A Tourist in Thailand

The tourist authorities plug “Amazing Thailand” as a happy land of smiles and beaches; the press likes to paint it as a deadly refuge for sex and drugs. I see Thailand as a fascinating mirror of our motives, desires and defects as travelers. In the tourist...

The Tortoise and the Hare

“”Mojave Desert!” Bill called out from behind the wheel, somewhere in the center of the night. He and I are the only ones awake on this desert caravan to Death Valley, the Green Tortoise’s newest adventure trip. The fabled green and silver...

The Mystery of Bulgaria

For a dose of the red tape and helter-skelter services that plague post-communist Europe, head for Bulgaria. The average pack-a-day smoker could outrun a Bulgarian train, and maps seem to be drawn by an astigmatic drunk. Travelers risk a $200 fine for failing to fill...

Risky Business

“You come one? Bravo! Bravissimo!” the old woman said when I checked into the Malyovitza lodge. I had traveled all day on Bulgaria’s winding country roads to reach this small resort town in the Rila mountains. Sofia, Bulgaria’s capitol city, is a...

Red Rock Nation

OUR TIRES KICK up red dust from the dirt road as Arizona’s manicured world of golf courses and strip malls recedes in the mirror and my memory. A flock of sheep, bells tinkling, tiptoes into the road as a Navajo grandmother herds them across. As I look left, the...