After delays in New York and Dusseldorf, we arrive in Palma, Mallorca at 2:30 p.m. Wonderfully, my husband Damon and I are invited every year to stay in nearby Bendinat. Our host Hal is alone at his seaside house. His daughter, my good friend Kate, and her 13-year-old son Carlos will arrive next week. Despite his years, Hal is remarkably unchanged, his distinctive phraseology continues unabated, examples being the classic “Clock!” and … [Read more...]
Afghanistan Exposed
Just over one year into our odyssey, while headed overland to Europe, we ventured through Afghanistan. Rocking atop burlap sacks in the open-backed truck, I watched as Peshawar faded into the morning’s mirage. Knowing I’d never return in this lifetime, I felt history being made beneath my feet as upturned dust exposed ancient stories. With a mandatory armed-escort riding in the front, I knew I better play by the rules. At 50C, halfway to the … [Read more...]
My Name is Ali
“My name is Ali. I’m from Iran.” My mind went blank. What did I know about Iran? I tried to think of something. It’s a big country in the Middle East and my country, America, isn’t too keen on Iran. Persian carpets? The moment I was thinking, I looked around at my surroundings. A dozen of red Chinese lanterns were lit brightly and lined both sides of the street. Across from me at a mamak, Indian men were pulling roti dough around and around in … [Read more...]
From the Outside In: My Reflections as a Non-Muslim Wearing the Burqa in Silicon Valley
My curiosity to try wearing the most conservative Muslim, black Burqa drapery in California overcame my dread that I would be found out by a Muslim who might eagerly approach me as any of us might do when we find "our kind" in a foreign land. I was fearful of offending, or appearing to make light of a serious cultural tradition. It took an immense amount of courage to overcome my trepidation. But at last I decided to just go for it. Logically … [Read more...]
Savannah Grace: Author & Traveler
From 2005 through 2009 Savannah traveled the world with her family. We recently came across her book and were fascinated by her travels, details from the road and depth of writing. Recently we had the opportunity to ask her a number of questions about her travels, first book and upcoming plans. Q. Tell us a little about yourself and how you first decided to write "Sihpromatum, I Grew My Boobs in China". My name is Savannah … [Read more...]
Lee Abbamonte: Global Super Traveler
Lee Abbamonte is on a global quest to visit all of the world's countries and furthermore complete this task before the age of 37 years, 9 months, 17 days. In doing so, Lee would be the youngest person on the planet to have visited all the countries in the world. We recently had a chance to ask him about his globe trotting exploits as well as his unique advice. Q. You are quickly becoming one of the world's most traveled individuals, … [Read more...]
Tony Wheeler: Founder of Lonely Planet
Recently we had the opportunity to sit down with Tony Wheeler, the founder of Lonely Planet, in San Francisco. He was on a whirlwind tour in the United States promoting his new book, Bad Lands: A Tourist on the Axis of Evil. We spent about an hour in the interview. Immediately following his book promotion tour he was off to attempt a climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa 5,895 meters (19,340 feet). We asked him a series of questions - this is … [Read more...]
Bad Lands
Bad Lands by Tony Wheeler Join Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler as he explores some of the "badlands" in the world. He visited the following nine countries because of their human-rights abuses: Afghanistan, Albania, Burma, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia. … [Read more...]
Iran; the most misunderstood country of the world!
Over the years when talking to a foreign tourist who has come to my motherland for the very first time I've gotten used to hearing expressions such as "wow! I see you have restaurants in Iran!", or "Believe me Iran was not what I'd thought", "I never thought you had such a beautiful country" and so on. For the global public opinions and the mass majority who do not have any particular way of knowing a distant land rather than relying on the … [Read more...]
Persepolis; The Magnificence of Asian History
There are currently nine world heritage sites registered to UNESCO from Iran: Persepolis is the first of them all. Persepolis is the main symbol of Persian culture and civilization for Iranians around the globe and is reckoned a source of honor for young people in modern day Iran. The architectural traits of this ceremonial palace make it a unique site in the country -- and the world -- and an attraction for thousands of tourists who … [Read more...]