Travel Teaches Toleration
I found this poster taped to the wall of a phone booth in Birpara, a town where there are no tourists and where few…
A Fuller, Warmer Cup of Tea: Fair Trade 101
October, I just learned, is Fair Trade Month, conveniently coinciding with my travels in Darjeeling and my discovery of a kinder, gentler side of…
Crumpets and Coal: Our First Proper Tea
In Paris, we stayed with a French-Moroccan couple who fed us mint tea (at midnight, after dinner) in traditional gold-inlaid glasses; sweet mint tea…
Darjeeling Sunrise: Moonset and Massifs
It took several days to settle into the “Queen of the Hills,†as Darjeeling is known; the town was totally socked in by an…
Leaving Birpara: The Toy Train Not Taken
The reason the Dalgaoan-Birpara Railway Station does not appear on my map of the town is because, until my final week, I had not…
El Salvador Update from Chencho
Thank you to all who contributed. The families of Ciudad Romero have returned to their homes, but have a hard time ahead. Here is…
Tranquilo Traveler on Rick Steves Radio
My interview about traveling in Belize with Rick Steves will air this weekend (October 21 and 22, 2005) on public radio stations across the…
The Moldy Backpack Blues…
From my freshly trimmed mustache To the bottom of my walkin’ shoes… Tranquilo Traveler Rule #1: When your backpack has been sitting in the…
Viswakarma: God of Broadband, DSL, and Ethernet
The mustachioed, elephant-riding, dainty-looking deity on the right is Viswakarma: God of Technology, Machines, Iron-work, Masonry, Carpentry, and all Trades and Handicraft. His Puja…