Holy Holy Land over the Holidays! I have had a recent string of travels that didn’t quite turn out as planned. The Arctic, India, Peru and the Azores—all were great runs but were aborted or shortened due to a variety of reasons, including a urinary tract infection in the Azores, how embarrassing. For an aging travel junkie, […]
Photo above of Wayne and Trish at Sete Cidades on Sao Miguel Island – ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! Surrounded by the Atlantic, the Azores are a cluster of nine small, hauntingly beautiful islands far off the coast of Portugal A Bit of Heaven and Hell “The Azores are a heady mix that can overwhelm the senses. Birds, […]
Having just finished the school year and officially launched my novel, Finding the Way: A Novel of Lao Tzu, I desperately needed an escape and digital detox. For ten months I micro-planned and dreamed of solitude high in the Andes. This would be my Eat, Play, Trek. However, this seclusion would be compromised with an […]
“Lock your door and don’t get out of the car,” mother said when I told her I was heading to the United States? “Remember to duck,” was another response, this from a nephew starved to travel but already holding his nose when it came to the U.S. Such is the current reputation of the U.S. […]
For months I trained hard and prepared for a solo trek into the Parks’s mystical and uber wild, Akshayuk Pass, one of the most remote, demanding but also rewarding hikes in Canada. However I always believed an early death would be from drowning. I’d had a couple of water scares as a youngster which served […]
Before the purgatory of work, it’s great to be on the road again, even if only for a month. This time my trusty wingman Trish is back in the saddle, joined for a few days with long haul loner Marc Brown in his annual escape from the real cold. For those who think of Mexico […]
Be forewarned, this here lies the last, latest and longest post, covering all my India…. It’s a well worn cliche that people go to India to find themselves. I’d be happy to just find my ass, having been kicked around so much. India throws everything at you and takes no prisoners. You either love it […]
Mandalay and area U Bein Bridge, Mandalay Longest teak bridge in the world….as if the world was filled with teak bridges Stuck in the dustbowl town ( they all are) of Moanywa, I scraped bottom. In retrospect going from Japan to Myanmar, and glued to your wingman 24/7 to solo was a leap I didn’t […]
World Toilet Day, November 19, 2015 From a public health and quality of life perspective, Al Jazeera TV showed some of the world’s worst toilets. I think I’ve already left my mark on a few with the worse to come in India. At this moment in the table behind me a woman is hammered with […]
Compared to Tokyo and Kyoto, Osaka doesn’t merit much of a sniff if you’re into Japanese history, culture and art. Where Tokyo is reserved and worldly, Kyoto is elegant and snotty, Osakans are Newfies by comparison. Supposedly food and shopping demons, they’re also into manufactured fun. The comic capital of Japan, it’s also home to […]