Unique Experiences

The Killing Fields

By |2021-04-16T17:18:13-05:00June 18th, 2015|Categories: Asia, Unique Experiences|Tags: , , , , , , |

The Killing Fields is rated the number one “Thing To Do” in Phnom Penh by TripAdvisor. When you encounter these two signs at the Choeung Ek Genodical Center, you will soberly realize you will be witnessing a horrific event: the Cambodian Genocide. Not a traditional tourist site. For a riveting account, author Loung Ung recounts her [...]

Maid Café In Bangkok

By |2019-05-25T12:06:36-05:00June 5th, 2015|Categories: Asia, Unique Experiences|Tags: , |

My visit to the Maid Café in Bangkok.  There is a fine line between creepy and sexy, and the Japanese have appeared to master this combination. Maidreamin located in a generic mall (now currently closed) in Bangkok is a Japanese creation imported directly from the Akihabara district in Tokyo. Maidreamin is a wet dream for introverted [...]

Hot Air Ballooning In Catalonia

By |2019-05-25T12:07:23-05:00May 20th, 2015|Categories: Europe, Unique Experiences|Tags: , , , , , |

You drift in silence at 3,000 feet. You glide at 20 mph, yet you feel no motion. Hot air ballooning in Catalonia is a must-do experience. And outside of Barcelona is a perfect place. Verdant, green farmland mixes with mist drenched Montserrat Mountains. The sun glistens down. I was part of a nine person group comprised [...]

The Beauty of Saint Mark’s Basilica

By |2019-05-25T12:07:28-05:00May 8th, 2015|Categories: Europe, Unique Experiences|

It started with an international robbery, and resulted in a magnificent landmark. Saint Mark’s Basilica, officially known as Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark is located in the heart of Venice in Piazza San Marco. The original Saint Marks was ordered built by the doge (prince) of Venice in 829. Conspiring Venetian merchants smuggled out the [...]

The Best International Rallies

By |2019-05-25T12:07:33-05:00April 20th, 2015|Categories: Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, Unique Experiences|

This is a continuation of the article on Yahoo Travel on the international rally - A Crazy New Kind of Amazing Race: International Car Rallies. Picture the scene. You have been driving for over 15 hours. The monsoons are thundering down. You and your friend are in an auto-rickshaw, laboring along an ink-dark road in the [...]

Wedding Crasher In Ulan Bator

By |2021-04-16T17:24:45-05:00February 19th, 2015|Categories: Asia, Unique Experiences|

Wedding Crasher In Ulan Bator.  I am no Jeremy Grey or John Beckwith, but I have crashed a wedding or two in my day. The most recent one was in Ulan Bator in Mongolia. Courtesy of New Line Cinema It all started off innocently enough. I lazily snapped photos of the historic Gandan Monastery. This Buddhist [...]

I Threw Away My Car In No Man’s Land – Armenia-Georgia Border Crossing

By |2021-09-25T14:08:38-05:00November 17th, 2014|Categories: Europe, Unique Experiences|

I have lost my keys before.  I have donated clothing to the Salvation Army.   I’ve lazily neglected to pick up loose change off the ground that I dropped.  I have thrown away a perfectly good functional VCR.  But this was new ground for me. I discarded my 1993 Jeep Cherokee.  I and my two friends [...]

Smuggling Cartons of Cigarettes Into Syria

By |2021-04-16T13:46:17-05:00October 7th, 2014|Categories: Asia, Unique Experiences|Tags: , |

My plan was to enter Syria via a land crossing from Jordan by getting a visa-on-arrival at the border. A pound of pistachios. Check. Two cokes. Check.  My fingers strolled through my worn Lonely Planet Middle East guide. I was in the midst of a multi-week trip covering a majority of the region. It was 2009, [...]

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