I drove into the one main turning circle in the tiny town of Svetvinčenat, in the Istria Peninsula in the very northern part of coastal Croatia. The rental car’s GPS was spouting instructions about turning left, right, or perhaps upward, quickly, but I could tell I was as central as one could be here, and…
Tokyo’s Kabuki-cho (or Kabukicho) is often described as a red-light district and I suppose it is, but it resembles famous ones like Amsterdam almost not at all. Kabuki-cho is not people hanging out inviting you in; in fact, you may not get in a place at all, and may not understand the system if you do.
Many travelers gush about Reykjavik, Iceland, but will it truly wow you? A hard look at its attractions, prices, and culture brings it back down to earth.
Ah, Wine….. Almost every place around the Mediterranean has been making wine for eons. We should remember this. European wine tends to bring to mind places like France, Italy, Spain, Germany, but of course places like Bulgaria, Slovenia, Turkey, and Tunisia have been at it as well. Croatia, particularly the Istria peninsula, is a worthy…
These photos are all taken during one particular evening in Bangkers. I started in the backpackers’ district called Khao Sanh Road, where I always used to stay, and ended up late night in Sukhimvit Road, where I stay nowadays. I started just before sunset and finished perhaps 3:00 a.m., and could have gone much later.
The driving rain poured outside and I was wet sitting inside. I had jet lag and was feeling sick, shaken, and not good in the stomach. The two couples on either side of me were eating ungodly amounts of food, entire wheels of cheese, meat plates, steaks, quantities that made my system tremble. If…
Once upon a time, the Hungarians stumbled upon a type of chili pepper that could be dried out and ground, with variations from sweet to fiery. Any culture that does that has something going for it. They of course weren’t alone, since much of the world had discovered chilies by then, and they were also…
There’s no city in the world that will make you feel small like Tokyo does. The city is inconceivably massive, and that could be why the Japanese love their tiny, tiny establishments, snug places that always involve drinking, usually involve some eating, and that make Tokyo so interesting. I have spent several nights haunting a…
After recent terrorist attacks, everyone is asking “Is Europe safe?” Let’s examine how a destination is safe or not and what strange advice experts give.
Segovia, Spain hits all the notes for a good day trip: small town just an hour away from Madrid the big city, feels utterly different, and contains striking sights one can’t find in Madrid. Segovia is hardly undiscovered, but not nearly so crowded as other day-tripper-places such as Toledo, which is so packed with tacky…
En guard. The audacious practice of airlines charging their valuable customers to choose a seat is slowly spreading. The airlines, nomenclature-meisters all, call this trend “unbundling”, charging for things that used to be standard. Once upon a time, in an industry far, far away, the privileged purchaser of an airplane trip could count on the…
For utterly understandable reasons, the main attraction in the oh little town of Bethlehem is the Church of the Nativity, built right over the birthplace of You Know Who. That’s the only reason people visit. You may wonder, as I did, is there any other reason to go there, and thus is it worth the…
