Safee

Note: This article is written primarily for those who have never been to the Burning Man festival. If you have been, you do not need my advice, and it may not apply to you. In fact, if you're an experienced, hard core "Burner", you will probably disagree with much of what I have written. So, rather than getting irritated, maybe you shouldn't read this, and just enjoy the pictures. I knew Burning Man (from here on - BM) went mainstream when, after my last trip in 2007, I was sitting at the buffet table in the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas (we made the huge mistake of thinking Vegas was kind of close to BM, since both are in Nevada; 12 hours of driving the RV later, we found out Nevada was a big state) next ... read more

Twenty years ago, I spent a summer traveling through Europe with a Eurail pass. One of the highlights of that trip was the 10 days or so I spent in Ireland. Taking a ferry from northern France, I arrived in Cork and toured the island. The country was beautiful, but what stood out most in my mind was the friendliness of the people. In contrast with so much of Europe, people were genuinely friendly and welcoming. Add to this the lovely quaint towns, the beautiful green landscape, and the many sights and activities, and I have wanted to come back ever since that first trip. I've heard that Ireland has changed in the time since I visited in 1992. The country went through a huge economic boom, and becoming known as the "Celtic Tiger", with the ... read more

2011 Rainbow Gathering: Part of the joy of traveling is exploring different cultures and ways of life. Well, you don't necessarily need to go far from home to explore different subcultures. This brings me to my first domestic blog entry, part cultural exploration and part travel. I have heard about Rainbow Gathering for many years. Two friends of mine from Europe went in 1998. What I knew, or thought I knew, was rather limited - that it is a giant hippie festival that takes place in a different national forest during the first week of July every year. Attendance is estimated at 30,000 to 40,000 people. This year, 2011, the venue selected was the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in southern Washington State. Just a few miles from Mt. St. Helens, the volcano that famously erupted in ... read more

I arrived in Manila at 4:30 AM, on an overnight flight from Bangkok. Heeding my guidebook, I headed to the neighborhood of Malate, where there are many guesthouses but it’s still a pretty typical Filipino neighborhood. It’s pretty unanimous that the cities are not the main draw in the Philippines. Likewise, Manila is not a beautiful city, and has very few sights for a city of its size. In fact, many Filipinos spend their free time hanging out at the mall. The culture here is hard to describe. There are definitely strong Spanish, Catholic, and American influences, and all these are felt. At times, I felt more like I was in Latin America than Southeast Asia. People look Southeast Asian, but (often) have Spanish names, are almost always devoutly Catholic, watch telenovelas on TV, and generally ... read more

I’ve spent the past week in Bangkok, taking it easy and arranging my visa and flights to Myanmar (Burma) and the Philippines, my last two stops on this trip. It’s my third time in Thailand, and even a few days in Bangkok are enough to remind me why Thailand is still my favorite country is Asia. If I hadn’t spent a month here last year, I would definitely be staying longer this time. Unlike some of my other stops, it’s not exactly “undiscovered”. Thailand gets a lot of tourists, and there are good reasons for that. It is one of the few countries in the world, that I plan to return to again and again. How do I love thee, Thailand? Let me count the ways: Better infrastructure than most countries in the region, but still ... read more