I picked up a copy of Lord John Julius Norwich's "Byzantium, the Decline and Fall" yesterday. I read the first volume many years ago in hardcover got sidetracked, missed the middle volume and only picked up the abridged "A Short History of Byzantium" a few years later so

I went back to Asia today, Kadikoy to be exact, old Byzantine Chalcedon. Up here in Beyoglu on the East side of the Golden Horn and even in Sultanhamet and Sulimaniye it's reasonbly warm--around 70*.

But get out on that water and it gets cold fast, wind

^{"Epiphanies, after all, are the easy part--it's the acceptance of the everyday that comes hard." ~Pico Iyer.}

The last few days have been difficult. For the first time in a very long time I was lonely, a deep and visceral loneliness, reinforced by big city interaction/non-interaction: a bump

^{If one had but a single glance to give to the world, one should gaze on Istanbul.}

It's a big city, Istanbul. Ten million people? Fifteen? Is anyone really sure? Modern Istanbul's name is a contraction from an old Greek phrase, 'εá¼°ς τá½&ac

Today was certainly an interesting day. I walked up the hill from my flat to Dolapdere where it all started, watching the preparations for the police parade here in Istanbul, which I mistook for Obama's arrival. It was an interesting thing to watch and there are about a

^{The following entry is unedited from my travel journal.}

Nine days without journaling? That needs to change. The ink spill in my bag certainly didn't help. Whoever heard of a backpacker carrying around ink for Mont Blanc fountain pens? My hand is spoiled by the smooth 14 carat

Nine months have passed since I left Austin last summer. In the three months since I last looked back upon the genesis and beginning of this journey a lot has changed. The questions I wrestled with in December just don't seem so important anymore. And the world and

There was a hurricane here in Oman in 2007. It was a freak event. Never in recorded history, and they have records going a long way back here in Oman and the Arabian Peninsula, had an event like this occurred. And now it's raining well out of season

If you are Indian, or of Indian descent, I must preface this post with a clear warning: you are not going to like what I have to say. My criticisms may be very hard to stomach. But consider them as the hard words and loving advice of a

I had to leave India. I was at the breaking point. I just couldn't stand the place any longer. If all India could be like Kerala then it would be a truly wonderful place to travel in, but it's not. And it isn't.

Two months in India and

I'm seriously considering heading to Dubai in the very near future. The Pakistani visa process is not going well at all. And my time, patience and willingness to deal with the sub-Continent are fast running out. If any of you have friends, family, associates in Dubai or elsewhere

Narayan, in his travel memoir of Karnataka "The Emerald Route" quotes Fergusson, an English traveler and surveyor, approvingly on the monuments surrounding Bijapur: "A group as rich and as picturesque as any in India, and far excelling anything of that sort on this side of the Hellespont."

Wow, I have totally neglected my duties here of late. Long story and many apologies. I do have may adventures to relate from the last three weeks. Being sick really sidetracked me. However, I know you are not interested in my 'intestinal fortitude' or lack thereof. So, here's

Nandi, a local Mysore cow (technically a bull) recently learned of California's 'Happy Cow' Campaign and auditions for a 'Fresh Face.' Nandi wants the part.

"Every cow here in Mysore dreams of going to Bollywood. But Hollywood? That would be being amazing," said Nandi.

"Also, I am

"About 14km from Mysore the great river Kaveri divides into two branches which meet again about five kilometers further down," writes R.K. Narayan, "and these parted arms enclose a space of land known as Srirangapatnam." Narayan, in The Emerald Route, his travel-memoir of his native state o

If you are like me, you probably find Hindu mythology bewildering. I mean, how many gods are there? I had a discussion in Calicut and asked just this question.

Sanjiv was the first to answer, saying,"there is one, Brahman. All others are incarnations of the 'one,' or

I swear, there is so much to see and do that it's hard to find time to write. Action, is indeed, the enemy of reflection.

Nonetheless, I did manage to take a boatload of photos today and upload them.

I first visited the Maharaja of Mysore's palace.

No, this won't be a post

Mamallapuram was a dusty little seaside town with naught but ten or fifteen cross streets. One half of the town is dedicated to tourism and travelers, for both are here in equal measure. Othavadai and Othavadai Cross Streets are where you’ll find the tourist haunts, places like the

What is a single shoe doing in the middle of the road? How did it get there? Was it lost? Did it fall out of a trash bag in a lorry? If it were lost, how was it lost? Was someone walking and it fell off? Perhaps he

It's been two days already here in India and already I have a lifetime to write about, photos to share and on and on. Jeez, it's probably a good thing my head wasn't on straight last time I was here or I might well have gotten lost and

Alright, here is a link to the photos I just uploaded. My suggestion is to view them in order. But hey, you are free to do as you like.

I had a nice post all done up and almost finished and I hit the wrong buttons and

I just had duck rice for dinner, which will no doubt be my last duck rice for a while. I'm in my hotel room and the usual packing ritual awaits. I can't bring myself to do it, just yet.

First things first: this will be my last post

Here are some shots from day one in Kuala Lumpur.

It's really a pretty amazing, organized place. Jeff and I hung out, mostly we just went to Petronas Towers, but the Skybridge tickets were all sold out for the day.

The infrastructure here is great. My iPhone

Hey, Israel, how does it feel to lose two wars in a row now? Especially the PR war.

Getting a clue yet?

Maybe that clue is this: you can't keep a people locked up in what is, in essence a concentration camp without them doing the