Destination: Asia
September 11, 2005
SOUVENIRS
A fetish for New Mexico
VISITORS to Santa Fe, N.M., can spirit home a bit of Indian tradition in the palms of their hands.
September 4, 2005
A bridge to Japan's past
I had blown into Takayama about the same time as a typhoon alert. "Be careful!" the English-speaking man at the train station information booth cautioned me. The storm, he said, was headed this way the next day.
August 14, 2005
POSTCARD FROM JAPAN
The poetic soul of Tohoku
Matsuo Basho, Japan's most respected haiku poet, embarked on a pilgrimage to Tohoku in the spring of 1689, much to the amazement of his 17-syllable-spinning contemporaries. Five months and some serious blisters later, he felt suitably moved to write "The Narrow Road to the Deep North," a stunning poetic travelogue in which he recounts his impressions of Japan's northern rural heartland in richly elegiac verse.
August 7, 2005
SPECIAL ASIA ISSUE
Off the bus, into the countryside
MANY people who see China do so from a tour bus. But adventurous travelers may find bonuses by leaving the beaten path.
August 7, 2005
SPECIAL ASIA ISSUE
A return to wartime Philippines
THE flight from San Francisco to Manila seemed endless, even though my mother had treated us to business class and its bedlike chairs, parade of meals and free-flowing champagne.
May 1, 2005
POSTCARD FROM SRI LANKA
Wanted: tourists on the beaches
The timing of the Indian Ocean tsunami was particularly cruel for Sri Lanka: A truce in effect for more than two years between the government and the rebel Tamil Tigers had ended years of violence and finally started to make a difference to the island nation. Then, on Dec. 26, the water swept in. Although many residents struggle to rebuild, some areas of this beach-rich country remain open and unaffected, beckoning tourists and their much-needed dollars.
March 20, 2005
DESTINATION: MYANMAR
Catapulting to fame at a quiet lake monastery
My mind was freshened by the cool January air as our longboat skimmed across the calm waters of the vast Inle Lake in the Shan state of northeastern Myanmar. The memory of the previous night's 16-hour bus journey from the capital city of Yangon was soothed away by my tranquil surroundings. High-forested hills, floating gardens, villages on stilts, wild lotus flowers and the fishing canoes of the native Intha people flowed silently by.
March 13, 2005
DESTINATION: THAILAND
Civilized oasis in wild Bangkok
Hanging beneath the water-stained eaves of the Atlanta Hotel is a hand-stenciled sign: "This is the place you're looking for — if you know it. If you don't, you'll never find it."
March 6, 2005
DESTINATION: VIETNAM
Lost: ancient kingdom of the Cham
The driver spoke no English; my Vietnamese vocabulary was limited. But we were going to spend five days together driving along the central coast of Vietnam. Hand gestures and pointing at places on a map would have to work.
January 2, 2005
TRAVEL LOG
South Asia travel picture in flux
The Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami that struck countries that ring the Indian Ocean, resulting in thousands of deaths, has clouded the picture for travelers, who may be uncertain about plans made or tours purchased months ago.
November 28, 2004
TASTE OF TRAVEL: INDIA
Wealth of dishes for a pittance
Never have I eaten so well for so little money as during the 12 days I explored the vegetarian restaurants of this city, formerly called Madras, on southern India's east coast.
November 7, 2004
TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: INDIA
Delhi, on the Nigel express
"Welcome to deepest, darkest Delhi, where no white man doth tread," Nigel Hankin said in mock cadences. His snowy eyebrows arched as his left foot perched on a dirty stair. I peered up the ancient passageway. It was indeed a path straight to darkness, a grim corridor into the unknown.
October 31, 2004
Tokyo, for the very first time
I woke with a start about 5 a.m., my elbow knocking against a plastic wall as I turned over. Why, I wondered, was I sleeping in an MRI machine?
October 17, 2004
TRAVELER'S JOURNAL
An enduring monument to the power of love
In the next six months, the citizens of Agra, India, will celebrate the 350th birthday of the Taj Mahal. City officials expect millions of tourists to visit the site during the celebration. People will come to Agra, walk through the vaulted chambers of the mausoleum and depart unexpectedly changed — people like me.
October 10, 2004
DESTINATION: SOUTH KOREA
In Seoul, club-hop till it hurts
Nightlife here doesn't always involve pie-eyed businessmen belting out "My Way" in a karaoke bar. In the northeast section of Seoul, an area dominated by four large universities, the nighttime crowds are younger, hipper and more international.
October 3, 2004
D.C. on the upswing
When the National Museum of the American Indian opened last month, visitors were greeted with a 23-foot-long electronic sign that flashed "welcome" in more than 100 Native languages.
May 9, 2004
DESTINATION: JAPAN
In the footsteps of warlords
My shoes kept slipping on the crooked paving stones. The route was poorly marked, and the sun beat down on our backs as we trudged uphill. It hardly seemed possible that not long ago this road was well traveled by Japanese. The steep, narrow footpath my husband and I were following was once a main highway between Kyoto and Edo, now called Tokyo. The path, the Nakasendo, is the central mountain road and passes 310 miles through Japan's main island, Honshu.
