Japadog
May 24, 2014
Imagine This Monastery Perched Precariously on a Mountain
As one of the highlights of Bhutan, "Tiger's Nest" continues to attract visitors, including myself. After hiking most of the morning to get to it, I glimpsed…
May 18, 2014
“Stay beside death and cry? No, you keep moving…”
“When I little girl, I so scared," said Ann, a Laotian I had met earlier that day and invited me in for tea. "We living in village close to Sepon, near eastern…
May 11, 2014
Happy Mother’s Day!
Whenever I see this photo of my mum and me, I always smile. We were both laughing about something, perhaps over a funny story. I have such few photos of just…
May 4, 2014
Arm-Wrestling with a Tibetan Monk
I came across this old photo and a flood of memories came back: I was arm-wrestling with a Tibetan monk at a Buddhist monastery just outside of Lhasa. What…
April 27, 2014
What Did This Place Look Like Back in the Day? Imagining Sukothai, Thailand
As people flock to temples in Asia, some new, some old where the beautiful sculptures are still relatively intact, I like to hang around the ruins that look…
April 20, 2014
Cooking Class in Chiang Mai
One of the highlights of my time in Chiang Mai was taking a cooking class. In a span of three hours, we made fish cakes, two curries, Pad Thai, onion rice,…
April 13, 2014
Snapshots of People from Bhutan
"Hello! Can I practice my English with you?" she asked. I heard this high-pitched voice from across the street and when I turned around, all I saw was a small…
April 6, 2014
On Seeing John Keats’ Tombstone in Rome
Poor guy - he had it rough from the start: his father was killed when he was eight, his mom died of tuberculosis several years later, and he himself lived only…
March 29, 2014
Prosciutto Heaven in Rome
Despite all the pasta-eating and espresso-drinking last week, my favorite eating spot in Rome was La Prosciutteria. Yes, you heard it correctly: an…
March 23, 2014
Europeans Have It Right: Simple Breaks Throughout the Day
I love the Europeans' take on a "coffee break". While traveling on business in Rome and Paris recently, I've discovered the little 'pauses" of a work day, a…