After starting my Southeast Asia trip in the lovely city-state of Singapore, it was off to Changi Airport to catch my Air Asia flight to Kuala Lumpur. The day before, I met some travelers at …
July 19, 2012
The Batu Caves Stink
I Am a Superhero in Kon Tum, Vietnam
While the rest of the world was going gaga (not Lady Gaga) over the movie The Avengers, I was busy playing the part of superhero for some kids in a village in Vietnam. The town …
August 14, 2012
Shoot like a Pro: Arches National Park
With summer ending, this is a great time to head out to our national parks. The kids are back in school, the crowds have dispersed and the fall colors are brilliant. Arches National Park in …
September 10, 2012
Tonlé Sap, Cambodia: What's in a Word?
Winston Churchill once said the Americans and British are two peoples separated by a common language. The more countries I visit, the more this seems to be true around the globe. For better or worse, …
Sea Ranch Chapel
Just north of Salt Point State Park, half way between Point Reyes National Seashore and Fort Bragg along the Pacific Coastal Highway, is a place called Sea Ranch. About 300 of the 1,800 uniformly shingle-clad, …
October 4, 2012
Seward, Alaska: Gateway to Kenai Fjords
“Listen to the glacier talking to itself,” our guide urged us. I listened to what sounded like thunder in the distance, followed by cracks and pops as if someone was breaking a gigantic stick. A …
September 25, 2012
Delve into Delhi
A visit to India as an independent solo traveler is a unique challenge mentally, physically and logistically. I arrived in Delhi in the middle of the night, worked my way through the bustling crowd, and …
Moab, Utah – and the Man Who Quit Money
I didn’t see the gorgeous rocks that surround Moab, Utah, when I drove into town on a chilly November evening. My mind was swirling with images of the enormous chasms I had viewed at Canyonlands …
February 21, 2013
Hill Tribes of Sapa
“Also, being a photographer gives you a license to steal experiences that you ordinarily wouldn’t have. You enter into other people’s worlds who are usually very highly specialized, very rare.” ~ Jay Maisel I love …
Laos: Same, Same but Different
It was still dark outside when the roosters' crows aroused me from my slumber. Surrounded by a mosquito net in an unfamiliar cabin, the aching of my body from the previous day's excursion reminded me …
March 5, 2013
Motorbiking the Ho Chi Minh Trail
The Ho Chi Minh Trail follows the infamous supply route created by the North Vietnamese guerrillas during the Vietnam War. We began our motorbike journey from Hanoi (left), headed toward the south to Ho Chi …
March 14, 2013
Small-town Italy: Vernazza
Life seems mellow and tranquil in the tiny, idyllic seaside town of Vernazza in Italy’s Cinque Terre. But the community suffered a traumatic experience in October 2011 when torrential rains led to a flash flood …
October 9, 2013
Hoi An, Vietnam
Hoi An is about midway between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi up the Vietnamese coast. If you’re traveling between the two largest cities in Vietnam, it is the perfect spot to take a break. …
August 30, 2011
Guanajuato, Mexico: Museum of Mummies (and More)
The Mexican poet Octavio Paz once said, “In the United States the word death burns the lips, but the Mexican is familiar with death, jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, and celebrates it. …
September 4, 2010