Time for virtual photo trip to south of Kyrgyzstan!
Staycation
The Random Person Who Took Us Home
"While Laura was still several steps behind me, a man with short graying hair pushed through the crowd and walked right up to me. He looked me in the eye, held up his phone, and asked, 'Is this your wife?' I looked at the picture on his screen. Sure enough. It was Laura with one of the dogs. That's when I put on my angry face."
Walking in the Darkness
"Night descended on the weary wayfarer, and with it came fears of thieves without and shivers from the cold within. Thick clouds hugged the earth and blocked out the moon and stars, and so the man walked down the dusty road beneath his thoughts and the suffocating darkness."
On the Road in the Land of Mountains and Minibuses
Once upon a time, during a trip in the country of mountains and minibuses....
Hope Up In The Air
"You cannot buy this confidence, this freedom, this hope, this security." But someone can give it to you for free.
High Speed Life
I hoisted our duffle bag up on top of the roller suitcase, took a deep breath, and started off toward the airport terminal. Thankfully we weren't flying, just returning a rental car and then taking the subway to the train station. If be spared that nightmare (the nightmare of flying) for another four days. Together … Continue reading High Speed Life
Not To Be Outdone: Our Travels in the West
The alarm sounded at an hour no alarm should ever sound. Ever. It was 3:30. In the A.M. It was our last day in Rome, and from Rome we were going to Menorca, Spain, where we'd spend several days just the two of us before beginning the rounds to visit family and friends spread out … Continue reading Not To Be Outdone: Our Travels in the West
Dreaded Crossings, Part 2
This is post number two in a two-part series. Click here to read part one. "I don't have tenge," I told the Kazakh driver in Kyrgyz. "You can get some," he assured me. And with that, we were off. Sure, nearly five hours had passed by that point since I'd left my house en route … Continue reading Dreaded Crossings, Part 2
Dreaded Crossings, Part 1
I stood behind my American friend at the Kyrgyz-Kazakh border. It was raining from a cement colored sky, and so everyone was pulled in tight underneath the blue corrugated plastic roofing overhead. The crowd funneled into four main lines, marked by green signs printed in Russian and Kyrgyz: two for Kyrgyz Citizens, one for Kazakh … Continue reading Dreaded Crossings, Part 1
From Mere Illusions to Real Magic
We stood in the customs line at Rome's Fiumicino International Airport. A sign said E.U. citizens to the left. Visa holders to the right. Everyone else in the middle. We were in the middle—and longest—line. Ahead of us stood a young Korean American couple. They were chatting with two middle-aged women who were just ahead … Continue reading From Mere Illusions to Real Magic