Hvar Island
(pop 11,200)
Adriatic Sea
Republic of Croatia
June 2, 2015
Hello,
On Hvar, the hills are alive with the sound of motor scooters. Automobiles are impractical given the steep and narrow cobbled lanes,
I stroll down the floral-forested path from my hilltop guest house to the shoreline and the pebbled beach.
Luxury hotels replete with lagoon-sized swimming pools and spas face west to the gleaming sea. (Thai Massage anyone?)
Kirkenes
Norway
August 15, 2015
Hello,
So I leave my hotel and take a walk around the empty streets of Kirkenes, the embarkation point for my cruise down the coast of Norway.
Weather is still mild in this Arctic town. A lovely church. Flower boxes adorn the homes and businesses. Boats in the harbor. A War Memorial. The Second World War was particularly harsh here.
Kirkenes is only 225km (140 mi) from Murmansk, Russia. Signs here in Cyrillic.
Palanga
Lithuania
September 16, 2014
Chat
Several years ago, while on a trip to London to visit my English cousin Dorothy and her equally English husband Roger, I attended a theatre performance where, by chance, I met a lovely woman from South Africa whose name was Jocelyn. Together we planned some sightseeing for the next day.
When I mentioned my encounter and my surprisingly unplanned plans, my somewhat astonished cousin Dorothy queried, “Jan, how did you meet her?” (According to British polite society, Jocelyn and I weren’t “properly introduced.”) Roger immediately intervened and responded, “Jan chatted her up!”
Bukhara, Uzbekistan
June 2, 2009
Dear Family and Friends,
On my last day in Bukhara I visited several medressas and mosques well as The Ark - the remains of a town within a town.
The Ulugbek Medressa (1417) is Central Asia's oldest medressa and a model for other large projects. Ulugbek, a mathematician and astronomer, was Genghis Khan's grandson.
The Ark is the oldest structure in Bukhara, occupied from the 5th Century until 1920 when it was bombed by the Red Army. The town is mostly in ruins now, but the protective walls are impressive. The royal quarters are used as museums. The Ark is swarming with visitors.
Beside a pool, opposite the Ark's gate is the Bolo-Hauz Mosque, the emir's official place of worship built in 1718. Here it's quiet, cool and refreshing.
The Abdulla Khan Medressa is named for the great Shaybanid ruler. Just opposite lies the Modari Khan Medressa, named for the Khan's mother. On the sun-blasted plaza between these two huge structures is an equally powerful minaret. The plaza is adjacent to Samani Park.
It is the park that provided the unexpected today.
Bangkok
Thailand
December 20, 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
(Have any of you lunatics conjured up the connection between Chanthaburi and bunny rabbits?)
Across the waters of the Gulf of Siam, about a forty minute ferry ride from Koh Chang, lies the city of Trat. North of Trat is the city of Chanthaburi.
In Chanthaburi I took my usual stroll, but this time I had a destination in mind - the Holy Mary Catholic Church. The largest Catholic Church in Thailand was built by the French during their occupation of Trat and Chanthaburi Provinces from 1893 to 1905. This area borders Cambodia - part of colonial French Indochina.
Udon Thani
Udon Thani Province
Thailand
January 2, 2011
Dear Family and Friends,
“Mr. Jan, where you go cown dow?” A Thai friend asked me this question just after Christmas. I was stumped. I was puzzled. It took me a few minutes to unravel the mystery.
