A coffee village in Northern Thailand

If you’re around Chiang Rai for over a week, like I was (no, I didn’t consume this much coffee over a long weekend!), you will probably want to take a day or two to escape the city and enjoy the surroundings. Nearly every coffee brand I ran into in Thailand had doi in the name. What does…

Siquijor: the mystic island

There are a number of famous islands among the 7.000 + that make up the Philippines archipelago. Boracay is popular among Western package tourists and immediately pops to mind. Palawan is known for the crystal diving, Bohol has the Chocolate Hills. Mindanao Island in the south is known as a place to avoid, as there is a strong…

The Californian Channel Islands: A day on Santa Cruz Island

One of the joys of being a houseguest with my sister and brother-in-law in California is that they become temporary tourists during my visit. But they aren’t just aimless wandering tourists – they have the perfect balance of in-the-know and bright-eye’d-enthusiasm. They have only lived in LA for a couple of years, and with minimal days off…