I Didn’t Need a Visa to Enjoy the Finest of Post-Soviet Style — In May of 1995, I stayed at the Hotel Uzbekistan in Tashkent. While I was used to a broad range of lodging, my post-travel notes state in all-caps: THIS HOTEL IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. When I wrote that I was tired and a touch melodramatic. After all, this was the largest…

We love questions of value. How was that meal you had from the new restaurant? Tasty, but points deducted because it was a bit expensive? Would you rather enjoy a long weekend or work for time-and-a-half? Does your grandmother’s wedding ring have a price? I too am intrigued by value…

Let’s stop using dollars to measure people’s money — A recent Forbes report illuminated yet more confirmation of the wealth gap. Not that there is a gap — that came about when the first person decided their seashell equated to wealth, committing their peers to instant poverty — but the acceleration of it. According to Forbes the number of…

If the encyclopedia failed me, there was always long-distance — My teacher called me over with a tone of voice no kid wants to hear. I knew something was up, and it had my name associated with it. Indeed, I was guilty and confessed to the whole thing. But let me explain how I got there in the first place…

My souvenir artwork can be from only one place — We are the sum of our experiences. The right souvenirs are tokens of additions towards that summation, tokens of experiences that contribute to who we are. For me, the right souvenir is also a portal back to moments abroad. …

When a Line is Crossed: the Unfriendly Side of Travel — Armed men delayed my travel through certain airports, but those moments were simple to assess. When I was accosted under color of bureaucracy, the uncertainty was stressful. Uncertainty while travelling is a spice that makes it invigorating. Our experiences are a lens through which we view life itself— intriguing, beautiful…

Planned obsolescence can suck it — Fifty years ago, a company made a product. Someone bought it, used it heavily, then it mouldered. Fifty years later, a repair man spruced it up for sale, making it instantly better than the “same” item offered today. I bought this item. I’ll let you mull that over a moment…

How to find spots you like, and stripes, and feathers, too — Travel is back on the agenda. Post-covid, it might have been so long since you’ve hit Tripadvisor that you don’t know where to start. I have a suggestion, and it doesn’t start with a destination. When you were a child, did you watch nature programmes on television? I had a…

Not So Livable Now, But It Was Lively — When I was 24, my only brushes with the Middle East were headlines in the Boston Globe and the Middle East music club in Cambridge, MA, a few minutes walk from my office. …