After sleepy Laos, caffeinated Hanoi woke us up. Seconds after leaving our guesthouse, we were crossing anarchistic avenues jammed with shops and cafes. Vietnamese sat everywhere on tiny plastic foot stools, spilling out from cafes onto sidewalks, drinking iced coffee, engaging in chatter, while peeling sunflower seeds, dropping them, along with everything else, the ground. […]
The Glory of Luang Prabang — An interview Tell me about the town People tend to stop briefly in Luang Prabang. They should stay longer. The town has distinctive
Nam Ou river After landing in Luang Prabang, Laos, my pals Shirley, Judy and I headed north, with our friend-guide Ticky. Meanwhile, Tommy jubilated in town with croissants and coffee. Sharp, agile, quick to laugh, Ticky was born in a cave. The first bite his Khmu parents fed him was bat meat, so he’d be […]
Nothing establishes that you are in a non western culture quite like a visit to the Black House and White Temple. Probably the major tourist attractions in Chiang Rai, located at opposite ends of the city, one north and one south. The symmetry of opposition seems hard to avoid. Black to White, Earthly to Heavenly, […]
Walk the streets of Chiang Mai, past the vendors hawking tours, selling chatzies, and you’ll spot dozens of ancient wats. (Buddhist temples.) Curlicue dragons, stone elephants, the works. It was festival time when we arrived, and the town was jammed with tourists. So, we decided to forgo the classic wat best picks, like the Phra […]
We’re near the Chang Phuak Gate in Chiang Mai, in Northern Thailand. It’s around 6pm, and the bevy of food stands sit behind long tables filled with eating Thai and tourists from all over, mostly China. A woman in a cowboy hat dips into an enormous aluminum pot of rich stock, filled with large bobbing ham […]
I love trains, always have. Something about the sound, the rush of scenery, the anticipation of arrival. Their history and lore in books and films. But I knew the 15-hour night train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai would not be like the Some Like It Hot train scene, with lots of upper bunk lower bunk fun, and Marilyn Monroe playing […]
You can’t go home again? My new self, a woman of 62, visited my old self on my first trip to London in almost a half century. I’d lived there for a spot then, but, when I got off at my old tube stop, I found myself looking for someone not there. Like my roaming […]
An international taste of place? Delicious street food in the bone-chilling weather at Burrough Market yesterday, filled with fabulous artisan foods from the region, and all over the world, with international eaters peaking at each other’s finds to see what to have for lunch.
Lots o Blake and moody Turner at the Tate Britain. Who ever said the Brits were bottled up? More Blake. My sista, the famous Joanna Cotler of the children’s book world, noticed Blake’s influence on Maurice Sendak. To really see it (and more London art) continue reading.
USDA approved school-tested local food recipes and a supplement for educators.
