Off-roading over huge endless dunes. Sounds like any one of our Thanksgiving weekends at Glamis, but this is half a world away. The morning started out partly foggy, part heavy overcast which is how this part of the Skeleton Coast sustains the limited plant and wildlife that survive here. [read more]
Jumeirah Mosque My sightseeing today began at the Jumeirah Mosque. It was built in the 1970’s as a gift to Dubai from the current Sheikh’s late father. Its architecture was influenced by mosques in Syria and Egypt and it can accommodate 1500 worshipers. [read more]
Lots and lots of shiny stuff here in Dubai. Gold, glass, steel, water. Today I got an eyeful. First, the Burj Khalifa did not disappoint. Twice as tall as the Empire State Building, it has 163 floors. The 124th, 125th and 148th floors have observation decks [read more]
Today I am in Khasab, Oman, the narrow chokepoint on the on the Straits of Hormuz, that little point of Arabia that juts up into and almost touches Iran. Officially, the country of Oman honors the trade sanctions placed on Iran. Unofficially, there is a thriving smuggling [read more]
My music references always date me, usually to the 70’s. You can do the jitterbug down in Muscat land because this is one clean city! Just about every building that you can see is white or light stone, there is no litter, anywhere, and even the sidewalks around the Grand Mosque look like they’ve been spit-shined. [read more]
We have two pretty sensitive passages on this trip. Later we will pass through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman to port and Iran to starboard. But for tonight, we squeeze through the water that connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. To port is Yemen, war zone and terrorist training ground, to starboard Somalia, land of pirates. [read more]
You know it.s coming but you’re not sure just when. One more turn in the siq and there it is. The first startling moment you turn a corner and see Petra’s Treasury appear is breathtaking. The Siq, the mile long main entrance to the city, is a natural ravine lined with towering rock walls. [read more]
Deja vu, all over again. Three and a half hours on the bus to come right back to Luxor Temple. First stop will be the Luxor Museum. [read more]
My romantic dream of exploring the ancient wonders of Egypt included a felucca on the nile leisurely meandering from temple to tomb in the style of early 20th century explorers, but perhaps without the camels. [read more]
Happy Birthday to me! Today in Crete became my get better or go home day. I set out to explore The ruins of Knossos, the ruins of the ancient palace of the Minoans and home to the Labyrinth of the Minotaur. [read more]
We put into port at Kusadasi this morning and headed out to the ancient city of Ephesus. St. Paul lived here for three years. It was a large and powerful harbor city until the river silted in the harbor and the coast shifted miles to the west after which the city was abandoned. [read more]
The rain that had been in the forecast for today never materialized and the light overcast made for pretty pleasant walking. I got out early in an effort to beat both the crowds and the heat. [read more]
I arrived right on schedule. I had the happy accident of having an entire row to myself on the SFO-MUC leg of my trip so I was able to get a couple short laying down naps during the overnight trip. [read more]
I’m up early this morning for the last leg to Machu Picchu. A bus ride along the river to a bridge. Once across, we slowly climbed a switch back road occasionally backing up to let a bus pass. Out one window is a vista of the mountains and the river, out the other a wall of stone, ginger, [read more]
Up, up, out of the Sacred Valley this morning to Chinchero, a small Andean village at 12,300 feet. After a brief [read more]
Up at 5:30 this morning for a 7:00 departure to the airport. Our group was booked on four different flights to Cusco. Mine was next to last. We made up for it though [read more]
First day in Lima was overcast and misty, perfect for walking around. I headed out toward the ocean or at least the cliffs above the ocean. Lima is at the northern end of the Atacomma Desert so it sees very little rain. It does however get an ocean effect that creates mist [read more]
We arrived in Datong late last night, checked into our hotel and got up early today for our excursion. We rode about 120 km to a Tao temple, the Xuankong Hanging Temple, carved out of the cliffside. It was built in 481AD, is 1500 years old, twice destroyed by fire with the current version standing for the last 600 years. [read more]
We arrived in Pingyao last evening by hi-speed train from Xi’an. There is a display at the front of each train car that tells you how fast you are going at any given time. Much of the time we traveled at 240kph (150mph) [read more]
We arrived in Xi’an yesterday morning by overnight train. A little less scary than the night train to Varanasi, this one had limited access to the car and someone official looking roving about. Our room was once again inside the old city wall. Quite a large area, this section of town has been occupied for 2800 years. Many [read more]
We flew from Lijiang to Chengdu yesterday. Our hotels have been hit or miss especially for plumbing, but wow have they consistently been in the right area. This one is right on the river and an historic street. There are lovely parks both to our left and right and the Sichuan Opera house is several doors down. We took [read more]
The sun came out today. After a couple days of steady drizzle, it was a welcome change. Lijiang is literally 100 km south of Shangri La. It says so on the highway signs! The basis for Lost Horizons, I could see why as we crept through green, green mountain passes and through clouds to get here. Even our guesthouse [read more]
I received your news early this morning. My phone had buzzed in the night, but I had it on mute so as not to disturb my roommate’s sleep. I thought this was a Chauncey, “Are you free for lunch today? call. I stayed on in Lijiang today while the rest of my group went on to Tiger Leaping Gorge. I will [read more]
Yesterday, we left hotel and in 5 taxis with a picture of the address of the long distance bus station. Our driver looked continually confused, kept asking me questions in Chinese and when I couldn’t answer, she just asked louder. We saw [read more]