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Almost a year ago I learned I have high-grade prostate cancer. I’m surprised I’m not discouraged by surgery, radiation therapy, and the possibility of further therapies including chemo. My desire to travel is undiminished. 39 daily radiation sessions got in the way of a trip to Hawaii in January 2017. Instead, I planned a trip to…
Continue reading Long-Haul JourneysI started my journey around the Northern Hemisphere this morning: I walked to a number 2 bus which took me to a light rail station where I caught a train to the airport. Here’s the rest of my route: MSP–LAX–OGG (Kahului, Maui, Hawaii) OGG–HNL (Honolulu) Just one night. HNL–NRT–PVG (Shanghai) PVG–FUK (Fukuoka, Kyushu, Southern Japan) Jetfoil…
Continue reading Around the World in 53 Days In the past week we’ve stayed in three different parts of Maui and sampled a variety of hikes. The most dramatic hike so far on this trip has to be Keonehe’ehe’e (Sliding Sands) Trail. It starts above the clouds, about 10,000 feet up Haleakala. The photo at the top of this post shows…
Continue reading Six Maui HikesHawaii has a lot going for it. Billboards are illegal, healthcare is almost universal, and the British Union Jack on the Hawaiian flag harks back to a time when these were the Sandwich Islands. Hawaiians consume more Spam than any other population in the world. You find it on “mixed plates” throughout the state, accompanied…
Continue reading My Hawaiian Junk DrawerLast week I posted our first six Maui hikes. Since then, we’ve hiked eight more trails, ranging from gentle strolls to energetic scrambles. The photo at the top of this post shows me on a ridge section of the Halemau’u Trail, Haleakala National Park. Dwight is manning both the camera and backpack. The hike started…
Continue reading Eight More Maui HikesI deliberately chose a creaky 1920’s era hotel for my base in Shanghai, which made it all the more shocking to emerge into 21st century Shanghai. “Do you need the company of a woman?” asked a conservative-looking thirty-something woman, pacing the street outside. Today, I walked a twelve mile, somewhat random loop from…
Continue reading A Shanghai Urban HikeI’m in Shanghai’s Pudong Airport about to board a Korean Airlines flight to Seoul. It’s not my choice to go to South Korea today. I would rather go to Japan. I actually have a ticket to Japan (Fukuoka), leaving at about the same time as my Seoul flight. But if I try to board the…
Continue reading The Time I Was Denied Entry to China and How I Got InI’m still trying to figure out why I needed two stylists to blow-dry my hair with their duelling dryers in a Seoul salon. That’s the joy of travel. Even everyday situations can surprise. When something is “not like back home” that is to be welcomed. Anyway, here’s my list of some Korean oddities I’ve encountered…
Continue reading Descending Lifelines and Other Korean OdditiesSouth Korea is a nation of hikers. On the trails old, young, hip, dowdy, they love to hike. It’s no wonder: Korea is mountainous, but the population is concentrated on relatively small plains. The mountains beckon. During my current stay in South Korea I’ve hiked in five of South Korea’s twenty-two national parks.
I checked in to my Dubai hotel at 2:00 a.m. this morning, fresh off an eight-hour flight from Guangzhou. In the lobby, people were still enjoying the night. Two thirtysomething expatriate women emerged from the pub in summer frocks, looking like they were on their way to an English garden party. This is a city…
Continue reading Dubai by Rail and FootToday, in Montmartre, Paris, I stared at the Moulin Rouge, explored the elaborate cemetery, and walked past a boulangerie (bake shop) where a sign quoted a simple truth from Benjamin Franklin.
Last week, two friends and I explored parts of the Dales Way over three days. The long distance footpath starts in Ilkley, Yorkshire, progresses through the Yorkshire Dales National Park, then finishes in Bowness-on-Windermere in England’s Lake District. We chose start and end points served by rail: Ilkley at the start and Ribblehead at the finish.…
Continue reading Walking the Dales WayIn April 2017 I visited five of South Korea’s twenty-two national parks. In this post I document how I got to each park by rail and bus. I had not planned to spend much time in South Korea, but thanks to the authorities in Shanghai, China, I found myself with an extra week in South Korea.…
Continue reading How I Got to Five Korean National Parks by Mass TransitA thirty-something neighbor once announced he would love to visit Europe, but he would have to wait until he could afford to travel that distance in Business. He appeared to be in good health, so I can only assume he wasn’t particularly interested in the wider world.
I would willingly travel that distance holding on to a subway-style strap if that was the only option.
