Anna, Kurt and I were on the way to Masai Mara to follow the mass migration of wildebeest. Kurt’s…

Lisa looked after the orphaned lion cubs at the camp, a cluster of thatched-roof huts surrounded by a high…

Kurt had been based in Nairobi for a few years working as a pilot for Flying Doctors. He was an interesting…

Kumi and I were driving through Kora National Park in a Landrover. He was a game warden and…

I was hit by the heat and bustle when I arrived in Mombasa. I walked down Haile Selassie road to…

A lone bird of prey glided over swooping hills of ylang ylang and coconut trees on the black volcanic island.…

As we drove along the coastal road of Grande Comores, Boris told me about the recent history of…

In Moroni, the capital of the Comoros, Boris and I stopped at the Coelacanthe for a drink. This laid-back…

On a breezy Saturday night in Moroni, Boris and I were sitting at a wooden table at a sea-side disco, sipping…

I was staying in Abidjan a couple days before going on to Senegal. The city had an impressive skyline…

My friend Jim and I went on a trip to Miami. We’d driven down from Atlanta to check out the beaches, driving…

On the second day in Miami, Jim and I started the morning off with a Cuban coffee, strong and.…

At the Reagan Airport terminal in Washington, DC, I got into a waiting cab. “How you been?” the…

In Washington, DC I went to visit Nadya, a friend from high school. We had spoken on the phone a couple…

One afternoon Nadya suggested we go for a hike in Rock Creek Park. A large part of the grounds were…

I arrived in Montreal by train in the late afternoon. Walking through the departure hall I  looked at the…

I was on a trip back to Manila after many years and renting a motel room in Quezon city. It was a simple…

Romy and I were in Manila over the New Year, visiting his relatives and decided to go out for a few drinks…

My friend Anna had been suffering from stomach pain. For a few months, she had been trying painkillers…

I was on my way to the Cordilleras by helicopter. From the air, the city of Manila seemed veiled in…

One morning I took a jeepney to Banaue. The town center was already crowded with buses leaving for…

After a short flight and a jeepney ride to the coast, I was taking an outrigger boat to the white sand beaches…

In the late morning I went on a shopping excursion to Myeongdong. Throngs of shoppers were…

One evening in Seoul I snagged a ticket to a Hallyu pop festival. Crayon Pop was set to be the opening act…

I was taking a tuk-tuk around Bangkok. Suicidal motorcycles darted in and out of the smoke-belching…

One morning in Bangkok I decided to walk to the market to buy some fresh fruit. When I had been…

I was sharing a small house in the center of Kathmandu with Prem and Hari, young Nepalis who worked…

Eager to explore the dark alleyways that had intrigued me since arriving in Kathmandu, I rode…

I had planned to travel around India by train—to admire the Taj Mahal, explore Rajastan, and visit a…

Tin Win and I made a trip to Bagan, taking the old colonial rail from Yangon to the ancient temple city…

When we arrived in Bagan, my friend Tin Win wandered over to a horse-cart driver for a talk and a.…

In Bagan, my friend Tin Win hired a horse-cart driver to take us around to look at the temples. We were…

Nadya and I spent a night on a slow, uncomfortable antique train to Inle Lake in Myanmar. Sitting…

In Nyaung Shwe Nadya and I hired a narrow, long boat to take me out on Inle Lake. The boat…

At the festival grounds in Yangon I headed to a colorful fair of food stalls, game booths and carnival rides…

The elderly monk’s eyes humbly avoided mine. He walked slowly, gazing down at his bare feet, his…

I took a bus into downtown Yangon which had a right-sided steering wheel, even though people drove…

One afternoon in Yangon, I walked along Kabaye Pagoda Road and passed a cluttered kiosk selling…

I meandered along Shwedagon pagoda road and came upon a procession of barefoot monks carrying…

The Water Festival, a giant four-day party which symbolizes the washing away of the old year and…