Bohemian Traveler

Chaoyang Gate stands proudly in the center of Jianshui, a small Yunnan city south of Kunming. This bright red prominent structure was modeled on the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan and Yueyang Tower in Hunan. Think Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing for more visuals. Although beautiful, the Chaoyang Gate was not what captured my [...]

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Cycling is one of the best ways to see the countryside surrounding Yangshuo, China. The region is famous for the dreamlike limestone mountains that dot Guangxi  Province. There are plenty of routes in every direction, but highly recommended is cycling along the Yulong River to the 600-year-old Dragon bridge. We visited in January when the [...]

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One of the main reasons I wanted to visit Macau was for its architecture. I love walking around cities, looking at building facades. I remember especially fondly, doing this in Portugal, particularly Porto. I love the Catholic Churches. I love the painted blue title work. I love the mosaic-like stones that make up the pedestrian-only [...]

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Last spring, before flying out to Bangkok for my Southeast Asia trip, I spent a day in Philadelphia with my brother. We met up with his friend, Suzanne Tenuto, a photographer. She asked for our help testing out her new remote flash, because she often shoots weddings and the daytime sun can be challenging. So [...]

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The trip from Ouray to Durango, Colorado is one of the most scenic in the United States. There are two ways to see it: by the famous Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and by road along US Route 550. The 45-mile rail line began in 1882 to haul gold and silver ore out of [...]

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The Connecticut River Valley seemed to be filled with off-the-beaten path interesting sites. I already wrote about the Cornish-Windsor Bridge, and visiting the Harpoon Brewery over in Windsor, known as the birthplace of Vermont, where their state constitution was signed. On the other side of the river in New Hampshire, just north of Cornish, some [...]

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The Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge spans the Connecticut River between the towns of Windsor, VT and Cornish, New Hampshire. It was the longest covered bridge in the United States until the Smolen–Gulf Bridge opened in Ohio in 2008. Cornish-Windsor is still the longest covered bridge to carry automobile traffic. The bridge was built in 1866 at [...]

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When you look at a map of Connecticut, so much of it is yellow, the color of urban areas. I’ve always thought of it as only being this, with lots cities and wealthy New York suburbs. But there is plenty of green, some of it south of the Berkshire Mountains in western Massachusetts. And some [...]

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I didn’t plan on visiting Stark Village in New Hampshire. In fact, I drove right past it. Then I slowed the car down and pulled a U-turn, recognizing it was a special place. To me Stark was a classic New England village. It had a church, a covered bridge, a cemetery, an inn, and a [...]

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Stopping at Farmers’ Markets was one of the recurring themes of this summer’s road trip through the northeastern US. From smaller ones like that of Bristol, Vermont to larger ones in the likes of Brattleboro, VT, the local farmer’s market is a great place to get local fresh produce and baked goods while also getting [...]

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  Portsmouth, New Hampshire is one of those cities that everyone seems to love. It’s the perfect size—big enough to have the culture, entertain ment, and dining you want, but small enough to be friendly and un-stressful. As an added bonus it’s really beautiful with quite a long history (for the United States, anyway). On [...]

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New Hampshire’s Great North Woods is a paradise for any outdoor enthusiast. But while most are casting a fishing line, paddling their canoe, listening to the sounds of the loon, gazing out at the surrounding mountains, or stalking moose, I was looking down, down to the ground where I found a world of mushrooms. I wasn’t [...]

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Philadelphia is best known for its groundbreaking Mural Arts Program, which has produced some 3,000 murals city-wide and led to the city being called Mural City USA. I will talk more about the Mural Arts Program in an upcoming post, and share photos of the murals as well. But for now I just want to [...]

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Recently I’ve been through so many colorful markets of Southeast Asia. It’s great to see some of the finest markets back home in the US. This one’s in Philadelphia: The Reading Terminal Market. One of America’s largest and oldest markets, Reading Terminal’s got a diverse selection of vendors with prepared foods as well as farm-fresh [...]

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This was the view out the front door of my guesthouse room along the Mekong River in southern Laos. The area is known as Si Phan Don, or 4,000 islands, and is quite popular with independent travelers. I stayed in the hamlet of Ban Khon on Don Khon Island. This is the larger island located [...]

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Muang Ngoi is a tiny settlement along the Nam Ou River in the northweast of Laos. It’s set among the karst mountain landscape and can only be reached by river boat. The village is a one-lane dirt track of houses, cafes and guesthouses, free of cars and motorbikes.  Most of the places to stay are [...]

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This is where W. Somerset Maugham stayed on his tour through British Malaysia. He frequented the hotel and bar and must admit is the reason for my stopping here. It served as a coffee break on my walk through Little India and thought maybe, just maybe, a little inspiration from this legendary novelist and playwright [...]

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If there were a capital city of Borneo, it’d be Kota Kinabalu. KK, as the city is known, is a great base for exploring Sabah, the northern of the two regions of Malaysian Borneo. Many travelers will fly into KK (a new hub for Air Asia) and linger for a few days before moving on [...]

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