Travel

Bangkok

In March of 1978 at Bangkok’s Oriental Hotel I declined the receptionist’s offer of a room at the swank newly opened tower. I asked to be lodged, instead, in the hotel’s fabled old building. I followed the porter who carried my luggage past a maid in uniform who said “sawadee ka.” I reciprocated with my own greetings: “sawadee krup,” self-consciously using the proper male speaker gender ending. Never mind my accent, the heretofore reserved porter was delighted and felt free to speak to me. The suite the maid was cleaning, he said, was where the writer Joseph Conrad used to stay when in town. I was given another suite on that same second floor of the 19th century building. This one had been used by Somerset Maugham>>>

Hands Off Iran!

The view from our fourth floor living room windows looking out at the mountain range surrounding Shiraz is a joy to see, as the sun rises and sets over the mountains. Ellie has become somewhat of a weather-predictor, as when the low, dark clouds with wind roll in over the range, she excitedly points out that "baran miad" (rain is coming!). Our family jokes that we have come from the U.S. and brought lots of rain to Shiraz, which is so welcomed, after a couple of years of drought. Even the tiny little plants and shrubs on the mountain are turning into bright green decorations! Ellie will try to attach one picture, but because dial up is incredibly slow, we cannot send more at a time. We spent a bit of extra money on purchasing a satellite dish for atop our apartment building>>>

A Mismatch of Globalization

Dubai likes to see itself as the center of commerce, investment, and even culture, in the Persian Gulf. It is where the global rich can opt to become even richer and where investors can live out their dreams. It is also a place where people from the poorer parts of Asia flock to make a living and send money home. In the process Dubai has become the center of everything we love to hate: globalization at its worst, consumerism at its most extreme. Whereas old Dubai, situated around the Creek, has retained some of its charm, the new endlessly sprawling Dubai is a glitzy, unreal mega-Disney world focused on high-end shopping, leisure and entertainment>>>

Etoile

Paris – not a word, but a sentence, a statement – nay, a novel, a trilogy – an anthology, an intricate and detailed mélange of stories, short and long, events unraveling along winding roads and narrow sidewalks – lives, moments, glimpses of miracles – definite and infinite, eternal and ephemeral. Paris more than words – much more. The plane approaches Charles De Gaulle airport. Captain’s voice comes on to announce the descent of the Air France flight from Washington to the City of Lights. It is close to 6 a.m. local time as I peek out of the window to watch the Femme Fatale wink and welcome me into her arms once more>>>