Keanu in Lombok

Posted May 1, 2024 by Jan
Lombok
West Nusa Tenggara Province
Indonesia
July 31, 2024
 
Lombok forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east.  
 
Lombok is about 70 kilometers (43 miles) across and a total area of about 4,600 square kilometers (1,779 square miles) including smaller offshore islands. The provincial capital and largest city on the island is Mataram.
 
The island is home to 3,963,842 inhabitants including Sasak, Balinese, Mbojo, Chinese-Indonesian, Sumbawa, Flores, Arab, Javanese, Banjarese, Malay and Batak. 
 
In the Sasak language Lombok means straight, honest.
.......................................................................................................
 
At only nineteen (19 mind you!) Keanu represents a growing cohort of young women and men (and many older folks as well) who proclaim:
 
We travel not to escape life but for life not to escape us.

Folks Along the Way

Posted April 19, 2024 by Jan
Iran

Bangkok

Thailand

June 19, 2025

Hello,

In May 2022, my friends Roberta and Sergio and I traveled to Iran.  I think I can speak for them and say that it was a favorite journey.

I decided today to look back at my trip and collect photos of some of the folks I met along the way.

Today is also a special day.  My former wife, the late Alice Dawn would have been celebrating her Eighty-fifth Birthday.  Alice was a devoted teacher of French and a dedicated activist for peace in the 1960's and 70's. I am certain she would have been supportive of my project today.

Please click on the photo above for the photo gallery.

You can find my Iran travel letters, photographs and videos on this website.

All the best,

Jan

New York City Icon

Posted March 8, 2024 by Jan
United States

Jomtien Beach 

Thailand

March 7, 2024

Hello,

My friend Gary here in Thailand presented me with a generous gift this month.

In his professional life, Gary was a Shipwright.

Now in retirement Gary builds model ships.

Gary knows that I grew up in New York City.

His gift to me is a model of a Moran tugboat, the everpresent M steaming on the waters in and around my hometown.  A New York City Icon.

The Paro Valley

Posted December 14, 2023 by Jan
Bhutan

Paro City 

Pop 12,500

2200m 7218 ft

Paro District

The Kingdom of Bhutan

December 13, 2023

Hello,

No wonder my meals are all so delicious!

The variety of climate zones here produce rice, sugar cane, strawberries, broccoli, and potatoes.  At the local market, the colorful vegetables and fruit are fresh and crisp. 

In the afternoon we chance upon the entrance to a secondary school.  Headed for the school bus, the shy yet feminine young women giggle, and (seem to) avoid my camera.  The handsome boys follow my direction and line up in a proper attentive pose.  

At a  busy intersection in town, the charming policewoman smiles for me as she directs the traffic. There are no traffic lights in Bhutan!  In this country of hills and valleys, mountain rivers, and big city rush hour congestion, I never once heard the beep of a horn.

Tiger's Nest Monastery

Posted December 13, 2023 by Jan
Bhutan

Paro Taktsang

Tiger’s Nest Monastery

Paro Valley, Bhutan

December 13, 2023

Hello.

HISTORY of the Tiger’s Nest Monastery

The cultural icon of Bhutan, Paro Taktsang, also known as the Taktsang Palphug Monastery and the Tiger's Nest, is a sacred Vajrayana Himalayan Buddhist site located on the cliffside of the upper Paro valley in Bhutan. It is one of thirteen Tiger's Nest caves in historical Tibet in which Padmasambhava practiced and taught Vajrayana.

First established in the 9th Century as a meditation cave, a later monastery complex was built in 1692 where Guru Padmasambhava meditated and practiced with students including Yeshe Tsogyal before departing the kingdom of Tibet in the early 9th century.

Pages