I just returned from a marathon flight halfway around the world, where I was faced with a layover of almost seven hours in Singapore. By my calculations, that translated to almost a day before I …
Asia: travel reviews
Changi Airport, Singapore: Layover Shangri-la
Royal Treatment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Part 2)
(continued from a March 29 travel story) Mada’in Saleh: Desert Tombs On my fourth day in Saudi Arabia, our group took a military plane to visit Mada’in Saleh, a pre-Islamic archaeological site of an ancient …
April 23, 2012
Singing Cebu City, Philippines
Although it’s still debated which country invented karaoke (an abbreviated compound word meaning “empty orchestra” in Japanese), a Filipino was definitely the first to patent it in 1975. And in my brief Filipino travels, Cebu …
April 19, 2012
Speedboat to Battambang
Last rainy season, after a few days touring the temples of Ankgor, I decided to visit the former French capital of northwestern Cambodia – Battambang. My guidebook explained that traveling to Battambang by speedboat was …
April 14, 2012
Paradise, Thai-Style: Beaches and Islands of the Andaman Sea
I first became intrigued with the beaches and islands of Thailand while reading an account about a family selling their home in those halcyon days when the real estate market was skyrocketing. They intended to …
Royal Treatment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Part 1)
Is it possible to have a strong connection to a place without ever having been there? Nearly every member of my family, other than myself, grew up in Saudi Arabia. My entire life I’ve heard …
March 29, 2012
Visiting the Insides of a Chicken – Manukan, Philippines
“...stay with my family and me for a few days.” I’d just met a friend of a friend, here in California, who heard that I was planning a trip to the 22,000-mile coastline nation of …
March 23, 2012
At the World’s End: Hiroshima and Miyajima
The tragic events of 1945 can barely be appreciated without seeing the peaceful, dignified city of Hiroshima, Japan. Within minutes of stepping off the bullet train, a local resident offered us a free tour of …
Looking Back: Day Trip up the Khyber Pass, 1998
There is a 19th-century Protestant church at the south end of Bombay’s Colaba Causeway. It has a disproportionately tall steeple, and before the skyline of Nariman Point was developed, it was the most prominent landmark …
Filipino Flair – The Philippines
“We’re the fun Asians.” After soaking in the aforementioned statement from a Filipino friend and almost three years of living and working with a multitude of friendly Filipinos here in San Diego, I had to …
March 6, 2012
Kimonos and Bonsai in Ōmiya, Japan
Located in the Saitama Prefecture of Japan, Ōmiya is just a 30-minute bullet train ride from Tokyo, yet the town feels much farther away from its hustle and bustle. Eye-catching features of Ōmiya include bonsai …
Day Trip from Delhi: Taj Mahal and the Red Fort of Agra
The stunning architectural beauty of the Taj Mahal, built entirely of white marble, is particularly evident at sunrise and sunset. At sunrise the changing light casts shadows, and at night it seems to glow – …
Hip Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
"In Ho Chi Minh City, there are eight million people and five million motorbikes," my guide informed me as we slowly wound our way through this bustling city en route to the Củ Chi tunnels. …
Biking in Laos
When I arrived in Laos, I was delighted to find that bicycles are cheap, easy to rent, and can ride anywhere. Finding a bike was as simple as saying to my guesthouse owner, "Bike?" The …
February 1, 2012
Exploring the Mekong Delta, Vietnam
“I think that thing is staring at me,” someone in our tour group remarked nervously. No, it wasn’t a wild animal spotted while hiking through the wilds of Vietnam. It was the fish proudly displayed …