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Would you like to see how “real” Japan looks like?

THE HIDDEN CHARMS OF KAMAKURA

Flying to Japan is like buying the cheapest ticket to Mars. Yep, you can quote me on that one. From Shibuya to Ginza, everything about Tokyo seems as alien to the average “Gaijin” as the Martian plains were to Mark Whitney. Don’t get me wrong; I love Tokyo and wish every distant planet was as nice as this amazing metropolis.

The thing is, it can wear you down after a while.
Want to see how “real” Japan looks like?
Continue reading “Would you like to see how “real” Japan looks like?”

What color should you wear to a funeral?

HOW ABOUT EVERYTHING?

There it was, a sad procession of Mourners led by a crying widow, men carrying a heavy wooden coffin, and a band of Mariachis playing slow, somber melodies. This could have been just another Hispanic funeral. No different than Mexico, Nicaragua and perhaps also in some quarters of the United States.
But this was Guatemala.

Continue reading “What color should you wear to a funeral?”

Close your eyes and imagine France

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

Is it a guy armed with a barrette and a freshly-baked Baguette cycling down a tree-lined path?
Could it be an idealist Sorbonne student sitting at chick Parisian Café arguing about Marx & Sartre?
Maybe a decadent fashion designer looking at his “Heroine Chic” models as they parade down the catwalk?
Or perhaps it’s President Chirac pulling a middle one at George W?
Continue reading “Close your eyes and imagine France”

Is this the most horrible city in the world?

7 REALLY BAD PLACES IN THE WORLD’S WORST CITY

No reliable electricity, no sanitation, no transportation infrastructure, no plumbing, no urban planning (ha, ha, that’s a good one), no running water, no hygiene, no emission controls, no building codes, no hope. You may think we’re describing some godforsaken shantytown in war-torn Africa. But we’re not. This city happens to be the Capital of a peaceful, well-known Asian nation.
Continue reading “Is this the most horrible city in the world?”

Have you got what it takes?

AN ICEBERG IN SYDNEY

It was during the pleasant old days of the pre-bubble area. The time when growing tech companies bought business class tickets to send their young marketing professionals half-way across the world to give few presentations to would-be customers.

Getting “stuck” in Sydney during a late winter weekend with nothing else better to do, I decided to hop on a cab and land on Bondi Beach.
Continue reading “Have you got what it takes?”

He was a dancer though he didn’t know it

BURMESE BALLET

I took this photo ten years ago in Burma’s Inle Lake. It was five in the afternoon, and the sun was just getting into that narrow-angle photographers like so much. I heard about Inle Lake from a friend who came back the year before full of stories about the people who spend their entire time on the lake – literally.
Continue reading “He was a dancer though he didn’t know it”

Opening a window to a different corner of Rio

THE GIRL FROM SANTA TERESA

“Tall and tan and young and lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes walking…”

But not this one.
Far removed from the glitzy opulence of Ipanema with its sandy beaches and Thong-clad, long-legged beauties, this girl peeps her head out of a bar window in the semi-decayed neighborhood of Santa Teresa. Continue reading “Opening a window to a different corner of Rio”

The complete driver’s guide to the Black Forest – Part I

8 ESSENTIAL TIPS & 7  ROADS YOU SHOULDN’T MISS Ever since my first time driving through the Black Forest I have been frequently asked by friends and colleagues to share the secrets and know-how I gathered driving through this exceptional place. After much persuasion, I’ve finally decided to put my knowledge base into writing. Enjoy!

8 ESSENTIAL TIPS & 7  ROADS YOU SHOULDN’T MISS

Ever since my first time driving through the Black Forest I have been frequently asked by friends and colleagues to share the secrets and know-how I gathered driving through this exceptional place. After much persuasion, I’ve finally decided to put my knowledge base into writing.
Enjoy!
Continue reading “The complete driver’s guide to the Black Forest – Part I”

The most beautiful small island in the world

“IF PARADISE IS HALF AS NICE”

Great things can come from small – little-known places.
Pretty much everyone knows the line above and can sing it by heart.
The song, after all, is a timeless masterpiece.
Unlike the song though, very few have heard of the band who sang it. Amen Corner from Cardiff, Wales – if you must know.  They recorded the song in 1969 and then disbanded.
Personally, I always thought it was The Beach Boys – go figure.

Have you ever heard of Minoloc Island?
I guess you didn’t. Neither did I. Never the less, once you’ve been there you’ll never forget it.
That’s a promise.
Continue reading “The most beautiful small island in the world”