Bangkok, Thailand
Noon
Wednesday 17 March
Dear Friends,
To beat the mid-day crush of office workers on the streets, I left my apartment at about 11:00 and walked towards my local barber.
I needed to cross Sukhumvit Road, the main thoroughfare in my neighborhood. But along with all the traffic, I was stuck. The office girls were still working, but the Red Shirts were on parade.
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
23 April 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
Fifteen kilometers (nine miles) north of Kuala Lumpur, the Batu Caves lie inside a towering limestone formation.
Standing 42.7meters tall (140 ft) the Hindu deity, Lord Murugan welcomes the devotees and visitors to the caves and the shrines.
To get to the main cave, I climb the 272 steps, while the resident monkeys eye my water bottle.
The cave complex is filled with colorful carvings of the Hindu pantheon and scripture. I recognize my old friends Shiva and Ganesha.
Lijiang
Yunnan Province
People’s Republic of China
Elevation 2400m 7900 ft.
June 2, 2014
Dear Friends and Fellow Travelers,
I can never resist a market. Can you? Always lively, colorful and surprising, the market is a core element of daily life. What is more essential than food, clothing and household goods? And what is more fun?
So after our early morning stroll through the Old Town of Lijiang that included an invitation to a tea ceremony, my guide Illian and I head over to the main market. I took about “a thousand” photos, and finally stocked up on a half kilo of fresh, sweet green plums for the ride ahead.
Shaxi
Yunnan Province
China
June 6, 2014
Dear Friends,
During my brief visit to the livestock market in Shaxi, I recalled the ditty “Mules” that I learned at Boy Scout Camp. As I trod the grounds among horses, cows, bulls and other assorted browsers, I paid strict attention to the lyric.*
Shaxi is an historic town along the Ancient Tea Horse Road that connects China to Burma to Tibet to India. But Shaxi is unlike Lijiang, another caravan stop to the north. Lijiang boasts an airport that dismounts herds of visitors. Shaxi retains an “ancient” atmosphere.
Salaspils
Latvia
August 25, 2014
Dear Family and Friends
“Is it a mitzvah to recite the Kaddish?”
Here’s why I ask:
Twenty kilometers southeast of Riga, off the main highway, at the end of a narrow road, I park my car in an empty lot.
A dense forest of tall silent trees lines both sides of a broad gravel walkway. Except for an elderly couple off in the woods gathering mushrooms, I am alone as I make my way down the long path to the distant monument.
An enormous recumbent slab of grey stone marks the dramatic entrance. It appears to have fallen on its side to an angular position. The black inscription reads, “AIZ SIEM VARTIEM VAID ZEME.” I walk under the slab and enter the site.
Ventspils
Latvia
August 29, 2014
Dear Friends,
Leonardo serves me a breakfast that could feed a small army.
A pitcher of both orange juice and tomato juice, eggs, chicken, smoked fish, assorted cheeses, salad, fresh fruit, bread, butter, jam, pastry and Bodum French Press coffee.
My “apartment” is twice the size and much more elegant than my flat in Bangkok. The kitchen and bathroom have every gadget needed for a lengthy stay.
The grounds of the Villa are seductive.
Why leave?
