Japadog

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…


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“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…


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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…


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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…


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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…


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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,…


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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…


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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…


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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…


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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…


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