Paris is not my favorite European city, except perhaps in winter. The light becomes cold and metallic under gray skies. The city is at its barren best and most beautiful. Residents reclaim their city and the sidewalks become navigable, even in the most heavily touristed quartiers. Before spring and after fall, the bistros and cafés […]
For Buddhists, the mountains are Gods whose faces we should not be stepping all over. Nor should we be replacing the flowers in their hair with high energy food wrappers and plastic water bottles. I’ve been thinking a lot about extreme adventure sports and adrenaline junkies as I’ve been leaving my own carbon footprints all […]
Henry David Thoreau wrote that In Wildness Is the Preservation of the World. As we witness and contribute to the erosion of our natural world, I think those words are more true and relevant now than ever. I love taking pictures. Not for the end result of a perfect frame, the impossible shot, or simple […]
I flew all the way to the Himalayas but what I found there is also in my own backyard. Yosemite is like the girl next door. You don’t realize how beautiful she is until, well…you realize how beautiful she is. It’s like you wake up one morning and, through your bathroom window, you catch a […]
I hadn’t planned to eat my way through Bangkok. In the end, Bangkok got the last bite, swallowing me whole and spitting me out after chewing me into a cud. I smell like shrimp paste, butt sweat, sunburn, and Tuk Tuk exhaust. I leave day after tomorrow, for home in San Francisco, by way of […]
I spent all morning trying to get one photo of the reclining Buddha without any tourists in the frame. I also tried to get in a few prayers without terribly disappointing those same tourists when they figured out I had not crawled down from the hilltops, grains of uncooked rice taped to my knees, to […]
So much to give thanks for, even if I wasn’t eating Pad Thai in Paradise, escaping the intentions of well-meaning friends now that family is no longer an obligation. The Thai people are so genuinely sweet, to visitors and each other. I especially love the wai, the traditional greeting of a slight bow with hands […]
There’s nothing like the street markets in Thailand, especially at night when the cities come to life. You can find anything and everything at these markets, from fresh seafood to tourist souvenirs, foot massages and Lady Boys. The markets are a total visual and olfactory assault. Not for the claustrophobic, either let yourself get swept […]
You really can’t visit every wat (temple) in Chiang Mai. There are so many of them. It would sort of be like petting every cat in Istanbul or buying a baguette at every boulangerie in Paris. Or, riding every cable car in San Francisco, popping into every church in Rome…you get the picture. There are […]
From Babar to Heffalump, children love them. Our fascination and affection for these majestic creatures seems to transcend childhood. We identify with them, recognizing their intelligence and admiring their memories. We are amused by their playfulness and moved by their capacity to grieve their dead. At our best, some of us are humbled that a […]
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