Started planning one of next year’s hikes. Related
My backpack, waiting by the door. Related
Posted Around the World in 53 Days. Related
Walked past dozens of outrigger canoes. They’re owned by local clubs and are a popular after-work activity. Related
Sea turtles had the right of way on my beach walk today. Related
After the sun set, we sat on the beach, sipped beer from plastic cups, and watched the ever-changing sky over the island of Molokai. Related
Windmills greeted us at the top of our hike. Related
Hiked under an epiphyte. Related
Hiked past rare silverswords growing on cinder 10,000 feet up on Maui’s Haleakala. They can live for decades, they flower once, then die. Related
Our hike started in the clouds at 6,000 feet: Boundary Trail, Polipoli State Recreational Area. Related
Posted Six Maui Hikes. Related
We started at 8,000 feet, walked along a ridge, then frequently zigged and zagged: Halemauu Trail, Haleakala National Park. Related
We cleaned our plates at an old Maui institution: Mama’s Fish House. We enjoyed the freshest fish, cooked well: spendy, but worth it. Related
Lava met broken coral on our hike today. Hoapili Trail, Maui. Related
Posted My Hawaiian Junk Drawer. Related
Our first, ever, AirBnB. Related
Looking towards Maalaea Bay and Haleakala on our Lahaina Pali Trail hike today. Related
Took a beach shortcut through a flashy hotel, looking like I’d been pulled through a hedge backwards, and accidentally photobombing guests. Related
Heaven will be a lovely hike, Dwight carries the pack, late lunch in a tiki bar, chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, then a nap. Like today. Related
Good eats at Monkeypod for the n’th time. Uncluttered, terroir menu. Related
Posted Eight More Maui Hikes. Related
Discovered this graffiti wall on our hike around Maalaea Bay on firm sand. Related
I love to walk around supermarkets on my travels. WW2 hooked Hawaiians on Spam, from Minnesota, here in fusion with local macadamia nuts. Related
Drank coconut water, fresh from “our” tree. Related
Final sunset over Lanai from our AirBnB. Related
In Waikiki one night between flights. Avoided McAmerica hubbub by wandering through lovely old hotels, then returned to my practical hotel. Related
At Tokyo Narita waiting to board flight to Shanghai. Related
Posted A Shanghai Urban Hike. Related
The Shanghai subway has over 10 million riders daily, and they all seemed headed to my train. I postponed my plan and came back later. Related
For three days I’ve walked around the huge, energetic city of Shanghai: it embraces change. Occasionally I spotted a holdout. Related
Posted The Time I Was Denied Entry to China and How I Got In. Related
I’m now in Seoul, 35 miles from the North Korean border. I don’t yet have a plan, but I’ll be exploring points south over the next ten days. Related
Pushed 7 for a Seoul-style haircut. My stylist, Luna, had an assistant: at one point they both wielded blow-dryers. Related
Hiked Seoul’s city wall. An 11 mile wall once protected the city; 8 miles remain today. The views would have been wonderful on a clear day. Related
Now staying in Mokpo, at the end of the train line, southwest South Korea, near where the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea comingle. Related
I lost count of all the peaks I climbed as I hiked full across Wolchulsan National Park. This was my most arduous day on the trip, so far. Related
The hotel clerk asked where I was going next. I replied I did not know, which was true. Freedom! I decided at the train station. Related
In Naejangsan National Park I had lovely ridge trails all to myself. Related
On a bus from Gwangju to Busan. Related
Posted Descending Lifelines and Other Korean Oddities. Related
Now in Gyeongju, South Korea, surrounded by Gyeongju National Park, an area of enormous historical significance. Related
Walked past some of the hundreds of ancient burial mounds in Gyeongju. Related
Ancient artifacts punctuated my hike of the Mount Namsan area of Gyeongju National Park. This pagoda is over 1,100 years old. Related
Paused at a temple on my way to the summit of Dobongsan Mountain, Bukhansan National Park. I rode the Seoul metro to get to the trailhead. Related
Posted Five South Korean National Parks. Related
Took a creaky old commuter train to Baengmagoji, just south of the DMZ. Walked along the civilian control line, heeding landmine warnings. Related
All charged up at Seoul’s Incheon Airport, ready for the next adventure. Related
Now in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Related
Posted Dubai by Rail and Foot. Related
Rode an intercity bus to Abu Dhabi where I visited a mega-mosque: the Sheikh Zayed Grand. It can accommodate 40,000 worshippers. Related
Crossed the Dubai Creek on an abra (ferry), 30 cents one-way. Related
Sitting at Dubai DXB near a departure board with exotic (for me) destinations. Tonight, an overnight flight to Paris CDG. I’m grateful. Related
Proved that Paris is a walkable city (with a bit of help from the Metro). Related
Posted A Fully Baked Truth. Related
After feeding my inner Nicole Kidman outside the Moulin Rouge, the dead and I escaped from the rush hour crowds above Montmartre Cemetery Related
Now in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, my childhood stomping ground. Related
Taunted Dwight at work in Minneapolis with a photo of my elevenses in Newcastle: millionaire’s shortbread. Chocolate, caramel, shortbread. Related
Three amigos, at base camp (a pub in Ilkley, Yorkshire), ready to hike the Dales Way for three days, starting tomorrow. Related
Hiked a green and pleasant land. Dales Way, day 1 of 3. Related
Light and perspectives changed, vistas evolved, as we hiked across moorland towards Kettlewell, our place for tonight. Related
Day 3, we reached our objective: Ribblehead Viaduct. We were finally, away from it all: no cell signal, no WiFi at our inn. There was beer. Related
Friends and I converged on a York hotel. View from my hotel room. Related
Dined at the New New Bengal, Newcastle upon Tyne. We had to change dinner plans a few years ago the night the New Bengal went up in flames. Related
Walked to what was the local pub when I was a kid, the only building in the neighborhood with much character. Enjoyed a 20 fluid ounce pint. Related
It’s time to go home. NCL–AMS–MSP. Related
Posted Walking the Dales Way. Related
Posted 70 Hours on Airline Seats. Related
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