Trailing the white elephant – Sukhothai and Chiang Mai
A day of many miles and wats, some ancient and some old. The ancient ruins of Sukhothai National National Park are deservedly a World Heritage Site for here are the visible remains of one of…
Thai Table Manners
We’re still trying to figure out why Thai restaurants in America offer chopstix. Now a lot of Westerners don’t try to eat with chopstix even in a Chinese restaurant. We have to persuade the servers…
A different view of Bangkok, by bike
Today we did a bike ride around a 10 mile long island called Bang Ka Jao in the middle of the Chao Praya river, Thailand’s Mississippi. We were joined by a Scot from Singapore whose…
Wat, Wai, Where
The Wats Our first day in Bangkok was a pretty typical tourist one, visiting the big big sites of the most impressive temples and images of Buddha within Bangkok, as well as the Grand Palace…
What 2 People and 10 Weeks of Travel Look Like
This is what packing for 2 people, 10 weeks and 5 countries looks like...and that includes Nancy's scuba gear. Did we mention you should travel light?
The Pleasure of Business
We don't usually fly in business class, even for very long flights. It was coach all the way and back for the endless flight to Sydney from LA a few years ago. But this time…
New Do
To get ready for our trip I just had all of my hair cut off, except for an inch or so all around. Now I am really traveling lighter, not just because of the hair,…
Thailand’s floods – improvising
It certainly seems churlish to worry about the details of a vacation that is starting in Bangkok and then proceeding to northern Thailand when millions of Thais are displaced and overwhelmed by flood waters across…
Us at the Painted Rocks, Maria Island
Go local
Avoid westernized hotels and tourist trap restaurants. Staying in an apartment or with a family provides greater insight into how people really live. The food is much better, too. Shopping at local markets is great…
Share the table
We have had some great times with random natives over the dinner table. In Florence one night we enjoyed several hours of conversation with a couple and their adult son in a mixture of Italian,…