Sex-on-Legs: A Buenos Aires Tango Show Tale
When I die, if it’s possible to place a well-timed request for the next life, I’m totally asking to return as a tango dancer in Buenos Aires.
Arts and Culture
Giddy Up, Cowboy! A Night at Rodeo de Santa Fe
When you live in the Southwest, in a place where rodeos actually “come to town,” and said event blasts in with horses, bulls, sheep and cattle in tow — by all means, you two-step your way straight to the show. Held at the official rodeo grounds (because, yes, Santa Fe […]
Demons on Parade: Nyepi in Bali
In Passenger Conners news, I helped trick some demons into thinking Bali was deserted the other day. It was pretty easy, actually, and part of the Balinese New Years celebration (it’s technically 1933 in these parts). Still, the highlight of the experience was totally the giant demon parade the night […]
“Eat Pray Love,” Be Damned! Bali, I Still Loved You.
My early planning for my round the world trip commenced just as the furor surrounding the release of Eat Pray Love, the movie, was reaching a fevered pitch. I had not been a fan of the book, and would soon learn I was far from alone in my distaste. Across […]
I Heart Asian Mega-Mall Madness
The world can thank America for introducing it to the gluttony of commerce that is the modern-day mall. However, I’d argue we have Asia to thank for taking that commercialism, blowing it up by about 10,000, and mastering the enormous art of the behemoth mega-mall. It’s a land where anything is […]
Large Phalluses Are Always Welcome
It’s one of my favorite lines of one of my favorite TV shows, HBO’s “Rome.” Atia of the Julii sends a gift to placate her arch-nemesis, Servilia: a large African slave with a pink ribbon tied around his, er, well-endowed man parts. Her daughter looks at her dubiously and asks […]
Temple-palooza: Seeing Beyond Angkor Wat
Few things in my life will ever be as mesmerizing as the temples around Angkor. My greatest surprise was that Angkor Wat, itself, did not meet my rather high expectations. Sure it’s huge and an extraordinary feat of architecture, but personally, I found the real magic of the temples to […]
The Orphanage
Plotting my RTW trip has admittedly been purely selfish; I get to go, see and do what I want – and I’m lucky for it. There’s solid chance that trend would have carried on were it not for my new friend Jeanne, whom we met while in Phnom Penh. While […]
Cambodia, Part I: Phnom Penh
Spending a few days in steamy Phnom Penh gave me the chance to settle and explore a city I imagined I would like, but really started to love. The architecture is gorgeous and otherworldly – the rooftop peaks and curling spires of temples and pagodas and palaces are decorated with […]
My Vietnam Travels in the Post-War Era
I think it’s impossible – at least I hope it is – to be an American traveling through Vietnam and not be periodically overwhelmed with the thoughts, sorrows, guilt, tears, imagined horrors and ultimate futility of the Vietnam War, or as it’s called here, the American War. There are moments […]
Going Native: An Ode to the Sub-Continent
It started with my “trendy kurta,” and I’m not putting that in quotes to be funny – the receipt from the mall in Darjeeling labeled it as such. I’m happy to report I hadn’t purchased any old kurta – the traditional, long, loose top worn by women across India – […]
Camel-palooza 2010: The Pushkar Camel Fair
I found myself under a shiny half moon, in the midst of a desert in Pushkar, India, surrounded on all sides by the shadows of thousands of camel silhouettes and the harrowing braying noises that these funny-looking beasts make when they’re happy, mad, or just going to the bathroom. Smoke […]