Monthly Archives: May 2012

I’m getting excited about the upcoming Kauai trip. Only nine days away. A one-month experiment, to see if I might want to move there.  A land called Hanalei. For me, it’s the most beautiful place on earth.  Before I moved … Continue reading →

My first night in China there was a dinner party, in Beijing. Eleven people, eleven big dishes, plenty of beer and wine. The food was excellent. The total came to $21 – less than $2 per person. My god, I … Continue reading →

Two key moments of inspiration. The first one was a flash that said “Holy cow. This is actually possible. Normal people can do this. I had no idea.” The second flash said “Here’s how.” I had a great teacher in … Continue reading →

Ordering a coke with ice in a Nairobi cafe had been a costly mistake. Several days of intestinal distress left me weak and dizzy when my plane landed in Mumbai. On the trip, a fellow passenger told me “India will … Continue reading →

1980 – After some time working on a kibbutz, my buddies and I went camping at Nuweiba, a bedouin outpost on the Red Sea, in the Sinai desert. We lived on pita and instant hummus, oranges, dates and chocolate. I … Continue reading →

Mazda launched the Miata in 1989. Remember the buzz?  I bought a red one in 1991. It was the first and only new car I ever bought, and the only car I’ve ever really loved. I pampered that baby. In … Continue reading →

There are 40,000 Americans sailing boats around the world right now, I’m told. There are lots of awesome places you can’t see any other way. For a few years, it was my big dream. I bought a starter-boat, a cheap … Continue reading →

For me, one lure of travel is eating like the locals. Usually delicious and cheap, often surprising and only occasionally revolting, local food connects you with other cultures. If you go to South America and stay in a nice comfy … Continue reading →

Iconic minimalism. The great travel writer Paul Theroux, on meeting a buddhist monk on a train in Myanmar: “Do you have another bag?” I asked, because the smallness of this one seemed an improbable size for a long-term traveler. “No, these … Continue reading →

For a small fee you can ride on top of a cargo boat down the Mekong river in Laos for a few days.  It’s a gas. There I met two middle-aged women traveling together. “We’ve been traveling almost eight months,” … Continue reading →