Always looking to find a local experience while on the road I hopped in the car with Isa, a likeable individual who has opened his home for me to stay during my time in Almaty. He is an ex military man who is now a boxing trainer. He definitely has the build and look of a boxer. During the ride over the theme song from the Titanic movie came on the radio and he started singing along. Almaty is a huge town - spread out for some distance. There … [Read more...]
The land of the rolling hills
A city and corporate life makes me wither away hence the scent of any travel trail hits me head-on soaring my spirits. A recent tour of the land of the rolling hills - Cameron Highlands - nestled in Pahang, Malaysia brought me closer to nature much like a lovelorn lass. Tea gardens and trek have always lulled my senses. Back home the Himalayan foothills resonate the same aura as Cameron Highlands although the landscape of the former is more … [Read more...]
Where is Amelia Earhart’s Plane? Colin Cobb Knows…
“Never interrupt someone doing something you said couldn’t be done.” -Amelia Earhart Check out the video at the end to solve the mystery." A couple years ago while visiting Belfast I took a Titanic walking tour, run by a charismatic chap, Colin Cobb. He took me to the edge of the 880 foot-long Thompson Graving Dock, where RMS Titanic was hauled to check and clean its hull and fit the propellers. It was the last place she sat on … [Read more...]
Bohemian Rhapsody
John M. Edwards takes the waters in the Czech Republic’s so-called West Bohemian Spa Triangle in order to spy out the local talent and bathe in the buff. . . . “Give me a place to stand on, and I will have the earth.” --Archimedes In the “West Bohemian Spa Triangle,” consisting of the old spa towns Carlsbad, Marienbad, and Franzenbad, now all hiding behind Czech names, I thought to myself that it doesn’t get any better than this! In … [Read more...]
Just woke up in “prison” in Helsinki
"Am I there yet? Am I there yet?" This question rattled around several times in my jet lag induced brain for a few moments before one eye fluttered open. In the foggy haze of nonstop travel for the past few days I looked around. I was in a small room. I noticed the window. It was high up the wall, not in a normal spot for a window. I glanced at the blinking red light. It was 4am. But there was plenty of outside light in the room. There was … [Read more...]
Astana: Whipping up a storm
This is the story of how Stalin lost his nose and why the face of former British prime minister Tony Blair pops up in the strangest places in a former Soviet republic. But first I want to tell you about Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan. And later I’ll tell you about kyz kuu, a kind of lovers’ kissing game they play on the steppe of central Asia. Kazakhstan, independent since 1991, and squeezed between those other ‘stans’ (homelands) … [Read more...]
Playing In The Mud Is Good For You
Perhaps you remember when you were a kid splashing through puddles of water after a heavy rain or playing in the mud. Remember how it felt? Carefree, happy, and just plain fun! Turns out that playing in the mud is good for you. You can recreate that childhood experience as an adult (sort of) in the spa town of Calistoga, California, located in the north end of California’s famous Napa Valley. The volcanic soil that provides such a perfect … [Read more...]
Postcard: Gilli Islands Hopping – Peepholes in Paradise
John M. Edwards visits the Indonesian Gilli Islands, a tripartite chain of paradise islets, ending up on Gilli Trawangan, where locals Gilligans follow us around and spy on us like flypaper paparazzi. “I see India everywhere but I do not recognize any of it.” --Rabindranath Tagore, Indian poet Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale. . . . “Hello, John!” the curiously canny kid said, eyes wide with the practiced veneer of a … [Read more...]
How to Brave the Budapest Baths
Spa guy John M. Edwards feels frigging fantastic! If you're in Magyarorstag (Hungary), do as the Daubians do: Say goodbye to "bliss" and splash around au Naturale in the "eau de vie" of a real thermal spa, with a Red Bull in Hand... When you first arrive in Budapest for both (clandestine) “business and pleasure”-- feeling like a dumb foreign doppelganger soaking with sweat and stinking of brimstone--say no to the Four Seasons Hotel showers and … [Read more...]
A Fine Bit of Madness
Near the end of the film, Zorba the Greek, Zorba dances by himself. His arms are spread out and his hands are open towards heaven. He shouts, “Everybody needs a little madness.” Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I had just spent five days camping at a Good Sam rally in Centreville, Michigan. Although the staff members were welcoming, the participants warm and friendly and there were plenty of activities and lots of entertainment, … [Read more...]
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