Despite being an infidel non-believer, I celebrate Christmas. To me, it means spending time with family, days off, food, a tree, and a little gift giving. So to you fellow atheists, agnostics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Zoroastrians, I don’t mean to offend with this post.
Now, let’s get down to business. What did you get? Tell us. And a fonz from me if you post a picture of your gift. Continue reading
The Taklamakan Desert in western China was the Bermuda Triangle of the Silk Road. The word Taklamakan literally means– Once you go in, you don’t come out. It is still a wasteland. The military tests its nuclear weapons there and they just discovered huge deposits of oil underneath. For thousands of years, the oasis towns ringing the desert have witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations. They have been influenced by Greeks, Arabs, Turks, Indians, and Chinese. We visited one of them. Continue reading
The question is simple. Whilst applying to college, what was your essay/personal statement about?
I applied to four schools and IIRC, I used versions of the same story for all four essays. In high school, my friends and I decided to spend a Saturday in San Diego. Once there, we thought, why not go one step further and go to Tijuana, Mexico, which is just one town, and one international border crossing, over? Continue reading
In 2007, I traveled from Oakland, California, to the Arctic Circle in Alaska in five days, using solely public transportation. These were my rides, and the people I met along the way. Continue reading
Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada: New China
It’s a frigid October afternoon. I’m walking towards a Chinese restaurant suggested by Lonely Planet. About halfway there, I see about a dozen middle aged Chinese men (obviously from Mainland China based on their hairstyle and the way they wear their white collared shirts) cramming themselves into a 15-passenger van. With toothpicks in their mouths and loud, satisfying burps, I can tell that they just ate. They came out of New China, which was not my destination. Continue reading
Captain James Cook (1728-1779) was arguably the greatest explorer of all time. In his failed attempts to find Antarctica and the Northwest Passage, he “discovered” the Hawaiian Islands, the east coast of Australia, and circumnavigated New Zealand.
If you’re a Cook fan or just a history buff, these spots in Hawaii are definitely worth checking out.
For avid travelers who like to cross places off lists, Niihau is a big deal. It is nearly impossible to reach and it has a fascinating story involving a contemporary feudal society, the cause of Japanese internment, and a lot of garbage.
Hawaii, a tourist mecca, has seven inhabited islands. Niihau, off the coast of Kauai, is closed off from the rest of the world. It has no hotels, no paved roads, not even an ATM. Having visited six of the seven islands already, I plotted for years to reach Niihau. I succeeded last year.
We have arrived! At 12,000 feet, Karakul Lake literally takes your breath away. After a surprisingly delicious meal in a concrete cantina next to the lake, we decide to take an afternoon stroll.
Though the lake is only three miles in circumference, my severe altitude sickness– pounding headache, shortness of breath, inability to concentrate– meant the walk took more than two hours. Miraculously, I was still able to take some decent photos. And to this day, eight years later, I remember the entire experience as if it were yesterday. Continue reading
The term “bucket list” is as tired and cliche as game changer, hand crafted, and pivot (the political strategy). But we all have a short or long list of places we want to go, things we’d like to do and sites we’d like to see.
What’s on your list, and why?
Here are mine, in no particular order:
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These are my fondest/most mind-searing travel memories from each state. What are some of yours?
Alabama: (It’s the only state where I can’t think of anything, good or bad. This list gets better, I promise.)
Alaska: Sharing a salmon jerky on a bus with a Vietnam vet from Fort Yukon. He comes to town twice a year for a medical check-up. He has a baseball cap with the Intel logo that reads “Jesus Inside”.
Arizona: Running back and forth across Hoover Dam to reach the Pacific and Mountain Time Zones.
Arkansas: Getting room service (club sandwiches) at a Hilton Garden Inn outside Little Rock. Continue reading