Nusaybin Hudut Kapisi, the fresh Turkish exit stamp in my passport read. Straight ahead was El Qamishliye, Syria, a remote, sleepy frontier town near the desolate point where Turkey, Syria and Iraq meet. It was 1984 and I was not … Read the rest of this article.
Bolivia and a Side of Paraguay
I travel to discover lands and people, not so much to visit famous places, though I enjoy that too. This is what distinguishes travelers from tourists. I admit to a little snobbery here, considering myself a traveler and looking down … Read the rest of this article.
Beware of Coca Leaves
I was never into drugs, but I can’t say I’m a virgin either. When I was a senior in high school, I smoked an illicit substance with some friends, which on that first occasion happened to be hashish. After that, … Read the rest of this article.
I Remember Kindness
I don’t know about where you live, but on Long Island, my home turf until recently, there are a lot of elementary schools. Many of them are surrounded by chain link fences, and often messages of two or three words … Read the rest of this article.
What’s Your Favorite Country?
When people learn of my travels far and wide, they often ask what my favorite country is. I never tire of the question because I always love to talk travel. But in reality it’s an impossible question to answer, for … Read the rest of this article.
“They Hate Americans”
“They hate Americans.” Oh, bullshit. I’ve heard that silly line so many times I’ve lost count. It’s just one more sign of how ignorant Americans are, how watching television has destroyed their minds. Having traveled to 97 countries, and interacted … Read the rest of this article.
Honesty Is the Best Policy
In William Shakespeare’s famous play Hamlet, the title character says, “To be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand.” No man ever understood the complexities of human nature, or wrote about … Read the rest of this article.
North Korea: a Case Study
There’s no education like travel, and especially travel to “controversial” countries – countries that have a dark, evil, dangerous image, thanks to the mind-bending techniques employed by the mass media. It’s all very Orwellian. As Orwell wrote in Nineteen Eighty-Four, … Read the rest of this article.
Special Moments in Europe
I’ve visited Europe many times and covered the whole continent, though there’s much I haven’t seen. I’ve traveled by bus, train, and rental car, and twice with small groups on extended hikes. Even now, I’d love to go back and … Read the rest of this article.
Travel Is My Lifeblood
When I was a boy growing up in the early 1960s, I often played the board game “Pirate and Traveler” with my friends. The board displayed a map of the world and distant ports with names like Cape Town, Bombay, … Read the rest of this article.