A bull elephant is not an animal you take lightly—I had known that long before I found myself standing in front of one in northern Thailand. But knowing and experiencing are two very different things. In many Asia Pacific travel recommendations, encounters like this are often described as unforgettable, but nothing quite prepares you for the reality. When brother elephants Kham Meun and Dodo…
From Sky to River to Road: My Ultimate Safari Experience I would imagine an African safari to be a jeep tour through an open grass field. But it was far more when I was doing it myself. Africa has some of the most amazing wildlife sightings in their natural habitats anywhere on our planet. From…
I would have thought that the only way to see infinite tulip fields was to travel to the Netherlands. But it was not the case when I had visited Holland, Michigan, during the first week of May. I entered when the town was taken over by the Tulip Time festival. Tulips were everywhere. They were…
In the past, travel and interest in culture directed me to deserts and crowded cities. But I did not have a lot of expectations of Antarctica. Icebergs were not essential to the enjoyment of travel and cultural analysis. It started with two days of open sea sailing across the Drake Passage from Ushuaia, Argentina to…
The gentle flow of water on Glen Canyon has an almost spiritual resonance to it. Located between Southern Utah and the Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona, the Colorado River, or “The American Nile,” covers some 9,000 feet from the Rockies into the Sea of Cortez. When the weather is cool and snow has melted, water…
The high-end Mandarin Oriental, which I visited in downtown Dubai, immediately informed me of how large it was that I was about to enter. Over 500 wellness professionals and medical people worldwide had attended the Global Wellness Summit, and the environment in the ballroom was fantastic. The highlight? When uncovering the statistics of the wellness…
I had an inkling of what I might see upon my initial arrival in Madeira. On the Internet, the great cliffs and the beautiful valleys attracted and held my attention. But I had no idea that the island’s grandeur would turn everything I thought about it upside down. It began with a small convenience store…
I have visited Japan for decades, but there has never been a moment when I felt as close to the culture of this land as when I first rolled up my sleeves in a handicraft workshop. The Global Business Insights article described below can be found on the East-West News Service website, which specializes in…
The Mississippi River is best appreciated while traveling on its waters. Viewed from the upper deck of the Viking Mississippi, the river is never static. It widens, narrows, reflects the moon’s brilliance, absorbs history and returns it quietly to the passing shores. It cannot be grasped in a glance. Like faith or memory, it requires…
I came to believe that Lhasa only truly made sense in motion. In Barkhor Square, women dropped to the ground, arms stretched forward, rose, took a few steps, and repeated the ritual again and again. Around them, travelers moved steadily in wide circles, palms spinning prayer wheels worn smooth by decades of touch. There was…