I always imagined landing on the shores of Bali, that I would step off the ship to be greeted by a brown-skinned, flower-adorned native handing me a Mai Tai with a tiny umbrella, as I sink my toes into the warm, fine, white sandy beach. Not. While as we cruised into port I did see…
Continue reading →At Keelung, our port was within easy walking distance to the city, so we took off to explore on our own. When we stopped on a busy street corner to pull out our map and get our bearings, a very friendly man asked if he could help. This was Jeremy, originally from Keelung, but living…
Continue reading →Flashing neon lights on the ceiling and colorful upholstery banners over each seat of our tour bus, embroidered with “Have a Nice Day”, were sure signs that South Korea was a happy place with friendly people. Our charming tour guide pointed out that, unlike China, sculptures and dieties in Korea were always depicted smiling and…
Continue reading →If China is a country of contrasts, Shanghai is all that in one fabulous city. And, if the architecture in Singapore is on steroids, Shanghai has overdosed. Home to the world’s second tallest building at 121 floors (first is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai), The Shanghai Tower forms a trio with it’s neighbors, the Shanghai World…
Continue reading →The weather in Xiamen is said to be generally mild year-round, but it was a rainy day when we visited this southeastern coastal city whose name means “gate of China”. It is ranked as a top port in the country and boasts trade as a main industry, along with large factories of foreign companies, and…
Continue reading →Hong Kong has many nicknames…Asia’s World Capital, City of Life, Fragrant Harbour, even The Big Lychee. But it’s most historic and romantic moniker is The Pearl of the Orient, and indeed it is. On an island of just 410 square miles, this vibrant, bustling, modern, densely populated city and former British colony on the South…
Continue reading →A full 12-hour excursion took me on a 110-mile inland bus ride each way to the capital of Vietnam, winding through the countryside and small towns up the Red River to the city of pagodas and palaces, presidents and prisons. Welcome to Hanoi. Our tour guide and host Kha, born in 1977, spoke candidly about…
Continue reading →Asians seem to be more mindful of meditation and tranquility to enrich the mind and body, whether in the quiet calm of their temples and pagodas, the purposeful serenity of their gardens, or the common public morning practice of the ancient art of Tai Chi.
Continue reading →There is a lot of geography I’m learning about, like something called the Bight of Bangkok, also known as the Bay of Bangkok. Never heard of it before. It is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Thailand into which the three major rivers of central Thailand empty their waters; the Bang Pa Kong, the…
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