Bhutan: Nuns Secrets to Life

Bhutan: Nuns Secrets to Life

“Om Mani Padme Hum, Om Mani Padme Hum . . . (Hail to the lotus one!).” For several months, every morning I blissfully woke up to the repeating hums passing outside my window; the beloved morning routine of a vibrant seventy-seven year old Buddhist nun circumambulating the nunnery with a prayer bead in her left … Continued

Something Unexpected in the Philippines

Searching frantically for scraps of food, like ants trapped inside a lunchbox, it was that all too familiar look of confusion mixed with a hopeful desperation that brought us together. We were the only Americans in the international terminal of the Manila, the Philippines Airport, five minutes into a four-hour layover on Christmas Eve. There … Continued

Balloons Over Cappadocia, Turkey

Maybe you never should have trusted a hot air balloon company whose name translates as Balloon Balloons. Maybe you should have backed out when the sunrise tour became the brunch tour. “Everybody in the basket,” the mustached Turk claps his hands. You and your best friend beeline for the balloon, trying to get a “window” … Continued

Bangkok in the Raw

There’s no real reason to explain why I lost my mind one sunny afternoon in Bangkok. Maybe it was a vitamin deficiency, a desperate plea for action, or perhaps just a deep longing to get under the tough skin of Thailand’s capital city. Much like a scabby mosquito bite, Bangkok is an itch you already … Continued

ON THE BANKS OF RIVER GANGES

ON THE BANKS OF RIVER GANGES Rishikesh is a religious place at the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India. The great river Ganga (Ganges) flows through Rishikesh. Hindus worship the Ganga and believe that its water is blessed. They also believe that taking a bath in the river Ganga can wash away all their … Continued

Heaven and Hell in a Day in Cambodia

As kids – Vietnamese refugees in Connecticut – our parents warned us not to get too tan: “You’ll be dark like a Cambodian,” they’d sigh after we had baked outside all day. So when, decades later, I swerved into Cambodia from my Vietnam-to-Thailand path, I didn’t expect much. I wasn’t a backpacker who considered himself … Continued

My Prayer Wheel in Tibet

Miles off into the distance, atop a snow-capped mountain and beneath a clear blue sky, was a brightly colored two-story wooden Tibetan house where I was to spend my holiday week away from Beijing. I was fifteen years old. It was the winter of 1999. And I was oceans and worlds away from home – … Continued

My Addiction to Hong Kong

Hi, my name is Jennifer and I am an addict. I am confident my addiction is unlikely to destroy my health or leave me without a roof over my head. My addiction is Hong Kong. How do I know this? Well, I love to travel and nothing stirs the butterflies in my stomach more than … Continued

We Said Go Travel