Antigua

Guatemala

January 9, 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

At 03:00am one morning in 1976, Antigua was destroyed by a "terremoto." The adobe homes here and and in many nearby villages were flattened by an earthquake. The ruins of the churches and public buildings remain. Three volcanos loom and threaten in the mountains surrounding Antigua.

Antigua is the gateway to the Guatemalan Highlands; the land here is high and mountainous and volcanic and colorful.

Lago Atitlan

Solola

Guatemala

January 11, 2007

Editor

CondeNast Traveler
New York, New York

To the Editor:

I am a loyal and thorough reader of "CondeNast Traveler." I even cut out and save your articles. When I decided on Belize and Guatemala, I checked my "Central America" file. I found an article published in April, 1997: "The Gods Never Died - Like an infant with an old soul, Guatemala emerges from war to a vibrant Indian nation."

I was impressed and motivated by a full page color photograph of a mustachioed Guatemalan man who is dressed in a straw hat, white shirt, embroidered pants, colorful sash, and a shoulder bag decorated with Mayan symbols and icons. He is standing on a small wooden dock. He is staring across what seems to be an endless, mysterious lake.

I want to say "Thank you" Mr. Editor. I am here, today, on that very lake. Lago Atitlan.

Bangkok

January 29, 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

This past Saturday, my friend Noi and I visited one of the most unusual museums I have ever seen.

Just outside Bangkok, The Erawan Museum is located in an unlikely place - an industrial area of factories and busy towns and road construction.

January 29, 2007

Bangkok

Hello,

I have had a very positive reaction to my letter and photos from the Erawan Museum. So I thought it would be a good idea to send out a few more photos.

The four pillars of the musem are decorated with religious scenes from the major religions. I have sent a few Biblical scenes.

New Delhi

India

February 12, 2007

Each morning my driver Suresh and I agree on an itinerary.

Suresh negotiates his way through the traffic to a stop at Lakshmi Naravan, an unusual Hindu temple . . . unusual for its tones of yellow and red- brown. Another stop at Rajghat, a beautiful park with a simple square platform of black marble that marks the spot where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated following his assassination in 1948. A host of schoolchildren smile and wave to me.

Yogyakarta

Central Java

May 22, 2005

Dear Family and Friends,

I had to leave Bandung. I wanted to stay a day or two longer. I was enjoying the sights and my new friends. But my chest was heaving, my eyeballs burning, my whole system in rebellion. The pollution so intense.