Geo: 22.33, 114.18 Two days ago we arrived in Hong Kong. We are here for three days, and then we'll all fly apart, separating back into our own individual lives. I hate this part of any group trip; we get to know people for awhile, intensely bound together in our daily activities, beginning to love or avoid those who don't mesh with our personalities or philosophies, and then, abruptly, we're torn apart simply by the turning of the calendar. For me it is always a painful ending. And here we are. Hong Kong is noisy, colorful, crowded, full of frenetic energy, hot and humid. Even for me it is HOT. We all take several showers each day, to refresh and cleanse ourselves from the constant sweating. It is said to take three days to acclimate one's ... read more

Geo: 29.65, 91.1 No one slept well last night. All of us, including our guide, were feeling the effects of living at such a high altitude. I thought that my slight headache and racing heartbeat were because I had not followed Johnny's advice and had overdone activities yesterday, but everyone was feeling the same thing. So I had no regrets, and felt better about stepping out and exploring Lhasa on my own our first day in Tibet. But today we were going to see the Potala Palace! Such an exquisite palace to explore, plus with our extraordinary Tibetan guide, Yarpel, this turned into another afternoon to add to treasured memories. To reach the Palace, we had to go through security, similar to what is now considered normal at airports. And then there were 432 steps to ... read more

Geo: 30.67, 104.07 I was stuck in the middle seat flying from Xi'an to Chengdu, but when you are bookended by two friends, it can actually be fun--on a short trip. We flew Sichuan Airlines, with very pleasant attendants dressed in gorgeous vibrantly purple Asian style dresses (I would truly love to wear one of those!), but the snack was awful; most people threw it away. No problem: the flight was just a little over an hour so no one starved, especially since we've been eating so well at least for the past ten days. Unlike our guide's warnings, our flight arrived almost on time, although the same flight only a day before was over three hours late, typical for China so we've been told, so apparently we were very lucky. Chengdu has over 13 million ... read more

Geo: 39.9165, 116.391 On our first full day in Beijing we visited Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. We had time to walk around, although not everywhere as this is the largest public square in the world, 100 acres, able to hold over a million people. I was expecting to pick up the energy of the square, but I just could not feel the presence of any history, the way I did in Berlin when I crossed the bricked lines in front of the Brandenburg Gate where the wall had stood. Here, although there were crowds of people, I felt nothing but the excitement of actually being in this place. There are also gardens planted here; flowers are everywhere in Beijing, adding beauty and a softness to an otherwise basic modern cityscape. Then we crossed into ... read more

Geo: 51.2089, 3.22424 I am in Bruges, beautiful, medieval Bruges. Wandering through the narrow cobblestone streets, looking up at the churches and towers is like being in a fairy tale, transported to another place, another time. The sun has been shining and the bells singing, ringing out familiar as well as not-so-well-known songs from the 47 bells in the carillon belfry tower, or simply ringing out each quarter hour. Except for the fast moving cars and trucks, vans and bicycles speeding through the narrow streets, I am walking in history, transported to the long ago past. Known as Brugge here, Bruges was built originally as a fortress in the ninth century, with the intention of warding off marauding Vikings, but now it is one of Europe's best preserved medieval cities. We entered Bruges through one of ... read more