Acclaimed Photographer Scott Stulberg has recently released a photography table top book - "Passage to Burma". This is a collection of vivid and often intimate looks into the second largest country in Southeast Asia - a country that the western world often knows little about - especially after it has been "closed" for half a century. This collection is based upon many trips he made to Burma over more than 10 years. It is a tribute and his love … [Read more...]
A Trace of Thrace: Balkan Adventure
In Plovdiv, Bulgaria, John M. Edwards snitches on the mystery-shrouded Balkans’ best-kept secret: an ancient (and enduring) heresy I was on the way slow train from Budapest through the Balkans, on my way to Bulgaria, chainsmoking and guzzling Egri Bikavier (Bull’s Blood) wine, when the train came to a juddering halt and was boarded by heavily armed Serbian soldiers. A Serb with an impressive handlebar moustache and an assault rifle demanded … [Read more...]
Kutna Hora and the Chapel of Bones
John M. Edwards mispronounces the naughty-sounding destination “Kutna Hora” at a train station in Prague, a surreal stage set straight out of the Quentin Tarantino/Eli Roth shocker “HOSTEL,” set in Slovakia but filmed in the Czech Republic. . . . At Hlavni Nadrazi, Prague’s main train station, the large ugly lady in Aeroflot chic flinched when I ordered a roundtrip to the naughty-sounding “Kutna Hora,” mispronouncing my destination on purpose. … [Read more...]
A Glimpse of Paris
With the third and possibly final movie, Before Midnight recently released it is worth a reflection on a few of my experiences and sightseeing stops during my last time touring this much loved city. Paris is a major European hub city with two International airports, Charles De Gaulle Airport (named after a French General) and Orly. Charles De Gaulle is the primary airport for International flights and Flights to Paris from around the world … [Read more...]
Body Laotian
John M. Edwards sings the Buddha electric, embarking on a quest in the Laotian capital for the world’s most unique body posture. People thought I was a lunatic for coming all the way to Laos, a landlocked nation without any beaches, for a “vacation”? Even I thought I was out of my mind. After a couple of days lying on the wavy grass in the hazy egg-yolk-shaped sun of Vientiane, a Southeast Asian Wild West boomtown, though, I was bronzed … [Read more...]
The High Life, McLeod Ganj
We are now at about 8000 feet up in the Himalayas near Mcleod Ganj just outside of town at a guest house; we will stay here 2 nights and then move further up into the Himalayas. Very very humbling to be back in the shadow of the WORLD'S GREATEST mountains, no apologies given to the Andes in this regards, as the Himalayas are in THEIR OWN CLASS and everyone should see them at least once in their life. These 5 and 6 thousand meter mountains tower … [Read more...]
Lost in the City of Dreams
I had long been promising myself a visit to Istanbul, European Capital of Culture for 2010. So with the Bayram festival now approaching and the summer sun warming the earth, I couldn't resist a visit to this most ostentatious city of spires, a fabulously inspiring metropolis of imperial dreams; and it was only a magic carpet ride away. I arrived exhausted but excited, my heart in my hands here at the epicentre of three empires. Straddling two … [Read more...]
The 4 Bridges Crossing the Canal Grande in Venice
The two most striking characteristics of Venice are its extremely romantic appeal and the picturesque canals that are like the unique equivalent of streets in other cities. The biggest of these canals is the Canal Grande (in Venetian referred to as Canalasso). At a length of 3800 meters it stretches through the whole city in the shape of an 's'. Curiously enough there are only four opportunities to cross the Canal Grande throughout the city, … [Read more...]
Thailand: One man’s virgin tour
Dried fish at a Bangkok street market I wake up at 5:30 a.m. on the 57th floor of the Lebua at State Tower, an upscale hotel in the thick of Bangkok, the Praya River snaking by below. I stand and listen, hearing a throaty growl seeming to gather steam in the distance and figure it has to be an airplane leaving the city from Suvarnabhumi Airport. But how can that be? For one thing, the airport is 19 miles away. For another, the sound doesn't … [Read more...]
More Thai Village Life
We spent the better part of the afternoon husking and opening very mature coconuts in preparation for a big dinner tonight (coconut curry). I had flashbacks of Wilson in that Tom Hanks movie from several years ago. I've eaten hundreds of coconuts over the years but never from one that had already started sprouting. The inside of the coconut fills with a white foam like growth which can then be eaten in its own right or more appealingly sucked on … [Read more...]