey bungalows encircle … [Read more...]
My Foreign Language
The preparation for the trip back to Vietnam was almost as unsettling as the trip itself. Mom didn't want me to go because she was afraid something might happen to me. I had planned to go with several other people, including a Vietnamese guy who goes by his Catholic name of 'Matthew,' and I had assured mom that Matthew would look after me since he had gone back several times already. Father had demanded that I not go because he didn't want me … [Read more...]
Zimbabwe & Zambia: The Zim and Zam of Victoria Falls
Dear Friends, "I can't leave this place. Africa is in my heart'I love the unpredictability here; today we have food, tomorrow we might not". These were the musings of Ivor, a white Zimbabwean grocery store owner we met in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Ivor was one of the few white Zimbabwe citizens left after the country's strong-man president Robert Mugabe changed the constitution to allow himself unlimited terms and, in 2000, instituted a series of … [Read more...]
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