April 4, 2004
DESTINATION: CHINA
Yangshuo, a reverie amid rocks
Somewhere between the strange green and gray limestone peaks jutting out of the plains like misplaced teeth, past the village of 200-year-old yellowing huts, along narrow earthen paths raised between sodden rice paddies, I heard music.
March 28, 2004
DESTINATION: ASIA
Shopping the Golden Triangle
A receptionist at the Anantara Resort and Spa Golden Triangle suggested the idea of shopping in three countries in a single day.
March 21, 2004
DESTINATION: JAPAN
Nara, past-perfect imperial city
A thousand tame deer roam its streets. Virgin forests stretch two miles into the city's heart. Footpaths are lined with ancient stone lanterns. A willow-rimmed pond downtown mirrors a towering pagoda.
March 14, 2004
ASIA | MYANMAR
By riverboat, to age-old Asia
We were passengers on a shore excursion on a luxury cruise, but, for the moment, we were not in the lap of luxury. We were climbing 70 jagged stairs in stark interior darkness in our bare feet, as Buddhist custom requires, to the top of a 12th century pagoda to watch the sun set over 2,000 ancient temples and the Irrawaddy River.
February 15, 2004
DESTINATION: CHINA
Drinking in the culture of tea
When my husband, Michael, and I arrived in this southern town in the dog days of last summer, we did what most people do here when the weather is humid and the temperature climbs to more than 100 degrees.
January 18, 2004
DESTINATION: LAOS
Simplicity along the Mekong
Southeast Asia has become so well-traveled in recent years that it's difficult to find an interesting spot that also offers Westerners an unadorned look at local life.
November 9, 2003
DESTINATION: VIETNAM
New heights in land of old Saigon
The great outdoors has always intimidated me. Although I played some football in college and even cashed a few NFL checks, I always was in awe of people who climbed rocks, biked mountains and rode river rapids.
November 2, 2003
DESTINATION: THAILAND
Inspired to new heights in Rai Leh
I reached for something that was not there and fell. I could see the sky move away. I could sense the ground coming closer, and I cursed myself for breaking my 20-year-old promise to give up climbing.
November 23, 2003
TRAVEL TURKEYS
A tempest and a teapot on a whirlwind trip
Our trip to Asia started auspiciously enough when my partner, Wesla, and I snagged one of the super-cheap deals offered after the SARS crisis: three nights in Hong Kong, four in Singapore and round-trip air from LAX. All for $2,500 for two.
September 21, 2003
On the road to recovery
For travelers with adventure in their souls, this may be the best of times to visit Asia.
September 21, 2003
Hong Kong's metropolis of bargains, bustle and beauty
Approaching Hong Kong by air in the daytime is unforgettable. The city looks like a forest of Erector-set towers gleaming against dark hills. The parade of nearly identical skyscrapers, honeycombed with windows, seems endless. It's Manhattan on steroids.
September 21, 2003
Hong Kong's metropolis of bargains, bustle and beauty
Approaching Hong Kong by air in the daytime is unforgettable. The city looks like a forest of Erector-set towers gleaming against dark hills. The parade of nearly identical skyscrapers, honeycombed with windows, seems endless. It's Manhattan on steroids.
Busy days and luxurious nights
GETTING THERE:
September 21, 2003
Positively charming Singapore
Mention this tiny island nation off the tip of the Malay Peninsula and Americans may envision a prim, repressive society that puts drug dealers to death, censors movies and TV, and fines ordinary citizens for chewing gum.
February 9, 2003
THAILAND
Picture-perfect Phuket
I was on a quest to find the world's most beautiful beach, a place that would tower above its competition. Dazzling white sand, a perfect crescent-shaped bay and crystal clear sea. Instead I found one of the most beautiful spots on Earth -- Phuket, an island off the isthmus of Thailand.
January 12, 2003
Affordable access to Asia
As we were eating dinner on the front porch of a restaurant in George Town, Malaysia, we were startled by a sudden "whap!" A gecko had fallen from the ceiling onto our table, narrowly missing my beer. The creature, too mortified even to mumble "Pardon me," gathered itself and exited between the salt and pepper shakers, leaving me to contemplate how things fall into one's life.
July 4, 2004
DESTINATION: CHINA
Aloha to the Asian tropics
My husband and I were trying to enjoy the breezy, 75-degree evening with a walk along the beach, but fireworks kept tripping us up.
November 23, 2003
TRAVEL TURKEYS
Tripped up during a cheap waltz through China
It seemed like a great idea: Take a budget winter tour of China by flying to England and joining a British group. London would be a bonus.
November 23, 2003
TRAVEL TURKEYS
Taken for a ride
A visible panty line should have been the least of my worries when I got dressed that morning and put on thong underwear. If only I'd had the foresight to know what a grave mistake it would prove to be later that day atop a camel in the Thar Desert of India.
January 5, 2003
DESTINATION: JAPAN
Where warrior tales live on
In 1689, a poet named Matsuo Basho set out on foot for a distant part of his homeland, Japan.
January 12, 2003
So much Asia for so little
"One dollar!" -- all accounted for. "Two dollar!" -- someone was missing. Our guide was doing a head count, as he did each time we reboarded our bus.
January 5, 2003
DESTINATION: JAPAN
Where warrior tales live on
In 1689, a poet named Matsuo Basho set out on foot for a distant part of his homeland, Japan.
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